A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House and Senate on Thursday reintroduced legislation that would overturn the ban on a federal postsecondary student-level data system, Campus Technology reported.
The College Transparency Act aims to modernize the U.S. Department of Education's National Center of Education Statistics (NCES) college reporting system to include program-level data on student outcomes such as enrollment, completion, and post-college success across colleges and majors.
The current college reporting system is overly burdensome on institutions, yet provides little practical information for students and families due to significant gaps in college data reporting, according to a press release. Under the proposed legislation, institutions would report student-level data to the NCES, which would be responsible for securely storing student information, working with relevant federal agencies to generate post-college outcomes reports, and presenting the summary information on a user-friendly website for students and families.
A federal ban on student-level data has been in place since 2008. Private colleges, as well as some lawmakers—including Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), ranking member of the House education committee and author of the ban—continue to hold reservations about a federal data system, Inside Higher Ed reported. However, bipartisan momentum has gathered behind the legislation. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) suggested in a speech last month that the College Transparency Act was one of several bipartisan bills that could be included in a reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.
The proposed bill is sponsored by Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), along with Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tim Scott (R-SC), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). Representatives Paul Mitchell (R-MI), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Elise Stefanik (R-NY), and Josh Harder (D-CA) introduced a companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Related Links
Senator Bill Cassidy's Press Release
https://www.cassidy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cassidy-warren-scott-whitehouse-introduce-groundbreaking-college-transparency-act
Campus Technology
https://campustechnology.com/articles/2019/03/14/senators-introduce-college-transparency-bill.aspx
Inside Higher Ed
https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2019/03/18/cassidy-warren-reintroduce-college-transparency-act