I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7880 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require that institutions 
of higher education maintain certain adjusted cohort default rates to 
participate in programs under title IV of such Act, and for other pur-
poses. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 5, 2024 
Ms. PORTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require 
that institutions of higher education maintain certain 
adjusted cohort default rates to participate in programs 
under title IV of such Act, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Accountability in Stu-
dent Loan Data Act of 2024’’. 
SEC. 2. PROGRESS PERIOD STATUS. 
Section 103 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1003) is amended— 
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(1) by redesignating paragraphs (14) through 
(24) as paragraphs (15) through (25), respectively; 
and 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (13) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(14) PROGRESS PERIOD STATUS.—The term 
‘progress period status’ means the status of an insti-
tution of higher education that is determined by the 
Secretary to be in danger of failing to meet title IV 
eligibility criteria relating to student debt because 
the institution has an adjusted cohort default rate of 
not less than 10 percent and not more than 15 per-
cent.’’. 
SEC. 3. CONSUMER INFORMATION. 
Section 132 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1015a) is amended in subsection (i)(1)(T), by 
striking ‘‘rate,’’ and inserting ‘‘rate and adjusted cohort 
default rate,’’. 
SEC. 4. FEDERAL PELL GRANTS. 
(a) AMENDMENT.—Section 401(j) of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a(j)), as amended 
by section 703 of the FAFSA Simplification Act (title VII 
of division FF of Public Law 116–260), is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting before the pe-
riod the following: ‘‘, or if such institution of higher 
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education is subject to an ineligibility determination 
under section 435(a)(9)’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘, final ad-
justed cohort default rate, or on-time repayment 
rate,’’ before ‘‘determination’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
paragraph (1) shall take effect as if included in section 
703 of the FAFSA Simplification Act (title VII of division 
FF of Public Law 116–260) and subject to the effective 
date of section 701(b) of such Act, as amended by section 
102(a) of the FAFSA Simplification Act Technical Cor-
rections Act (division R of Public Law 117–103) (includ-
ing the authorization provided under section 102(c)(1)(A) 
of such Act). 
SEC. 5. DISBURSEMENT OF STUDENT LOANS. 
Section 428G of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1078–7(a)) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(5) ADJUSTED COHORT DEFAULT RATE.—Be-
ginning on the date on which the final adjusted co-
hort default rates are published by the Secretary for 
not less than 3 fiscal years under section 435(m), an 
institution whose adjusted cohort default rate (as de-
termined under section 435(m)) for each of the 3 
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most recent fiscal years for which data are available 
is less than 5 percent may disburse any loan made, 
insured, or guaranteed under this part in a single in-
stallment for any period of enrollment that is not 
more than 1 semester, 1 trimester, 1 quarter, or 4 
months.’’; and 
(2) in subsection (e), by inserting before the pe-
riod the following: ‘‘or, beginning on the date on 
which the final adjusted cohort default rates are 
published by the Secretary for fiscal year 2023 
under section 435(m), an adjusted cohort default 
rate (as determined under section 435(m)) of less 
than 2 percent’’. 
SEC. 6. COHORT DEFAULT RATES. 
(a) INELIGIBILITY
BASED
ON
HIGH
DEFAULT 
RATES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 435(a) of the High-
er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1085(a)) is 
amended— 
(A) in paragraph (7)(A), by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘(iii) 
DEFAULT
MANAGEMENT 
PLAN.—The default management plan re-
quired under clause (i) may not include 
placing students in forbearance as a means 
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of reducing the cohort default rate or the 
adjusted cohort default rate of the institu-
tion.’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(9) INELIGIBILITY BASED ON HIGH ADJUSTED 
COHORT DEFAULT RATES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraphs (B) and (D), beginning on the 
date that is one year after the date on which 
the final adjusted cohort default rates are pub-
lished by the Secretary for not less than 3 fiscal 
years, in a case in which one of the following 
determinations is made with respect to an insti-
tution, such institution shall be ineligible to 
participate in a program under this title for the 
fiscal year for which the determination is made 
and for the two succeeding fiscal years: 
‘‘(i) The institution’s adjusted cohort 
default rate is greater than 20 percent for 
each of the three most recent fiscal years 
for which the final adjusted cohort default 
rates are published. 
‘‘(ii) With respect to the six most re-
cent fiscal years for which the final ad-
justed cohort default rates are published— 
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respect to an institution that loses eligibility to 
participate in a program under this title in ac-
cordance with subparagraph (A)(ii), such insti-
tution may request and be granted an exception 
to such loss of eligibility for a category of edu-
cational programs at such institution by dem-
onstrating to the Secretary that the adjusted 
cohort default rate for the category of edu-
cational programs is 15 percent or less for each 
fiscal year of the 6-year period on which such 
loss of eligibility for the institution is based. 
‘‘(C) DETERMINATION OF THE ADJUSTED 
COHORT
RATE
FOR
A
CATEGORY
OF
EDU-
CATIONAL PROGRAMS.—In determining the ad-
justed cohort default rate for a category of edu-
cational programs for purposes of this para-
graph— 
‘‘(i) subsection (m) shall be applied— 
‘‘(I) in paragraph (1)— 
‘‘(aa) in subparagraph (A), 
by substituting ‘received for en-
rollment in the category of edu-
cational programs for which such 
rate is being determined’ for ‘re-
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ceived for attendance at the insti-
tution’; and 
‘‘(bb) 
in 
subparagraph 
(E)(i)(II), by substituting, ‘per-
centage of students enrolled in 
the category of educational pro-
grams for which such rate is 
being determined’ for ‘percentage 
of students enrolled at the insti-
tution’; and 
‘‘(II) as if the following were 
added at the end of paragraph (2): 
‘‘ ‘(E) In the case of a student who has re-
ceived a loan for enrollment in more than one 
category of educational programs, the student 
(and such student’s subsequent repayment or 
default) is attributed to the last category of 
educational programs in which such student 
was enrolled.’. 
‘‘(D) TRANSITION EXCEPTION.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A covered institu-
tion with an adjusted cohort default rate 
that is greater than 20 percent for the 
first fiscal year for which such rates are 
published by the Secretary may request 
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that any determination of such covered in-
stitution’s ineligibility under subparagraph 
(A) not be based on the adjusted cohort 
default rate of such covered institution for 
any or all of the first 3 fiscal years for 
which such rates are published by the Sec-
retary. 
‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENT.—To be granted 
a request under clause (i), a covered insti-
tution shall submit to the Secretary a de-
fault management plan as specified in 
paragraph (7). 
‘‘(iii) DEFINITION OF COVERED INSTI-
TUTION.—In this subparagraph, the term 
‘covered institution’ means— 
‘‘(I) a public institution of higher 
education; 
‘‘(II) a part B institution (as de-
fined in section 322); or 
‘‘(III) a private, nonprofit insti-
tution of higher education at which 
not less than 45 percent of the total 
student enrollment consists of low-in-
come students (as such term is de-
fined in section 419N(b)(7)). 
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‘‘(E) CATEGORY
OF
EDUCATIONAL
PRO-
GRAMS DEFINED.—The term ‘category of edu-
cational programs’, when used with respect to 
an institution, means one of the following: 
‘‘(i) The educational programs at the 
institution leading to an undergraduate, 
non-degree credential. 
‘‘(ii) The educational programs at the 
institution leading to an associate’s degree. 
‘‘(iii) The educational programs at the 
institution leading to a bachelor’s degree. 
‘‘(iv) The educational programs at the 
institution leading to a graduate, non-de-
gree credential. 
‘‘(v) The educational program at the 
institution leading to a graduate degree. 
‘‘(10) APPLICATION OF ADJUSTED COHORT DE-
FAULT RATE.—Beginning on the date on which the 
final adjusted cohort default rates are published by 
the Secretary for not less than 3 fiscal years— 
‘‘(A) paragraph (1) shall be applied by 
substituting ‘paragraph (9)’ for ‘paragraph (2)’; 
‘‘(B) paragraph (3) shall be applied by 
substituting ‘adjusted cohort default rate, cal-
culated 
in 
accordance 
with 
subsection 
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(m)(1)(D), is greater than 20 percent for any 
3 consecutive fiscal years’ for ‘cohort default 
rate, calculated in accordance with subsection 
(m), is equal to or greater than the threshold 
percentage specified in paragraph (2)(B)(iv) for 
any two consecutive fiscal years’; 
‘‘(C) paragraph (4) shall be applied— 
‘‘(i) in subparagraph (C), by sub-
stituting ‘adjusted cohort default rate is 
greater than 15 percent’ for ‘cohort default 
rate equals or exceeds 20 percent’; and 
‘‘(ii) in the matter following subpara-
graph (C), by substituting ‘adjusted cohort 
default rate to reflect the percentage of de-
faulted loans in the representative sample 
that are required to be excluded pursuant 
to subsection (m)(1)(B)’ for ‘cohort default 
rate to reflect the percentage of defaulted 
loans in the representative sample that are 
required to be excluded pursuant to sub-
section (m)(1)(B)’; 
‘‘(D) paragraph (5)(A) shall be applied by 
substituting ‘paragraph (9)’ for ‘paragraph (2)’; 
and 
‘‘(E) paragraph (7) shall be applied— 
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‘‘(i) in subparagraph (A)(i)— 
‘‘(I) in the matter preceding sub-
clause (I), by substituting ‘adjusted 
cohort default rate is greater than 20 
percent’ for ‘cohort default rate is 
equal to or greater than the threshold 
percentage specified in paragraph 
(2)(B)(iv)’; and 
‘‘(II) in subclauses (I) and (II), 
by substituting ‘adjusted cohort de-
fault rate’ for ‘cohort default rate’; 
and 
‘‘(ii) in subparagraph (B)(i), by sub-
stituting ‘adjusted cohort default rate is 
greater than 20 percent’ for ‘cohort default 
rate is equal to or greater than the thresh-
old percentage specified in paragraph 
(2)(B)(iv)’.’’. 
(2) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENTS.—Section 
435(a)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1085(a)) is amended— 
(A) in the paragraph heading, by adding at 
the end the following: ‘‘BEFORE FISCAL YEAR 
2023’’; and 
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(B) in subparagraph (B)(iv), by striking 
‘‘and any succeeding fiscal year’’ and inserting 
‘‘through fiscal year 2022’’. 
(b) ADJUSTED COHORT DEFAULT RATE DEFINED.— 
Section 435(m)(1) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1085(m)(1)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(D)(i) With respect to a cohort default rate 
calculated for an institution under this paragraph 
for fiscal year 2023 and for each succeeding fiscal 
year, such cohort default rate shall be adjusted as 
follows: 
‘‘(I) In determining the number of current 
and former students at an institution who enter 
repayment for such fiscal year— 
‘‘(aa) any such student who is in non-
mandatory forbearance for such fiscal year 
for a period of greater than 18 months but 
less than 36 months shall not be counted 
as entering repayment for such fiscal year; 
‘‘(bb) such a student shall be counted 
as entering repayment for the first fiscal 
year for which the student ceases to be in 
a period of forbearance and otherwise 
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meets the requirements for being in repay-
ment; and 
‘‘(cc) any such student who is in a pe-
riod of forbearance for three or more years 
shall be counted as in default and included 
in the institution’s total number of stu-
dents in default. 
‘‘(II) Such rate shall be multiplied by the 
percentage of students enrolled at the institu-
tion for such fiscal year who are borrowing a 
loan under part D of this title. 
‘‘(ii) The result obtained under this subpara-
graph for an institution shall be referred to in this 
Act as the ‘adjusted cohort default rate’.’’. 
(c) PUBLICATION OF ADJUSTED COHORT DEFAULT 
RATE.—Section 435(m) of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1085(m)) is further amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘(5) Beginning on the date on which the final 
adjusted cohort default rates for fiscal year 2023 are 
made available for publication by the Secretary, 
paragraph (4) shall be applied by substituting ‘ad-
justed cohort default’ for ‘cohort default’ each place 
it appears.’’. 
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SEC. 7. ADJUSTED COHORT DEFAULT RATE. 
Section 487(a)(14) of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(D) Beginning on the date on which the 
final adjusted cohort default rates are published 
by the Secretary for fiscal year 2023 under sec-
tion 435(m), subparagraph (C) shall be applied 
by substituting ‘adjusted cohort default rate in 
excess of 5 percent’ for ‘cohort default rate in 
excess of 10 percent’ each place it appears.’’. 
SEC. 8. PROGRAM REVIEW AND DATA. 
Section 498A of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1099c–1) is amended in subsection (a)(2), by 
striking subparagraph (A) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(A) institutions with an adjusted cohort 
default rate for loans under part D of this title 
in excess of 18 percent or which places such in-
stitutions in the highest 25 percent of such in-
stitutions;’’. 
SEC. 9. ASSISTANCE TO PROGRESS PERIOD INSTITUTIONS. 
Part H of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099a et seq.) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
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‘‘SEC. 498C. ASSISTANCE TO PROGRESS PERIOD INSTITU-
TIONS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 
grants and technical assistance to covered progress period 
institutions in accordance with this section. 
‘‘(b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Grants and assist-
ance provided under this section shall be used to improve 
student 
achievement 
(as 
described 
in 
section 
496(a)(5)(A)) at covered progress period institutions. 
‘‘(c) DURATION.—Grants and assistance may be pro-
vided under this section for a period of not less than one 
year and not more than three years. 
‘‘(d) CONDITIONS.— 
‘‘(1) BENCHMARKS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To continue to receive 
support under this section after the first year in 
which such support is provided, an institution 
must show progress, as determined by the Sec-
retary, toward meeting the standards for stu-
dent achievement established by the relevant ac-
crediting agency or association pursuant to sec-
tion 496(a)(5)(A). 
‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining 
the progress of an institution under subpara-
graph (A), the Secretary may take into consid-
eration extenuating circumstances that may 
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have contributed to the poor performance of the 
institution in the first year of the review period. 
‘‘(2) DEADLINE FOR COMPLIANCE.—An institu-
tion that does not achieve an adjusted cohort default 
rate of less than 10 percent after receiving support 
under this section for three consecutive years shall 
be ineligible to receive further support under this 
section. 
‘‘(3) PROHIBITION.—An institution shall be in-
eligible to receive further support under this section 
if, while the institution was receiving such support, 
the total enrollment of low-income students (as such 
term is defined in section 419N(b)(7)) at the institu-
tion decreased by 10 percent or more. 
‘‘(e) COVERED PROGRESS PERIOD INSTITUTION.—In 
this section, the term ‘covered progress period institution’ 
means— 
‘‘(1) a public institution of higher education 
that is determined to be in progress period status; 
‘‘(2) a part B institution (as defined in section 
322) that is determined to be in progress period sta-
tus; or 
‘‘(3) a private, nonprofit institution of higher 
education— 
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‘‘(A) that is determined to be in progress 
period status; and 
‘‘(B) at which not less than 45 percent of 
the total student enrollment consists of low-in-
come students (as such term is defined in sec-
tion 419N(b)(7)). 
‘‘(f) FUNDING.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—There are appropriated 
such funds as the Secretary, using the formula de-
scribed in paragraph (2), determines necessary to 
meet the needs of all eligible institutions under this 
subsection. 
‘‘(2) FORMULA.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of the enactment of this section, the Sec-
retary shall establish through negotiated rulemaking 
a formula to determine the— 
‘‘(A) proportional amount of institutional 
need under this section; and 
‘‘(B) total amount of institutional need 
under this section. 
‘‘(3) SPECIAL
RULE.—Such formula must at 
minimum take into consideration the severity of the 
problem, size of the institution, institutional re-
sources, historical underfunding, and the number of 
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low-income students (as such term is defined in sec-
tion 419N(b)(7)) being served.’’. 
Æ 
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