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. 
‘‘(2) DATA ELEMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner, in 
consultation with the Postsecondary Student 
Data System Advisory Committee established 
under 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 
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‘‘(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 
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 
institutions of higher education, which 
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shall include equal representation be-
tween 2-year and 4-year institutions 
of higher education, and from public, 
nonprofit, and proprietary institutions 
of higher education, including minor-
ity-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 
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.); 
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‘‘(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 
effect on the day before the date of enact-
ment of the College Affordability 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. 
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‘‘(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 institutions 
of higher education (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. 
‘‘(III) Credential-seeking status, 
by credential level. 
‘‘(IV) Race or ethnicity (in ac-
cordance with section 153(a)(3)(B) of 
the Education Sciences Reform Act 
(20 U.S.C. 9543(a)(3)(B))). 
‘‘(V) Age intervals. 
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‘‘(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 
system, such as those described in clause 
(ii), if those data elements— 
‘‘(I) are necessary to ensure that 
the postsecondary data system fulfills 
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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). 
‘‘(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 
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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 
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 
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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 Bu-
reau of the Census, in order to assess 
the occupational and earnings out-
comes of former postsecondary edu-
cation students. 
‘‘(V) The Chief Operating Officer 
of the Office of Federal Student Aid, 
in order to analyze the use of postsec-
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-
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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 
program of study and credential level and 
as measured— 
‘‘(I) immediately after leaving 
postsecondary education; and 
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‘‘(II) at time intervals appro-
priate to the credential sought and 
earned. 
‘‘(C) PERIODIC
DATA
MATCH
STREAM-
LINING AND CONFIDENTIALITY.— 
‘‘(i) STREAMLINING.—In carrying out 
the secure periodic data system matches 
under this paragraph, the Commissioner 
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 institutions of higher 
education; 
‘‘(bb) minimize duplicative 
reporting across or within Fed-
eral agencies or departments, in-
cluding reporting requirements 
applicable to institutions of high-
er education under the Workforce 
Innovation and Opportunity Act 
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(29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) and the 
Carl D. Perkins Career and 
Technical Education Act of 2006; 
‘‘(cc) protect student pri-
vacy; and 
‘‘(dd) streamline the applica-
tion process for student loan ben-
efit programs available to bor-
rowers based on data available 
from different Federal data sys-
tems. 
‘‘(ii) REVIEW.—Not less often than 
once every 3 years after the establishment 
of the postsecondary student data system 
under this subsection, the Commissioner, 
in consultation with the Advisory Com-
mittee, shall review methods for stream-
lining data collection from institutions of 
higher education and minimizing duplica-
tive reporting within the Department and 
across Federal agencies that provide data 
for the postsecondary student data system. 
‘‘(iii) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The Com-
missioner shall ensure that any periodic 
matching or sharing of data through peri-
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odic data system matches established in 
accordance with this paragraph— 
‘‘(I) complies with the security 
and privacy protections described in 
paragraph (1)(C)(iv) and other Fed-
eral data protection protocols; 
‘‘(II) follows industry best prac-
tices commensurate with the sensi-
tivity of specific data elements or 
metrics; 
‘‘(III) does not result in the cre-
ation of a single standing, linked Fed-
eral database at the Department that 
maintains the information reported 
across other Federal agencies; and 
‘‘(IV) discloses to postsecondary 
students what data are included in the 
data system and periodically matched 
and how the data are used. 
‘‘(iv) 
CORRECTION.—The 
Commis-
sioner, in consultation with the Advisory 
Committee, shall establish a process for 
students to request access to only their 
personal information for inspection and re-
quest corrections to inaccuracies in a man-
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ner that protects the student’s personally 
identifiable information. The Commissioner 
shall respond in writing to every request 
for a correction from a student. 
‘‘(4) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Commissioner 
shall make the summary aggregate information 
described in subparagraph (C), at a minimum, 
publicly available through a user-friendly con-
sumer information website and analytic tool 
that— 
‘‘(i) provides appropriate mechanisms 
for users to customize and filter informa-
tion by institutional and student character-
istics; 
‘‘(ii) allows users to build summary 
aggregate reports of information, including 
reports that allow comparisons across mul-
tiple institutions and programs, subject to 
subparagraph (B); 
‘‘(iii) uses appropriate statistical dis-
closure limitation techniques necessary to 
ensure that the data released to the public 
cannot be used to identify specific individ-
uals; and 
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‘‘(iv) provides users with appropriate 
contextual factors to make comparisons, 
which may include national median figures 
of the summary aggregate information de-
scribed in subparagraph (C). 
‘‘(B) NO PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE IN-
FORMATION AVAILABLE.—The summary aggre-
gate information described in this paragraph 
shall not include personally identifiable informa-
tion. 
‘‘(C) SUMMARY AGGREGATE INFORMATION 
AVAILABLE.—The summary aggregate informa-
tion described in this paragraph shall, at a min-
imum, include each of the following for each in-
stitution of higher education: 
‘‘(i) Measures of student access, in-
cluding— 
‘‘(I) admissions selectivity and 
yield; and 
‘‘(II) enrollment, disaggregated 
by each category described in para-
graph (2)(C)(ii). 
‘‘(ii) Measures of student progression, 
including retention rates and persistence 
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rates, disaggregated by each category de-
scribed in paragraph (2)(C)(ii). 
‘‘(iii) Measures of student completion, 
including— 
‘‘(I) transfer rates and comple-
tion rates, disaggregated by each cat-
egory 
described 
in 
paragraph 
(2)(C)(ii); and 
‘‘(II) number of completions, 
disaggregated by each category de-
scribed in paragraph (2)(C)(ii). 
‘‘(iv) Measures of student costs, in-
cluding— 
‘‘(I) tuition, required fees, total 
cost of attendance, and net price after 
total grant aid, disaggregated by in- 
State tuition or in-district tuition sta-
tus (if applicable), program of study 
(if applicable), and credential level; 
and 
‘‘(II) typical grant amounts and 
loan amounts received by students re-
ported separately from Federal, State, 
local, and institutional sources, and 
cumulative debt, disaggregated by 
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each category described in paragraph 
(2)(C)(ii) and completion status. 
‘‘(v) Measures of postcollegiate stu-
dent 
outcomes, 
including 
employment 
rates, mean and median earnings, loan re-
payment and default rates, and further 
education rates. These measures shall— 
‘‘(I) be disaggregated by each 
category 
described 
in 
paragraph 
(2)(C)(ii) and completion status; and 
‘‘(II) be measured immediately 
after leaving postsecondary education 
and at time intervals appropriate to 
the credential sought or earned. 
‘‘(D) DEVELOPMENT CRITERIA.—In devel-
oping the method and format of making the in-
formation described in this paragraph publicly 
available, the Commissioner shall— 
‘‘(i) focus on the needs of the users of 
the information, which will include stu-
dents, families of students, potential stu-
dents, researchers, and other consumers of 
education data; 
‘‘(ii) take into consideration, to the 
extent practicable, the guidelines described 
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in paragraph (1)(C)(ii)(I), and relevant 
successor documents or recommendations 
of such guidelines; 
‘‘(iii) use modern, relevant technology 
and enhance and update the postsecondary 
student data system with information, as 
necessary to carry out the purpose of this 
paragraph; 
‘‘(iv) ensure data privacy and security 
in accordance with standards and guide-
lines developed by the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology, and in accord-
ance with any other Federal law relating to 
privacy or security, including complying 
with the requirements of subchapter II of 
chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code, 
specifying security categorization under the 
Federal Information Processing Standards, 
and security requirements, and setting of 
National Institute of Standards and Tech-
nology security baseline controls at the ap-
propriate level; and 
‘‘(v) conduct consumer testing to de-
termine how to make the information as 
meaningful to users as possible. 
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‘‘(5) PERMISSIBLE DISCLOSURES OF DATA.— 
‘‘(A) DATA REPORTS AND QUERIES.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner 
shall develop and implement a secure proc-
ess for making student-level, non-person-
ally identifiable information, with direct 
identifiers removed, from the postsec-
ondary student data system available for 
vetted research and evaluation purposes 
approved by the Commissioner in a man-
ner compatible with practices for disclosing 
National Center for Education Statistics 
restricted-use survey data as in effect on 
the day before the date of enactment of the 
College Affordability Act, or by applying 
other research and disclosure restrictions 
to ensure data privacy and security. Such 
process shall be approved by the National 
Center for Education Statistics’ Disclosure 
Review Board (or successor body). 
‘‘(ii) PROVIDING DATA REPORTS AND 
QUERIES TO INSTITUTIONS AND STATES.— 
‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Commis-
sioner shall provide feedback reports, 
at least annually, to each institution 
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‘‘(8) DATA SECURITY.—The Commissioner shall 
produce and update as needed guidance and regula-
tions relating to privacy, security, and access which 
shall govern the use and disclosure of data collected 
in connection with the activities authorized in this 
subsection. The guidance and regulations developed 
and reviewed shall protect data from unauthorized 
access, use, and disclosure, and shall include— 
‘‘(A) an audit capability, including manda-
tory and regularly conducted audits; 
‘‘(B) access controls; 
‘‘(C) requirements to ensure sufficient data 
security, quality, validity, and reliability; 
‘‘(D) student confidentiality protection in 
accordance with the Confidential Information 
Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act; 
‘‘(E) appropriate and applicable privacy 
and security protection, including data retention 
and destruction protocols and data minimiza-
tion, in accordance with the most recent Fed-
eral standards developed by the National Insti-
tute of Standards and Technology; and 
‘‘(F) protocols for managing a breach, in-
cluding breach notifications, in accordance with 
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