Student Right to Know Before You Go Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education (IHEs) participating in title IV (Student Assistance) programs to participate in, and provide all the data required for, an individual-level integrated postsecondary education data system administered by a state, a multi-state compact, or the Secretary of Education.
Allows system administrators to include, in addition to data from IHEs, data from certain other postsecondary education and training programs.
Requires the systems to be certified by the Secretary as meeting certain data inclusion, quality, governance, and privacy requirements.
Requires the systems to include: (1) all student components of reporting required for the Integrated Postsecondary Data System (IPEDS), and submit such data to IPEDS; (2) rates of remedial enrollment, credit accumulation, and postsecondary completion by high school completion status; and (3) earnings data, disaggregated by educational program, institution, degree, employment sector, and state to create an interoperable employment and learning exchange.
Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to educational institutions and system administrators to assist them in complying with, developing, and implementing individual-level integrated postsecondary education data systems.
[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4061 Introduced in House (IH)]
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4061
To support statewide individual-level integrated postsecondary
education data systems, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 16, 2012
Mr. Hunter introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and the Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To support statewide individual-level integrated postsecondary
education data systems, 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. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Student Right to Know Before You Go
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Every year, millions of people in the United States
will make the choice of whether to invest in higher education
or job retraining programs, but outcomes vary widely based on
the program of study selected, the institution selected, and
the maximum level of education attained.
(2) A person who obtains an associate degree earns, on
average, $1,500,000 over a lifetime, while individuals with the
maximum accreditation of a high school diploma can expect to
earn $1,300,000 over a lifetime. By comparison, individuals
with a baccalaureate degree earn, on average, $2,300,000 in
their lifetime. However, 28.2 percent of individuals with
associate degrees earn more than the median salary of
baccalaureate degree-holders. It is not just maximum level of
education attained, but also the earnings and employment
prospects associated with specific programs of study, that
determines the amount of an individual's earnings. Furthermore,
the employment and earnings projections of distinct degree and
certificate programs and the cost of obtaining these
credentials are not equal across institutions.
(3) On average, workers with a baccalaureate degree earn
more than 84 percent over their lifetime compared with those
who do not have a degree, and workers with an associate degree
earn, on average, $6,600 per year more than those with a high
school diploma as their highest credential.
(4) According to the National Center for Public Policy and
Higher Education report in 2008, the cost of college increased
439 percent from 1982 to 2007. In 2010, graduates who took out
loans left college with an average of more than $25,000 of
debt, more than double what it was 15 years ago. In 2011,
student debt in the United States outweighed credit card debt
at nearly $1,000,000,000,000.
(5) As of 2008, 84 percent of undergraduates had at least 1
credit card, up from 76 percent in 2004. With the rising cost
of college tuition and expenses, students are increasingly
turning to private credit to supplement traditional student
aid; on average, students charge $2,200 towards direct
education expenses, with only 17 percent regularly paying off
their balances each month. The average student leaves college
with an average credit card debt of more than $4,100, up from
about $2,900 in 2004.
(6) Recent research shows that more than \1/2\ of student
loan borrowers are in deferment, forbearance, delinquency, or
default on their Federal student loans within 5 years of
leaving school.
(7) Greater access and transparency regarding the costs and
benefits of higher education are critical to better prepare
students, parents, and the public for the realities of college
and the workforce.
(8) Even though enrollment in colleges is on the rise,
corresponding graduation and completion rates have not risen.
At 2-year institutions of higher education, about 27 percent of
first-time, full-time students who enrolled in the fall of 2005
completed a certificate or associate's degree within 150
percent of the normal time required to complete such a degree.
(9) As unemployment among young adults remains elevated,
the economic value and employment potential of certain degrees
has become an increasingly important factor in selecting a
major. Not all academic fields have the same employment and
earnings potential. Labor and employment statistics show that
certain majors have a higher employment potential after college
and a higher median starting salary. Furthermore, the
employment and earnings outcomes for the same or similar
accreditation vary widely across institutions of higher
education.
(10) To enhance the public's knowledge and access to
improved information concerning the cost of college, financial
aid, prospective earnings, and post-graduation employment
rates, States, institutions of higher education, and other
stakeholders must collaborate to make these data points
available to prospective students, parents, and all taxpayers
in a new, comprehensive, and easily accessible manner.
(11) Such collaboration will allow for a more comprehensive
statistical overview of the current landscape in American
higher education and increase accountability and efficiency.
(12) Research shows that certain courses of study correlate
to improved earnings and employment; however, existing
reporting requirements make it impossible for researchers to
accurately analyze data at the institutional level. A State-
based reporting system would ensure that students, parents,
taxpayers, and policymakers can make informed decisions,
maximizing their return on investment and bringing greater
transparency to higher education in the United States.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Administering entity.--The term ``administering
entity'' means--
(A) a State, including a State coordinating or
governing board, State system office, or other State
agency;
(B) a multi-State compact; or
(C) a data system operated by the Department of
Education.
(2) Educational institution.--The term ``educational
institution'' means--
(A) an institution of higher education, as defined
in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1002);
(B) a school or institution that offers a program
of postsecondary education and that is an eligible
provider of training services under section 122 of the
Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (42 U.S.C. 2842); and
(C) any entity that provides postsecondary training
programs that are approved by the Secretary of Labor
under section 236 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C.
2296) for workers who receive benefits under the trade
adjustment assistance program under chapter 2 of title
II of that Act (19 U.S.C. 2271 et seq.).
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Education.
SEC. 4. PARTICIPATION IN STATEWIDE INDIVIDUAL-LEVEL INTEGRATED
POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION DATA SYSTEMS.
(a) Amendment.--Section 487(a)(17) of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)(17)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``(17) The'' and inserting ``(17)(A) The'';
and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) To meet the requirements of subparagraph (A), the
institution will fully participate in, and provide all data
required for--
``(i) the individual-level integrated postsecondary
education data system certified by the Secretary under
section 5(a) of the Student Right to Know Before You Go
Act that is administered by a State entity of the State
in which the institution is located; or
``(ii) if no such system exists in the State, an
individual-level integrated postsecondary education
data system that is operated by another administering
entity and that is certified by the Secretary under
such section 5(a).''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall
take effect on the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act.
SEC. 5. STATEWIDE INDIVIDUAL-LEVEL INTEGRATED POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION
DATA SYSTEMS.
(a) Statewide Employment and Learning Exchanges.--
(1) Certification of integrated postsecondary education
data systems.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall,
upon request by an administering entity--
(i) review the administering entity's
individual-level postsecondary education data
system or other data system; and
(ii) upon determining that the system meets
the requirements of this subsection, certify
the system for purposes of section
487(a)(17)(B) of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)(17)(B)).
(B) Consultation for certification of systems
including data for other programs.--Before certifying
under subparagraph (A) an individual-level integrated
postsecondary education data system that includes data
from a Federal education and training program in
accordance with paragraph (2)(B)(ii)(I), the Secretary
shall consult with the head of the Federal agency
responsible for administering such Federal education
and training program.
(2) Requirements.--An individual-level integrated
postsecondary education data system certified under this
subsection shall meet the following requirements:
(A) Compatiblity with ipeds.--The system shall have
the ability to submit data, in a manner that does not
disclose any personally identifiable information, to
the Integrated Postsecondary Data System (IPEDS) or any
other Federal postsecondary data collection as
designated by the Secretary, in a timely manner to the
satisfaction of the Secretary.
(B) Scope of system.--The system shall include--
(i) Data from educational institutions
described in section 3(2)(A); or
(ii) if the administering entity chooses,
data from such educational institutions and
data from--
(I) other Federal education and
training programs, such as the Job
Corps program carried out under
subtitle C of title I of the Workforce
Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2881
et seq.), educational assistance and
training programs under the laws
administered by the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs, programs carried out
under the Carl D. Perkins Career and
Technical Education Act of 2006 (20
U.S.C. 2301 et seq.), and training,
education, and educational assistance
programs of the Department of Defense;
or
(II) beginning on or after the date
that is 5 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, educational
institutions described in subparagraphs
(B) and (C) of section 3(2).
(C) Unique identifier.--The system shall use a
unique individual identifier system that--
(i) does not permit an individual to be
individually identified by users of the data
system; and
(ii) is created through a process that
creates a one-way secure identifier that can be
used in data systems in other States and cannot
be reverse-engineered.
(D) Data included.--The system shall include the
following data and information:
(i) Data sufficient to complete all student
components of reporting required for the
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System
of the National Center for Education
Statistics. The system shall employ, where
applicable, the most recent version available
of the Common Education Data Standards
developed by the National Center for Education
Statistics.
(ii) Rates of remedial enrollment, credit
accumulation, and postsecondary completion by
high school completion status.
(iii) Other information determined
necessary by the Secretary to address alignment
and adequate preparation for success in
postsecondary education.
(E) Data audit and data governance systems.--The
system shall include a data audit system assessing data
quality, validity, and reliability and a data
governance system, operated at the State or regional
level (as the case may be) with the participation of
representative educational institutions, to ensure
compliance with Federal and State standards of data
quality and individual privacy.
(F) Individual privacy and access to data.--The
administering entity shall provide an assurance--
(i) that the system does not disclose any
personally identifiable information and
complies with the requirements of section 444
of the General Education Provisions Act (20
U.S.C. 1232g) (commonly known as the ``Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act'') and other
applicable Federal and State privacy laws; and
(ii) that there is a policy on the use of
data in the system by other entities, including
by nongovernmental entities.
(3) Additional requirements.--In order for an individual-
level integrated postsecondary education data system of an
administering entity to be certified under this subsection, the
entity shall demonstrate to the Secretary that the entity is
coordinating with an agency or entity that oversees
administrative wage and earnings data to match data from the
postsecondary education data system to administrative wage and
earnings data, in order to create an interoperable employment
and learning exchange that--
(A) continues the use of a unique individual
identifier system that does not permit an individual to
be identified by users of the data system; and
(B) provides data on average individual annual
earnings, disaggregated by educational program, degree
received, educational institution, employment sector,
and State.
(b) Technical Assistance Grants.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary is authorized to award
grants--
(A) to educational institutions to assist with the
costs necessary to comply with the requirements of this
section or section 487(a)(17) of the Higher Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)(17)), as added by
section 4; and
(B) to administering entities described in
subparagraph (A) or (B) of section 3(1) that have an
integrated postsecondary education data system
certified by the Secretary under subsection (a) or that
are developing such a system, to assist with the costs
associated with such systems or with developing or
implementing such systems.
(2) Application.--An educational institution or
administering entity that desires to receive a grant under this
subsection shall submit an application to the Secretary at such
time, in such manner, and containing such information as the
Secretary shall require.
SEC. 6. TRANSITION PLAN.
(a) Transition Requirements.--In transitioning to the requirements
of this Act and the amendments made by this Act, the Secretary shall--
(1) ensure that no educational institution will be required
to report duplicative information to the Secretary;
(2) allow States and educational institutions to
consolidate the reporting requirements under section 487(a)(17)
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.)
with any other overlapping reporting requirements, and inform
State and institutions of this ability; and
(3) establish safeguards to ensure that States and
educational institutions are not required to report duplicative
information through the individual-level integrated
postsecondary education data systems certified under section
5(a).
(b) Transition Plan.--Not later than 3 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall make available to States,
educational institutions, and the public, a transition plan (including
guidance) that--
(1) describes the new options for complying with the
reporting requirements of section 487(a)(17) of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1094(a)(17)), as amended by
section 4;
(2) describes the transition requirements under subsection
(a) and how the Secretary will fulfill such requirements; and
(3) provides a timeline, including dates, for the
Secretary's implementation of the requirements of this Act and
the amendments made by this Act.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training.
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