•HRES 614 IH 
novation in postsecondary education and for lifelong 
learning that is unmatched anywhere in the world; 
Whereas this diversity of institutions reflects the plurality 
and history of our people, and the diversity of the Na-
tion’s ideas and ideals; 
Whereas many of these institutions are the intellectual homes 
to our great traditions of faith, social service, research, 
arts and humanities, all flourishing in the Nation’s free 
marketplace of ideas; 
Whereas public, private non-profit, and for-profit institutions 
all compete in the marketplace for students causing post-
secondary institutions to constantly innovate and adapt 
in order to meet the evolving needs of the Nation’s stu-
dents; 
Whereas the Department of Education already collects large 
amounts of data and metrics each year from postsec-
ondary institutions with much of this information made 
publicly available to prospective students, but not in a 
useful way; 
Whereas most States are better equipped to distribute mean-
ingful information regarding the postsecondary institu-
tions within their borders; 
Whereas the Federal Government has focused its investment 
in higher education in providing grants, loans and work- 
study funds to help low and middle income students, who 
are academically qualified for college and who are willing 
to work hard, attend college, but has left the choice of 
institution, and the responsibility of effort for success, up 
to students and their families; 
Whereas institutions that educate students who receive these 
funds are and shall continue to be accountable for the ap-
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•HRES 614 IH 
propriate use of those funds, and must already go 
through private accreditation, State authorization, as well 
as Federal eligibility certification processes to be able to 
participate in the Federal student aid programs; 
Whereas the amount of Federal aid a student receives is de-
termined by Congress through need analysis formulas in 
the Higher Education Act and through the annual appro-
priations process, and may only be adjusted on a case by 
case basis by a campus Financial Aid Officer, and may 
not be adjusted by the Administration; 
Whereas the development of a Postsecondary Institution Rat-
ings System has been proposed by the current Adminis-
tration to rate and compare the value of colleges, and to 
base the amount of need a low-income student receives 
not exclusively on need, but, also, on the Administration’s 
rating of the college that student chooses to attend; 
Whereas the Administration has suggested this rating system 
will put a particular emphasis on graduates’ earnings, 
suggesting that institutions that produce graduates who 
go into public service, the military, ministry, non-profit 
work, or who stay at home to care for family are some-
how less worthy of support than institutions that produce 
graduates who go into more lucrative fields; 
Whereas the Administration has said the rating system will 
also give consideration to graduation rates of traditional 
students, thereby disadvantaging institutions that have a 
mission to serve students who are first generation to col-
lege, persons with learning disabilities, veterans and other 
adults who are resuming education while also working 
and caring for families; 
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•HRES 614 IH 
Whereas a rating system built around a handful of factors 
chosen by the Department of Education is likely to lead 
to greater standardization, less choice, and less innova-
tion; 
Whereas a rating system built around a handful of factors 
chosen by the Department of Education is reductionist in 
nature and will overlook many of the qualitative benefits 
that accrue to individuals and communities from a college 
degree, including, but not limited to, greater civic partici-
pation, better health, greater appreciation of the arts and 
culture, and critical reasoning skills; and 
Whereas a Federal rating system will likely carry an image 
of validity that will mislead the people of the United 
States on college choice, decrease the ability of colleges 
to openly compete with each other in the marketplace, 
and replace the free choices of students and their fami-
lies, informed by their values, with monetary measures 
determined by the Federal Government: Now, therefore, 
be it 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that— 
(1) students and families should maintain the 
right and responsibility of determining where to en-
roll for postsecondary education; 
(2) the Federal Government, in conjunction 
with States and accreditors, has a responsibility to 
ensure that the significant taxpayer funds that are 
invested in student aid each year are appropriately 
spent, and has tools such as program reviews and 
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•HRES 614 IH 
eligibility and certification procedures that should be 
better targeted to those purposes; 
(3) the Federal Government also has a positive 
role it could play in making information available to 
enable informed choices about postsecondary edu-
cation available to prospective students and the Ad-
ministration should work collaboratively with the 
higher education community to make that informa-
tion more consumer friendly and accessible to those 
students and their families; and 
(4) the Administration’s proposal to rate post-
secondary institutions through an oversimplified 
Federal rating system that is not supported by post-
secondary institutions, statute, or by the House of 
Representatives, will lead to less choice, diversity, 
and innovation, and should be rejected. 
Æ 
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