Strengthening Transparency in Higher Education Act

To simplify and streamline the information regarding institutions of higher education made publicly available by the Secretary of Education, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Strengthening Transparency in Higher Education Act 2. College Dashboard website (a) Establishment Section 132 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1015a (1) in subsection (a)— (A) in paragraph (2), by striking first-time, (B) in paragraph (3) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking first-time, (C) in paragraph (4), by striking first-time, (2) in subsection (b)— (A) in paragraph (1), by striking first-time (B) in paragraph (2), by striking first-time (3) by striking subsections (c) through (g), (j), and (l); (4) by redesignating subsections (h), (i), and (k) as subsections (c), (d), and (e), respectively; and (5) by striking subsection (d) (as so redesignated) and inserting the following new subsection: (d) Consumer information (1) Availability of title IV institution information The Secretary shall develop and make publicly available a website to be known as the College Dashboard website (A) A link to the website of the institution. (B) An identification of the type of institution as one of the following: (i) A four-year public institution of higher education. (ii) A four-year private, nonprofit institution of higher education. (iii) A four-year private, for-profit institution of higher education. (iv) A two-year public institution of higher education. (v) A two-year private, nonprofit institution of higher education. (vi) A two-year private, for-profit institution of higher education. (vii) A less than two-year public institution of higher education. (viii) A less than two-year private, nonprofit institution of higher education. (ix) A less than two-year private, for-profit institution of higher education. (C) The number of students enrolled at the institution— (i) as undergraduate students; and (ii) as graduate students, if applicable. (D) The student-faculty ratio. (E) The percentage of degree-seeking or certificate-seeking undergraduate students enrolled at the institution who obtain a degree or certificate within— (i) 100 percent of the normal time for completion of, or graduation from, the program in which the student is enrolled; (ii) 150 percent of the normal time for completion of, or graduation from, the program in which the student is enrolled; and (iii) 200 percent of the normal time for completion of, or graduation from, the program in which the student is enrolled. (F) The average net price per year for undergraduate students and a link to the net price calculator for such institution. (G) The average Federal student loan debt incurred by an undergraduate student who has obtained a certificate or degree from the institution and who borrowed Federal student loans in the course of obtaining such certificate or degree. (H) A link to national and regional data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics on starting salaries in all major occupations. (I) A link to the webpage of the institution containing campus safety data with respect to such institution. (2) Additional information The Secretary shall publish on Internet webpages that are linked to through the College Dashboard website for the most recent academic year for which satisfactory data is available the following information with respect to each institution of higher education that participates in a program under title IV: (A) Enrollment (i) The percentages of male and female undergraduate students enrolled at the institution. (ii) The percentages of undergraduate students enrolled at the institution— (I) full-time; and (II) less than full-time. (iii) Of the undergraduate students enrolled at the institution— (I) the percentage of such students who are from the State in which the institution is located; (II) the percentage of such students who are from other States; and (III) the percentage of such students who are international students. (iv) The percentages of students enrolled at the institution, disaggregated by— (I) race and ethnic background; (II) classification as a student with a disability; (III) recipients of a Federal Pell Grant; (IV) recipients of veterans’ education benefits (as defined in section 480); and (V) recipients of a Federal student loan. (B) Completion The information required under paragraph (1)(E), disaggregated by— (i) recipients of a Federal Pell Grant; (ii) recipients of a loan made under part D (other than a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan) who did not receive a Federal Pell Grant; (iii) persons who did not receive a Federal Pell Grant or a loan made under part D (other than a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan); (iv) race and ethnic background; and (v) classification as a student with a disability. (C) Costs (i) The cost of attendance for full-time undergraduate students enrolled in the institution who live on campus. (ii) The cost of attendance for full-time undergraduate students enrolled in the institution who live off campus. (iii) The cost of tuition and fees for full-time undergraduate students enrolled in the institution. (iv) The cost of tuition and fees per credit hour or credit hour equivalency for undergraduate students enrolled in the institution less than full time. (v) In the case of a public institution of higher education and notwithstanding subsection (b)(1), the costs described in clauses (i) and (ii) for— (I) full-time students enrolled in the institution who are residents of the State in which the institution is located; and (II) full-time students enrolled in the institution who are not residents of such State. (vi) The net price for students receiving Federal student financial aid under title IV, disaggregated by the following income categories for such students: (I) $0 to $30,000. (II) $30,001 to $48,000. (III) $48,001 to $75,000. (IV) $75,001 to $110,000. (V) Over $110,000. (D) Financial aid (i) The average annual grant amount (including Federal, State, and institutional aid) awarded to an undergraduate student enrolled at the institution who receives financial aid. (ii) The percentage of undergraduate students enrolled at the institution receiving Federal, State, and institutional grants, student loans, and any other type of student financial assistance known by the institution, provided publicly or through the institution, such as Federal work-study funds. (iii) The cohort default rate (as defined in section 435(m)) for such institution. (E) Faculty information (i) The ratio of the number of course sections taught by part-time instructors to the number of course sections taught by full-time faculty, disaggregated by course sections intended primarily for undergraduate students and course sections intended primarily for graduate students. (ii) The mean and median years of employment for part-time instructors. (3) Other data matters (A) Completion data The Commissioner of Education Statistics shall ensure that the information required under paragraph (1)(E) includes information with respect to all students at an institution, including students other than first-time, full-time students, in a manner that the Commissioner considers appropriate. (B) Adjustment of income categories The Secretary may annually adjust the range of each of the income categories described in paragraph (2)(C)(vi) to account for a change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics if the Secretary determines an adjustment is necessary. (4) Institutional comparison The Secretary shall include on the College Dashboard website a method for users to easily compare the information required under paragraphs (1) and (2) between institutions. (5) Updates (A) Data The Secretary shall update the College Dashboard website not less than annually. (B) Technology and format The Secretary shall regularly assess the format and technology of the College Dashboard website and make any changes or updates that the Secretary considers appropriate. (6) Consumer testing (A) In general In developing and maintaining the College Dashboard website, the Secretary, in consultation with appropriate departments and agencies of the Federal Government, shall conduct consumer testing with appropriate persons, including current and prospective college students, family members of such students, institutions of higher education, and experts, to ensure that the College Dashboard website is usable and easily understandable and provides useful and relevant information to students and families. (B) Recommendations for changes The Secretary shall submit to the authorizing committees any recommendations that the Secretary considers appropriate for changing the information required to be provided on the College Dashboard website under paragraphs (1) and (2) based on the results of the consumer testing conducted under subparagraph (A). (7) Provision of appropriate links to prospective students after submission of FAFSA The Secretary shall provide to each student that submits a Free Application for Federal Student Aid described in section 483 a link to the webpage of the College Dashboard website that contains the information required under paragraph (1) for each institution of higher education such student includes on such Application. (8) Interagency coordination The Secretary, in consultation with each appropriate head of a department or agency of the Federal Government, shall ensure to the greatest extent practicable that any information related to higher education that is published by such department or agency is consistent with the information published on the College Dashboard website. (9) References to College Navigator website Any reference in this Act to the College Navigator website shall be considered a reference to the College Dashboard website. . (b) Conforming amendments The Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq. (1) in section 131(h)(1) ( 20 U.S.C. 1015(h)(1) College Navigator College Dashboard (2) in section 132(a) ( 20 U.S.C. 1015a(a) (1) College Dashboard website The term College Dashboard website . (c) Development The Secretary of Education shall develop and publish the College Dashboard website required under section 132 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1015a (d) College Navigator website maintenance The Secretary shall maintain the College Navigator website required under section 132 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1015a 3. Net price calculators Subsection (c) of section 132 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1015a (1) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (6); and (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following new paragraphs: (4) Minimum requirements for net price calculators Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of the Strengthening Transparency in Higher Education Act, a net price calculator for an institution of higher education shall meet the following requirements: (A) The link for the calculator shall— (i) be clearly labeled as a net price calculator and prominently, clearly, and conspicuously posted in locations on the website of such institution where information on costs and aid is provided and any other location that the institution considers appropriate; and (ii) match in size and font to the other prominent links on the webpage where the link for the calculator is displayed. (B) The webpage displaying the results for the calculator shall specify at least the following information: (i) The net price (as calculated under subsection (a)(2)) for such institution, which shall be the most visually prominent figure on the results screen. (ii) Cost of attendance, including— (I) tuition and fees; (II) average annual cost of room and board for the institution for a full-time undergraduate student enrolled in the institution; (III) average annual cost of books and supplies for a full-time undergraduate student enrolled in the institution; and (IV) estimated cost of other expenses (including personal expenses and transportation) for a full-time undergraduate student enrolled in the institution. (iii) Estimated total need-based grant aid and merit-based grant aid from Federal, State, and institutional sources that may be available to a full-time undergraduate student. (iv) Percentage of the full-time undergraduate students enrolled in the institution that received any type of grant aid described in clause (iii). (v) The disclaimer described in paragraph (6). (vi) In the case of a calculator that— (I) includes questions to estimate the eligibility of a student or prospective student for veterans’ education benefits (as defined in section 480) or educational benefits for active duty service members, such benefits are displayed on the results screen in a manner that clearly distinguishes such benefits from the grant aid described in clause (iii); or (II) does not include questions to estimate eligibility for the benefits described in subclause (I), the results screen indicates that certain students (or prospective students) may qualify for such benefits and includes a link to information about such benefits. (C) The institution shall populate the calculator with data from not later than 2 academic years prior to the most recent academic year. (5) Prohibition on use of data collected by the net price calculator A net price calculator for an institution of higher education shall— (A) clearly indicate which questions are required to be completed for an estimate of the net price from the calculator; (B) in the case of a calculator that requests contact information from users, clearly mark such requests as optional and provide for an estimate of the net price from the calculator without requiring users to enter such information; and (C) prohibit any personally identifiable information provided by users from being sold or made available to third parties. . 4. Funding (a) Use of existing funds Of the amount authorized to be appropriated to the Department of Education to maintain the College Navigator website, $1,000,000 shall be available to carry out this Act and the amendments made by this Act. (b) No additional funds authorized No funds are authorized by this Act to be appropriated to carry out this Act or the amendments made by this Act. July 17, 2014 Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

Summary: Strengthening Transparency in Higher Education Act - (Sec. 2) Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to eliminate the restriction of college cost calculations to those costs incurred by first-time students. Eliminates the requirement that the Secretary of Education make publicly available on the College Navigator website: (1) college affordability and transparency lists, (2) state higher education spending charts, and (3) the multi-year tuition calculator. Requires that the Secretary develop, annually update, and make publicly available a College Dashboard website that displays the following information regarding each institution of higher education (IHE) participating in the programs under title IV (Student Assistance) of the HEA: a link to the IHE's website; an identification of the IHE's type; the number of students enrolled at the IHE; the student-faculty ratio; the percentage of degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduate students at the IHE who obtain a certificate within the normal time for completing their program, within 150% of that time period, and within 200% of that time period; the average net price per year for undergraduate students at the IHE who are receiving student aid under title IV, calculated on the basis of the income category into which they fall; a link to the net price calculator for the IHE; the percentage of undergraduate students who borrowed federal student loans and obtained a certificate or degree from the IHE; the average federal student loan debt incurred by undergraduate students who borrowed federal student loans in the course of obtaining a certificate or degree from the IHE; a link to national and regional data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on starting salaries in all major occupations; and a link to the IHE's website containing campus safety data. Directs the Secretary to publish on Internet web pages that are linked to through the College Dashboard website more detailed and disaggregated information regarding each IHE's faculty and student enrollment, completion rates, costs, and use and repayment of financial aid. Requires the Secretary to: (1) include on the College Dashboard website a function enabling users to easily compare information between IHEs, and (2) provide each student who submits a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) with a link to the web page of the College Dashboard website that contains information for each IHE on the student's FAFSA. Requires the Secretary to: (1) conduct ongoing consumer testing on the College Dashboard website to ensure that it is usable and easily understandable and provides useful and relevant information to students and families, and (2) submit recommendations to Congress for changing the information required to be provided on the website based on the results of the consumer testing. Treats any reference in the HEA to the College Navigator website as a reference to the College Dashboard website. (Sec. 3) Sets forth minimum requirements for the net price calculators that each IHE participating in a title IV program must include on its website. (An IHE's "net price," after taking into account this Act's amendments, is the average yearly price actually charged to full-time undergraduate students receiving student aid at the school after deducting such aid.) Requires the link for the calculator to be clearly labeled and conspicuously posted on an IHE's website. Requires each calculator's results page to include: the net price of attending the IHE; the cost of attending the IHE; the estimated total need- and merit-based grant aid from federal, state, and institutional sources, that may be available to full-time undergraduate students enrolled at the IHE; the percentage of such students enrolled at the school who receive any of that aid; and a notice that an estimate of an individual's net price is non-binding and subject to change. Requires calculators that estimate a user's eligibility for veterans' education benefits or for educational benefits for active duty service members to clearly distinguish those benefits from other grant-aid. Requires calculators that do not make such estimates to provide users with notice of, and a link to information concerning, those benefits. Directs IHEs to populate their calculators with data from not later than two academic years prior to the most recent academic year. Requires the calculators to: (1) clearly indicate which questions need to be completed for a net price estimate; (2) clearly mark requests for contact information as optional and provide estimates of net price, without requiring users to enter such information; and (3) prohibit personally identifiable information from being sold or made available to third parties. (Sec. 4) Makes $1 million of the amount authorized to be appropriated to the Department of Education to maintain the College Navigator website available for carrying out this Act.