I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1915 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make technical improvements 
to the Net Price Calculator system so that prospective students may 
have a more accurate understanding of the true cost of college. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 27, 2019 
Mr. CUMMINGS (for himself and Mr. GUTHRIE) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make tech-
nical improvements to the Net Price Calculator system 
so that prospective students may have a more accurate 
understanding of the true cost of college. 
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 ‘‘Net Price Calculator 
Improvement Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR NET PRICE CALCULA-
TORS. 
Section 132(h) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1015a(h)) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para-
graph (6); 
(2) in paragraph (2), by inserting before the pe-
riod ‘‘, and, not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of the Net Price Calculator Improvement 
Act, shall meet the requirements of paragraph 
(4)(C)’’; 
(3) in paragraph (3), by inserting after the first 
sentence the following: ‘‘Not later than 1 year after 
the date of enactment of the Net Price Calculator 
Improvement Act, such calculator shall meet the re-
quirements of paragraph (4).’’; and 
(4) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(4) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR NET PRICE 
CALCULATORS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of the Net Price Calculator Improve-
ment Act, a net price calculator for an institution of 
higher education shall, at a minimum, meet the fol-
lowing requirements: 
‘‘(A) The link for the calculator— 
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‘‘(i) is clearly labeled as a ‘net price 
calculator’ and prominently, clearly, and 
conspicuously (in such size and contrast 
(such as shade) that it is readily noticeable 
and readable) posted in locations on the in-
stitution’s website where information on 
costs and aid is provided (such as financial 
aid, prospective students, or tuition and 
fees web pages); 
‘‘(ii) matches in size and font to the 
other prominent links on the primary 
menu; and 
‘‘(iii) may also be included on the in-
stitution’s compliance web page, which 
contains information relating to compliance 
with Federal, State, and local laws. 
‘‘(B) The input screen for the net price 
calculator displays a chart of the net prices for 
students receiving Federal student financial aid 
under title IV (as required by subsection (i)(5)) 
for the most recent academic year for which 
data are available, disaggregated by income cat-
egories. 
‘‘(C) The results screen for the calculator 
specifies the following information: 
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full-time undergraduate student en-
rolled in the institution; 
‘‘(VI) estimated annual cost of 
other expenses (including personal ex-
penses and transportation) for a first- 
time, full-time undergraduate student 
enrolled in the institution; and 
‘‘(VII) a statement of— 
‘‘(aa) the year for which 
each cost described in this clause 
applies; and 
‘‘(bb) the year from which 
the data was used to determine 
each cost described in this clause. 
‘‘(iii) 
Estimated 
total 
need-based 
grant aid and merit-based grant aid, from 
Federal, State, and institutional sources, 
that may be available to the individual stu-
dent, showing the subtotal for each cat-
egory and the total of all sources of grant 
aid, and disaggregated by academic year 
for normal time for completion of, or grad-
uation from, the student’s particular pro-
gram of study. 
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‘‘(iv) Percentage of the first-time, full- 
time undergraduate students enrolled in 
the institution that received any type of 
grant 
aid 
described 
in 
clause 
(iii), 
disaggregated by their first year and sub-
sequent years of enrollment up to the num-
ber of years for normal completion of, or 
graduation from, their particular program 
of study. 
‘‘(v) The disclaimer described in para-
graph (6). 
‘‘(vi) In the case of a calculator 
that— 
‘‘(I) includes questions to esti-
mate a student’s (or prospective stu-
dent’s) eligibility for veterans’ edu-
cation benefits (as defined in section 
480) or educational benefits for active 
duty service members, such benefits 
are displayed on the results screen in 
a manner that clearly distinguishes 
them from the grant aid described in 
clause (iii); or 
‘‘(II) does not include questions 
to estimate eligibility for the benefits 
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described in subclause (I), the results 
screen indicates— 
‘‘(aa) that certain students 
(or prospective students) may 
qualify for such benefits; 
‘‘(bb) states why the institu-
tion is not including questions to 
estimate a student’s eligibility for 
such benefits; and 
‘‘(cc) includes a link to an 
appropriate Federal website that 
provides information about such 
benefits. 
‘‘(D) The institution populates the calcu-
lator with data from not earlier than 2 aca-
demic years prior to the most recent academic 
year. 
‘‘(5) PROHIBITION
ON
USE
OF
DATA
COL-
LECTED BY THE NET PRICE CALCULATOR.—A net 
price calculator for an institution of higher edu-
cation shall— 
‘‘(A) clearly indicate which questions are 
required to be completed for an estimate of the 
net price from the calculator; 
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‘‘(B) in the case of a calculator that re-
quests contact information from users, clearly 
mark such requests as ‘optional’; 
‘‘(C) prohibit any personally identifiable in-
formation provided by users from being sold or 
made available to third parties; and 
‘‘(D) clearly state ‘Any information that 
you provide on this site is confidential. The Net 
Price Calculator does not store your responses 
or require personal identifying information of 
any kind.’.’’. 
SEC. 3. UNIVERSAL NET PRICE CALCULATOR. 
Section 132(h) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1015a(h)), as amended by section 2, is further 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(7) UNIVERSAL NET PRICE CALCULATOR.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may 
develop a universal net price calculator that is 
housed within the Department of Education, 
with Department branding, and that may be 
based on or utilize an existing platform devel-
oped by a public or private entity, that— 
‘‘(i) enables users to answer one set of 
questions and receive net prices for any in-
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stitution that is required to have a net 
price calculator under this subsection; 
‘‘(ii) provides the information required 
under subparagraphs (C) and (D) of para-
graph (4) for each institution for which a 
net price is being sought; 
‘‘(iii) is developed in consultation with 
the heads of relevant Federal agencies; and 
‘‘(iv) before being finalized and pub-
licly released, is tested in accordance with 
subparagraph (B). 
‘‘(B) CONSUMER TESTING.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—If the Secretary 
develops a universal net price calculator 
under subparagraph (A), the Secretary, in 
consultation with the heads of relevant 
Federal agencies, shall establish a process 
to submit the universal net price calculator 
developed under this paragraph for con-
sumer testing among representatives of 
students (including low-income students, 
first generation college students, adult stu-
dents, and prospective students), students’ 
families (including low-income families, 
families with first generation college stu-
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dents, and families with prospective stu-
dents), institutions of higher education, 
secondary school and postsecondary coun-
selors, and nonprofit consumer groups. 
‘‘(ii) LENGTH
OF
CONSUMER
TEST-
ING.—The Secretary shall ensure that the 
consumer testing lasts no longer than 6 
months after the process for consumer 
testing is developed under clause (i). 
‘‘(iii) USE OF RESULTS.—The results 
of consumer testing under clause (i) shall 
be used in the final development of the 
universal net price calculator. 
‘‘(iv) REPORTING
REQUIREMENT.— 
Not later than 3 months after the date the 
consumer testing under clause (i) con-
cludes, the Secretary shall submit to Con-
gress the final universal net price calcu-
lator and a report detailing the results of 
such testing, including whether the Sec-
retary added any additional items to the 
calculator as a result of such testing. 
‘‘(v) AUTHORITY
TO
MODIFY.—The 
Secretary may modify the definitions, 
terms, formatting, and design of the uni-
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versal net price calculator based on the re-
sults of consumer testing required under 
this paragraph and before finalizing the 
calculator. 
‘‘(8) REPORT
FROM
SECRETARY.—Not later 
than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Net 
Price Calculator Improvement Act, the Secretary 
shall submit a report to Congress on steps taken to 
raise awareness of net price calculators among pro-
spective students and families, particularly among 
students in middle school and high school and stu-
dents from low-income families.’’. 
Æ 
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