Improving Transparency of Education Opportunities for Veterans Act of 2012
PL 112-249 (H.R.4057), enacted 01/10/2013

126 STAT. 2398 
PUBLIC LAW 112–249—JAN. 10, 2013 
Public Law 112–249 
112th Congress 
An Act 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
to develop a comprehensive policy to improve outreach and transparency to vet-
erans and members of the Armed Forces through the provision of information 
on institutions of higher learning, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. COMPREHENSIVE POLICY ON PROVIDING EDUCATION 
INFORMATION TO VETERANS. 
(a) COMPREHENSIVE POLICY REQUIRED.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 36 of title 38, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section: 
‘‘§ 3698. Comprehensive policy on providing education 
information to veterans 
‘‘(a) COMPREHENSIVE POLICY REQUIRED.—The Secretary shall 
develop a comprehensive policy to improve outreach and trans-
parency to veterans and members of the Armed Forces through 
the provision of information on institutions of higher learning. 
‘‘(b) SCOPE.—In developing the policy required by subsection 
(a), the Secretary shall include each of the following elements: 
‘‘(1) Effective and efficient methods to inform individuals 
of the educational and vocational counseling provided under 
section 3697A of this title. 
‘‘(2) A centralized mechanism for tracking and publishing 
feedback from students and State approving agencies regarding 
the quality of instruction, recruiting practices, and post-gradua-
tion employment placement of institutions of higher learning 
that— 
‘‘(A) allows institutions of higher learning to verify 
feedback and address issues regarding feedback before the 
feedback is published; 
‘‘(B) protects the privacy of students, including by not 
publishing the names of students; and 
‘‘(C) publishes only feedback that conforms with criteria 
for relevancy that the Secretary shall determine. 
‘‘(3) The merit of and the manner in which a State 
approving agency shares with an accrediting agency or associa-
tion recognized by the Secretary of Education under subpart 
2 of part H of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1099b) information regarding the State approving 
agency’s evaluation of an institution of higher learning. 
38 USC 3698. 
Jan. 10, 2013 
[H.R. 4057] 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
07:50 May 21, 2015
Jkt 019194
PO 00002
Frm 00988
Fmt 6580
Sfmt 6581
G:\GSDD\STATUTES\2012\PT2\19194PT2.001
19194PT2
126 STAT. 2399 
PUBLIC LAW 112–249—JAN. 10, 2013 
‘‘(4) Description of the information provided to individuals 
participating in the Transition Assistance Program under sec-
tion 1144 of title 10 relating to institutions of higher learning. 
‘‘(5) Effective and efficient methods to provide veterans 
and members of the Armed Forces with information regarding 
postsecondary education and training opportunities available 
to the veteran or member. 
‘‘(c) POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION INFORMATION.—(1) The Sec-
retary shall ensure that the information provided pursuant to sub-
section (b)(5) includes— 
‘‘(A) an explanation of the different types of accreditation 
available to educational institutions and programs of education; 
‘‘(B) a description of Federal student aid programs; and 
‘‘(C) for each institution of higher learning, for the most 
recent academic year for which information is available— 
‘‘(i) whether the institution is public, private nonprofit, 
or proprietary for-profit; 
‘‘(ii) the name of the national or regional accrediting 
agency that accredits the institution, including the contact 
information used by the agency to receive complaints from 
students; 
‘‘(iii) information on the State approving agency, 
including the contact information used by the agency to 
receive complaints from students; 
‘‘(iv) whether the institution participates in any pro-
grams under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.); 
‘‘(v) the tuition and fees; 
‘‘(vi) the median amount of debt from Federal student 
loans under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) held by individuals upon completion 
of programs of education at the institution of higher 
learning (as determined from information collected by the 
Secretary of Education); 
‘‘(vii) the cohort default rate, as defined in section 
435(m) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1085(m)), of the institution; 
‘‘(viii) the total enrollment, graduation rate, and reten-
tion rate, as determined from information collected by the 
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System of the 
Secretary of Education; 
‘‘(ix) whether the institution provides students with 
technical support, academic support, and other support 
services, including career counseling and job placement; 
and 
‘‘(x) the information regarding the institution’s policies 
related to transfer of credit from other institutions, as 
required under section 485(h)(1) of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092(h)(1)) and provided to the 
Secretary of Education under section 132(i)(1)(V)(iv) of such 
Act (20 U.S.C. 1015a(i)(1)(V)(iv)). 
‘‘(2) To the extent practicable, the Secretary shall provide the 
information described in paragraph (1) by including hyperlinks 
on the Internet website of the Department to other Internet 
websites that contain such information, including the Internet 
Web posting. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
07:50 May 21, 2015
Jkt 019194
PO 00002
Frm 00989
Fmt 6580
Sfmt 6581
G:\GSDD\STATUTES\2012\PT2\19194PT2.001
19194PT2
126 STAT. 2400 
PUBLIC LAW 112–249—JAN. 10, 2013 
website of the Department of Education, in a form that is com-
prehensive and easily understood by veterans, members of the 
Armed Forces, and other individuals. 
‘‘(3)(A) If the Secretary of Veterans Affairs requires, for pur-
poses of providing information pursuant to subsection (b)(5), 
information that has been reported, or information that is similar 
to information that has been reported, by an institution of higher 
learning to the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Defense, 
the Secretary of Labor, or the heads of other Federal agencies 
under a provision of law other than under this section, the Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs shall obtain the information the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs requires from the Secretary or head with the 
information rather than the institution of higher learning. 
‘‘(B) If the Secretary of Veterans Affairs requires, for purposes 
of providing information pursuant to subsection (b)(5), information 
from an institution of higher learning that has not been reported 
to another Federal agency, the Secretary shall, to the degree prac-
ticable, obtain such information through the Secretary of Education. 
‘‘(d) CONSISTENCY WITH EXISTING EDUCATION POLICY.—In car-
rying out this section, the Secretary shall ensure that— 
‘‘(1) the comprehensive policy is consistent with any 
requirements and initiatives resulting from Executive Order 
No. 13607; and 
‘‘(2) the efforts of the Secretary to implement the com-
prehensive policy do not duplicate the efforts being taken by 
any Federal agencies. 
‘‘(e) 
COMMUNICATION
WITH
INSTITUTIONS
OF
HIGHER 
LEARNING.—To the extent practicable, if the Secretary considers 
it necessary to communicate with an institution of higher learning 
to carry out the comprehensive policy required by subsection (a), 
the Secretary shall carry out such communication through the 
use of a communication system of the Department of Education. 
‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘institution of higher learning’ has the 
meaning given that term in section 3452(f) of this title. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘postsecondary education and training 
opportunities’ means any postsecondary program of education, 
including apprenticeships and on-job training, for which the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs provides assistance to a veteran 
or member of the Armed Forces.’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at the 
beginning of such chapter is amended by adding after the 
item relating to section 3697A the following new item: 
‘‘3698. Comprehensive policy on providing education information to veterans.’’. 
(b) SURVEY.—In developing the policy required by section 
3698(a) of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection 
(a), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall conduct a market survey 
to determine the availability of the following: 
(1) A commercially available off-the-shelf online tool that 
allows a veteran or member of the Armed Forces to assess 
whether the veteran or member is academically ready to engage 
in postsecondary education and training opportunities and 
whether the veteran or member would need any remedial 
preparation before beginning such opportunities. 
(2) A commercially available off-the-shelf online tool that 
provides a veteran or member of the Armed Forces with a 
38 USC 3698 
note. 
38 USC 
prec. 3670. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
08:19 Oct 22, 2018
Jkt 019194
PO 00002
Frm 00990
Fmt 6580
Sfmt 6581
G:\STATUTES\2012\19194PT2.001
19194PT2
126 STAT. 2401 
PUBLIC LAW 112–249—JAN. 10, 2013 
list of providers of postsecondary education and training 
opportunities based on criteria selected by the veteran or 
member. 
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit 
to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that includes— 
(1) a description of the policy developed by the Secretary 
under section 3698(a) of title 38, United States Code, as added 
by subsection (a); 
(2) a plan of the Secretary to implement such policy; and 
(3) the results of the survey conducted under subsection 
(b), including whether the Secretary plans to implement the 
tools described in such subsection. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) APPROPRIATE
COMMITTEES
OF
CONGRESS.—The term 
‘‘appropriate committees of Congress’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and the Com-
mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 
Senate; and 
(B) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and the Com-
mittee on Education and the Workforce of the House of 
Representatives. 
(2) COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE OFF-THE-SHELF.—The term 
‘‘commercially available off-the-shelf’’ has the meaning given 
that term in section 104 of title 41, United States Code. 
(3) POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION AND TRAINING OPPORTUNI-
TIES.—The 
term 
‘‘postsecondary 
education 
and 
training 
opportunities’’ means any postsecondary program of education, 
including apprenticeships and on-job training, for which the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs provides assistance to a veteran 
or member of the Armed Forces. 
SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN USES OF INDUCEMENTS BY EDU-
CATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. 
Section 3696 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(d)(1) The Secretary shall not approve under this chapter 
any course offered by an educational institution if the educational 
institution provides any commission, bonus, or other incentive pay-
ment based directly or indirectly on success in securing enrollments 
or financial aid to any persons or entities engaged in any student 
recruiting or admission activities or in making decisions regarding 
the award of student financial assistance. 
‘‘(2) To the degree practicable, the Secretary shall carry out 
paragraph (1) in a manner that is consistent with the Secretary 
of Education’s enforcement of section 487(a)(20) of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)(20)).’’. 
SEC. 3. DEDICATED POINTS OF CONTACT FOR SCHOOL CERTIFYING 
OFFICIALS. 
Section 3684 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(d) Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 
of this subsection, the Secretary shall ensure that the Department 
provides personnel of educational institutions who are charged with 
submitting reports or certifications to the Secretary under this 
section with assistance in preparing and submitting such reports 
or certifications.’’. 
Deadline. 
Plan. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
07:50 May 21, 2015
Jkt 019194
PO 00002
Frm 00991
Fmt 6580
Sfmt 6581
G:\GSDD\STATUTES\2012\PT2\19194PT2.001
19194PT2
126 STAT. 2402 
PUBLIC LAW 112–249—JAN. 10, 2013 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 4057: 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 112–646 (Comm. on Veterans’ Affairs). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 158 (2012): 
Sept. 11, considered and passed House. 
Dec. 19, considered and passed Senate, amended. 
Dec. 30, House concurred in Senate amendment. 
SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON AWARDS AND BONUSES TO EMPLOYEES OF 
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 
For fiscal year 2013, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may 
not pay more than $395,000,000 in awards or bonuses under chapter 
45 or 53 of title 5, United States Code, or any other awards 
or bonuses authorized under such title. 
Approved January 10, 2013. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
07:50 May 21, 2015
Jkt 019194
PO 00002
Frm 00992
Fmt 6580
Sfmt 6580
G:\GSDD\STATUTES\2012\PT2\19194PT2.001
19194PT2