I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1766 
To establish a postsecondary student data system. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 14, 2019 
Mr. MITCHELL (for himself, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. STEFANIK, and Mr. 
HARDER of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To establish a postsecondary student data system. 
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 ‘‘College Transparency 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. POSTSECONDARY STUDENT DATA SYSTEM. 
Section 132 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1015a) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsection (l) as subsection 
(m); and 
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(2) by inserting after subsection (k) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(l) POSTSECONDARY STUDENT DATA SYSTEM.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 
‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT
OF
SYSTEM.—The 
Commissioner of the National Center for Edu-
cation Statistics (referred to in this subsection 
as the ‘Commissioner’) shall develop and main-
tain a secure, privacy-protected postsecondary 
student-level data system in order to— 
‘‘(i) accurately evaluate student en-
rollment patterns, progression, completion, 
and postcollegiate outcomes, and higher 
education costs and financial aid; 
‘‘(ii) assist with transparency, institu-
tional improvement, and analysis of Fed-
eral aid programs; 
‘‘(iii) provide more accurate, complete, 
and customizable information for students 
and families making decisions about post-
secondary education; and 
‘‘(iv) reduce the reporting burden on 
institutions of higher education, in accord-
ance with section 5(b) of the College 
Transparency Act. 
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‘‘(B) AVOIDING
DUPLICATED
REPORT-
ING.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 
this section, to the extent that another provi-
sion of this section requires the same reporting 
or collection of data that is required under this 
subsection, a postsecondary institution, or the 
Secretary or Commissioner, may use the report-
ing or data required for the postsecondary stu-
dent data system under this subsection to sat-
isfy both requirements. 
‘‘(C) DEVELOPMENT PROCESS.—In devel-
oping the postsecondary student data system 
described in this subsection, the Commissioner 
shall— 
‘‘(i) focus on the needs of— 
‘‘(I) users of the data system; 
and 
‘‘(II) entities, including postsec-
ondary institutions, reporting to the 
data system; 
‘‘(ii) take into consideration, to the 
extent practicable— 
‘‘(I) the guidelines outlined in the 
U.S. Web Design Standards main-
tained by the General Services Admin-
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istration and the Digital Services 
Playbook and TechFAR Handbook for 
Procuring 
Digital 
Services 
Using 
Agile Processes of the U.S. Digital 
Service; and 
‘‘(II) the relevant successor docu-
ments or recommendations of such 
guidelines; 
‘‘(iii) use modern, relevant privacy- 
and security-enhancing technology, and en-
hance and update the data system as nec-
essary to carry out the purpose of this sub-
section; 
‘‘(iv) ensure data privacy and security 
is consistent with any Federal law relating 
to privacy or data security, including— 
‘‘(I) the requirements of sub-
chapter II of chapter 35 of title 44, 
United States Code, specifying secu-
rity categorization under the Federal 
Information Processing Standards or 
any relevant successor of such stand-
ards; 
‘‘(II) security requirements that 
are consistent with the Federal agency 
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responsibilities in section 3554 of title 
44, United States Code, or any rel-
evant successor of such responsibil-
ities; and 
‘‘(III) 
security 
requirements, 
guidelines, and controls consistent 
with cybersecurity standards and best 
practices developed by the National 
Institute of Standards and Tech-
nology, including frameworks, con-
sistent with section 2(c) of the Na-
tional Institute of Standards and 
Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 272(c)), or 
any relevant successor of such frame-
works; 
‘‘(v) follow Federal data minimization 
practices to ensure only the minimum 
amount of data is collected to meet the 
system’s goals, in accordance with Federal 
data minimization standards and guide-
lines developed by the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology; and 
‘‘(vi) provide notice to students out-
lining the data included in the system and 
how the data are used. 
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‘‘(2) DATA ELEMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner, in 
consultation with the Postsecondary Student 
Data System Advisory Committee described in 
subparagraph (B), shall determine— 
‘‘(i) the data elements to be included 
in the postsecondary student data system, 
in accordance with subparagraphs (C) and 
(D); and 
‘‘(ii) how to include the data elements 
required under subparagraph (C), and any 
additional data elements selected under 
subparagraph (D), in the postsecondary 
student data system. 
‘‘(B) POSTSECONDARY
STUDENT
DATA 
SYSTEM ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 
‘‘(i) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Commis-
sioner shall establish a Postsecondary Stu-
dent Data System Advisory Committee (re-
ferred to in this subsection as the ‘Advi-
sory Committee’), whose members shall in-
clude— 
‘‘(I) the Chief Privacy Officer of 
the Department or an official of the 
Department delegated the duties of 
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overseeing data privacy at the Depart-
ment; 
‘‘(II) the Chief Security Officer 
of the Department or an official of 
the Department delegated the duties 
of overseeing data security at the De-
partment; 
‘‘(III) representatives of diverse 
postsecondary institutions, which shall 
include equal representation between 
2-year and 4-year institutions of high-
er education, and from public, non-
profit, and proprietary institutions of 
higher education, including minority 
serving institutions; 
‘‘(IV) representatives from State 
higher education agencies, entities, 
bodies, or boards; 
‘‘(V) representatives of postsec-
ondary students; 
‘‘(VI) representatives from rel-
evant Federal agencies; and 
‘‘(VII) other stakeholders (in-
cluding individuals with expertise in 
data privacy and security, consumer 
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protection, and postsecondary edu-
cation research). 
‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENTS.—The Commis-
sioner shall ensure that the Advisory Com-
mittee— 
‘‘(I) adheres to all requirements 
under the Federal Advisory Com-
mittee Act (5 U.S.C. App.); 
‘‘(II) establishes operating and 
meeting procedures and guidelines 
necessary to execute its advisory du-
ties; and 
‘‘(III) is provided with appro-
priate staffing and resources to exe-
cute its advisory duties. 
‘‘(C) REQUIRED
DATA
ELEMENTS.—The 
data elements in the postsecondary student 
data system shall include, at a minimum, the 
following: 
‘‘(i) Student-level data elements nec-
essary to calculate the information within 
the surveys designated by the Commis-
sioner as ‘student-related surveys’ in the 
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data 
System (IPEDS), as such surveys are in 
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effect on the day before the date of enact-
ment of the College Transparency Act, ex-
cept that in the case that collection of such 
elements would conflict with subparagraph 
(F), such elements in conflict with sub-
paragraph (F) shall be included in the ag-
gregate instead of at the student level. 
‘‘(ii) Student-level data elements nec-
essary to allow for reporting student en-
rollment, persistence, retention, transfer, 
and completion measures for all credential 
levels separately (including certificate, as-
sociate, baccalaureate, and advanced de-
gree levels), within and across postsec-
ondary institutions (including across all 
categories of institution level, control, and 
predominant degree awarded). The data 
elements shall allow for reporting about all 
such data disaggregated by the following 
categories: 
‘‘(I) Enrollment status as a first- 
time student, recent transfer student, 
or other non-first-time student. 
‘‘(II) 
Attendance 
intensity, 
whether full-time or part-time. 
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‘‘(III) Credential-seeking status, 
by credential level. 
‘‘(IV) Race or ethnicity. 
‘‘(V) Age intervals. 
‘‘(VI) Gender. 
‘‘(VII) Program of study (as ap-
plicable). 
‘‘(VIII) Military or veteran ben-
efit status (as determined based on 
receipt of veteran’s education benefits, 
as defined in section 480(c)). 
‘‘(IX) Status as a distance edu-
cation student, whether exclusively or 
partially enrolled in distance edu-
cation. 
‘‘(X) Federal Pell Grant and 
Federal loan recipient status, provided 
that the collection of such information 
complies with paragraph (1)(B). 
‘‘(D) OTHER DATA ELEMENTS.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner 
may, after consultation with the Advisory 
Committee and provision of a public com-
ment period, include additional data ele-
ments in the postsecondary student data 
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system, such as those described in clause 
(ii), if those data elements— 
‘‘(I) are necessary to ensure that 
the postsecondary data system fulfills 
the purposes described in paragraph 
(1)(A); and 
‘‘(II) are consistent with data 
minimization principles, including the 
collection of only those additional ele-
ments that are necessary to ensure 
such purposes. 
‘‘(ii) DATA ELEMENTS.—The data ele-
ments described in clause (i) may in-
clude— 
‘‘(I) status as a first generation 
college student, as defined in section 
402A(h); 
‘‘(II) economic status; 
‘‘(III) participation in postsec-
ondary remedial coursework or gate-
way course completion; or 
‘‘(IV) other data elements that 
are necessary in accordance with 
clause (i). 
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‘‘(E) REEVALUATION.—Not less than once 
every 3 years after the implementation of the 
postsecondary student data system described in 
this subsection, the Commissioner, in consulta-
tion with the Advisory Committee described in 
subparagraph (B), shall review the data ele-
ments included in the postsecondary student 
data system and may revise the data elements 
to be included in such system. 
‘‘(F) PROHIBITIONS.—The Commissioner 
shall not include individual health data (includ-
ing data relating to physical health or mental 
health), student discipline records or data, ele-
mentary and secondary education data, an 
exact address, citizenship status, migrant sta-
tus, or national origin status for students or 
their families, course grades, postsecondary en-
trance examination results, political affiliation, 
or religion in the postsecondary student data 
system under this subsection. 
‘‘(3) PERIODIC MATCHING WITH OTHER FED-
ERAL DATA SYSTEMS.— 
‘‘(A) DATA SHARING AGREEMENTS.— 
‘‘(i) The Commissioner shall ensure 
secure, periodic data matches by entering 
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into data sharing agreements with each of 
the following Federal agencies and offices: 
‘‘(I) The Secretary of the Treas-
ury and the Commissioner of the In-
ternal Revenue Service, in order to 
calculate aggregate program- and in-
stitution-level earnings of postsec-
ondary students. 
‘‘(II) The Secretary of Defense, 
in order to assess the use of postsec-
ondary educational benefits and the 
outcomes of servicemembers. 
‘‘(III) The Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs, in order to assess the use of 
postsecondary 
educational 
benefits 
and outcomes of veterans. 
‘‘(IV) The Director of the Census 
Bureau, in order to assess the occupa-
tional and earnings outcomes of 
former postsecondary education stu-
dents. 
‘‘(V) The Chief Operating Officer 
of the Office of Federal Student Aid, 
in order to analyze the use of postsec-
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ondary educational benefits provided 
under this Act. 
‘‘(ii) The heads of Federal agencies 
and offices described under clause (i) shall 
enter into data sharing agreements with 
the Commissioner to ensure secure, peri-
odic data matches as described in this 
paragraph. 
‘‘(B) CATEGORIES
OF
DATA.—The Com-
missioner shall, at a minimum, seek to ensure 
that the secure periodic data system matches 
described in subparagraph (A) permit con-
sistent reporting of the following categories of 
data for all postsecondary students: 
‘‘(i) Enrollment, retention, transfer, 
and completion outcomes for all postsec-
ondary students. 
‘‘(ii) Financial indicators for postsec-
ondary students receiving Federal grants 
and loans, including grant and loan aid by 
source, cumulative student debt, loan re-
payment status, and repayment plan. 
‘‘(iii) Post-completion outcomes for all 
postsecondary students, including earnings, 
employment, and further education, by 
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program of study and credential level and 
as measured— 
‘‘(I) immediately after leaving 
postsecondary education; and 
‘‘(II) at time intervals appro-
priate to the credential sought and 
earned. 
‘‘(C) PERIODIC
DATA
MATCH
STREAM-
LINING AND CONFIDENTIALITY.— 
‘‘(i) STREAMLINING.—In creating the 
secure periodic data system matches de-
scribed in this paragraph, the Commis-
sioner shall— 
‘‘(I) ensure that such matches 
are not continuous, but occur at ap-
propriate intervals, as determined by 
the Commissioner; and 
‘‘(II) seek to— 
‘‘(aa) streamline the data 
collection and reporting require-
ments for postsecondary institu-
tions; 
‘‘(bb) minimize duplicative 
reporting across or within Fed-
eral agencies or departments, in-
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