IB 
Union Calendar No. 395 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 3136 
[Report No. 113–529] 
To establish a demonstration program for competency-based education. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 19, 2013 
Mr. SALMON (for himself, Mr. POLIS, Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana, and Mr. AN-
DREWS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Education and the Workforce 
JULY 17, 2014 
Additional sponsors: Mr. ROKITA, Mr. PETRI, Mr. BUCSHON, Mr. ROTHFUS, 
Mr. DELANEY, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, and Mr. KLINE 
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 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on September 19, 2013] 
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Advancing Competency- 
Based Education Demonstration Project Act of 2014’’. 
SEC. 2. COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION DEMONSTRATION 
PROJECTS. 
(a) PROJECTS.—Part G of title IV of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1088 et seq.) is amended by 
inserting after section 486A the following: 
‘‘SEC. 486B. COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION DEMONSTRA-
TION PROJECTS. 
‘‘(a) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS AUTHORIZED.—The 
Secretary shall select, in accordance with subsection (c), eli-
gible entities to voluntarily carry out competency-based 
education demonstration projects and receive waivers de-
scribed in subsection (d) to carry out such projects. 
‘‘(b) APPLICATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible entity desiring 
to carry out a demonstration project under this sec-
tion shall submit an application to the Secretary, at 
such time and in such manner as the Secretary may 
require. 
‘‘(2) AMENDMENTS.—An eligible entity may sub-
mit to the Secretary amendments to the eligible enti-
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ty’s application under paragraph (1), at such time 
and in such manner as the Secretary may require, 
which the Secretary shall approve or deny within 15 
days of receipt. 
‘‘(3) CONTENTS.—Each application shall in-
clude— 
‘‘(A) a description of the competency-based 
education to be offered by the eligible entity 
under the demonstration project; 
‘‘(B) a description of the proposed academic 
delivery, business, and financial models for the 
demonstration project, including explanations of 
how competency-based education offered under 
the demonstration project would— 
‘‘(i) result in the achievement of com-
petencies; 
‘‘(ii) differ from standard credit hour 
approaches, in whole or in part; and 
‘‘(iii) result in lower costs or shortened 
time to degree, certificate, or credential 
completion; 
‘‘(C) a description of how the competency- 
based education offered under the demonstration 
project will progress a student toward completion 
of a degree, certificate, or credential; 
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‘‘(D) a description of how the eligible entity 
will articulate the transcript from the com-
petency-based education demonstration project to 
another program within an institution of higher 
education that is part of the eligible entity or to 
another institution of higher education; 
‘‘(E) a description of the statutory and reg-
ulatory requirements described in subsection (d) 
for which the eligible entity is seeking a waiver, 
and why such waiver is necessary to carry out 
the demonstration project; 
‘‘(F) a description of how the eligible entity 
will develop and evaluate the competencies and 
assessments of student knowledge (which may in-
clude prior-learning assessments) administered 
as part of the demonstration project, including 
how such competencies and assessments are 
aligned with workforce needs; 
‘‘(G) a description of the proposal for deter-
mining a student’s Federal student aid eligi-
bility under this title for participating in the 
demonstration project, the award and distribu-
tion of such aid, and safeguards to ensure that 
students are making satisfactory progress that 
warrants disbursement of such aid; 
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‘‘(H) a description of the students to whom 
competency-based education will be offered, in-
cluding an assurance that the demonstration 
project will enroll a minimum of 50 and a max-
imum of 3,000 students; 
‘‘(I) an assurance that students partici-
pating in the demonstration project will not be 
eligible for more Federal assistance under this 
title than such students would have been eligible 
for under a traditional program; and 
‘‘(J) an assurance the eligible entity will 
identify and disseminate best practices with re-
spect to the demonstration project to other eligi-
ble entities carrying out a demonstration project 
under this section. 
‘‘(c) SELECTION.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 
after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec-
retary shall select not more than 20 eligible entities 
to carry out a competency-based education dem-
onstration project under this section. 
‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In selecting eligible en-
tities under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 
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‘‘(A) prioritize projects which show promise 
in reducing the time or cost required to complete 
a degree, certificate, or credential; 
‘‘(B) consider the number and quality of 
applications received; 
‘‘(C) consider an eligible entity’s— 
‘‘(i) ability to successfully execute the 
demonstration project as described in the el-
igible entity’s application under subsection 
(b); 
‘‘(ii) commitment and ability to effec-
tively finance the demonstration project; 
‘‘(iii) ability to provide administrative 
capability and the expertise to evaluate stu-
dent progress based on measures other than 
credit hours or clock hours; and 
‘‘(iv) commitment to work with the 
Secretary to evaluate the demonstration 
project and the impact of the demonstration 
project; 
‘‘(D) ensure the selection of a diverse group 
of eligible entities with respect to size, mission, 
and geographic distribution of the eligible enti-
ties; 
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‘‘(E) not limit the types of programs of 
study or courses of study approved for participa-
tion in a demonstration project; and 
‘‘(F) not select an eligible entity that has 
had, for 1 of the preceding 2 fiscal years— 
‘‘(i) a cohort default rate (defined in 
section 435(m)) that is 30 percent or great-
er; and 
‘‘(ii) a borrowing rate of loans under 
this title of more than 50 percent of the stu-
dents enrolled at institutions of higher edu-
cation of the eligible entity. 
‘‘(d) WAIVERS.—The Secretary may waive for any eli-
gible entity selected to carry out a demonstration project 
under this section any requirements of the following provi-
sions of law (including any regulations promulgated under 
such provisions) or regulations and for which the eligible 
entity has provided a reason for waiving under subsection 
(b)(3)(E): 
‘‘(1) Subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 
102(a)(3). 
‘‘(2) Subsections (a) and (b) of section 481, as 
such subsections relate to requirements for a min-
imum number of weeks of instruction. 
‘‘(3) Section 484(l)(1). 
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‘‘(4) Section 668.32(a)(1)(iii) of title 34, Code of 
Federal Regulations. 
‘‘(5) Any of the requirements under provisions in 
title I, part F of this title, or this part, that inhibit 
the operation of competency-based education, includ-
ing requirements with respect to— 
‘‘(A) documenting attendance; 
‘‘(B) weekly academic activity; 
‘‘(C) minimum weeks of instructional time; 
‘‘(D) requirements for credit hour or clock 
hour equivalencies; 
‘‘(E) requirements for substantive inter-
action with faculty; and 
‘‘(F) definitions of the terms ‘academic 
year’, 
‘full-time 
student’, 
‘term’ 
(including 
‘standard term’, ‘non-term’, and ‘non-standard 
term’), ‘satisfactory academic progress’, ‘edu-
cational activity’, ‘project of study’, and ‘pay-
ment period’. 
‘‘(e) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 6 months after the 
date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall make 
available to the authorizing committees and the public a 
list of eligible entities selected to carry out a demonstration 
project under this section, which shall include for each such 
eligible entity— 
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‘‘(1) the specific statutory and regulatory re-
quirements being waived under subsection (d); and 
‘‘(2) a description of the competency-based edu-
cation programs of study or courses of study to be of-
fered under the project. 
‘‘(f) INFORMATION AND EVALUATION.— 
‘‘(1) INFORMATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Each eligible entity 
that carries out a demonstration project under 
this section shall provide to the Director of the 
Institution of Education Sciences with respect to 
the students participating in the competency- 
based education project carried out by the eligi-
ble entity the following information: 
‘‘(i) The average number of credit 
hours the students earned prior to enroll-
ment in the demonstration project, if appli-
cable. 
‘‘(ii) The number and percentage of 
students participating in the demonstration 
project that are also enrolled in programs of 
study or courses of study offered in credit 
hours or clock hours, disaggregated by stu-
dent status as a first-year, second-year, 
third-year, fourth-year, or other student. 
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‘‘(iii) The average period of time be-
tween the enrollment of a student in the 
demonstration project and the first assess-
ment of student knowledge of such student. 
‘‘(iv) The average time to 25 percent, 
50 percent, 75 percent, and 100 percent of 
the completion of a degree, certificate, or 
credential by a student who participated in 
the demonstration project. 
‘‘(v) The percentage of assessments of 
student knowledge that students passed on 
the first attempt, during the period of the 
participation in the demonstration project 
by the students. 
‘‘(vi) The percentage of assessments of 
student knowledge that students passed on 
the second attempt and the average period 
of time between the first and second at-
tempts by students, during the period of the 
participation in the demonstration project 
by the students. 
‘‘(vii) The average number of com-
petencies a student acquired while partici-
pating in the demonstration project and the 
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period of time during which the student ac-
quired such competencies. 
‘‘(viii) Such other information as the 
Director may reasonably require. 
‘‘(B) DISAGGREGATION.—Each eligible enti-
ty shall provide the information required under 
subparagraph (A) disaggregated by age, race, 
gender, disability status, and status as a recipi-
ent of a Federal Pell Grant, provided that the 
disaggregation of the information does not iden-
tify any individual student participating in the 
demonstration project. 
‘‘(2) EVALUATION.—The Director of the Institute 
of Education Sciences, in consultation with the Sec-
retary, shall annually evaluate each demonstration 
project under this section. Each evaluation shall in-
clude— 
‘‘(A) the extent to which the eligible entity 
has met the goals set forth in its application to 
the Secretary; 
‘‘(B) the number and types of students par-
ticipating in the competency-based education of-
fered under the project, including the progress of 
participating students toward completion of a 
degree, certificate, or credential, and the extent to 
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which participation and retention in such 
project increased; 
‘‘(C) whether the project led to reduced cost 
or time to completion of a degree, certificate, or 
credential, and the amount of cost or time re-
duced for such completion; 
‘‘(D) obstacles related to student financial 
assistance for competency-based education; 
‘‘(E) the extent to which statutory or regu-
latory requirements not waived under subsection 
(d) present difficulties for students or institu-
tions of higher education; 
‘‘(F) degree, certificate, or credential com-
pletion rates; 
‘‘(G) retention rates; 
‘‘(H) total cost and net cost to the student 
of the competency-based education offered under 
the project; 
‘‘(I) a description of the assessments of stu-
dent knowledge and the corresponding com-
petencies; and 
‘‘(J) outcomes of the assessments of student 
knowledge. 
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