Reverse Transfer Efficiency Act of 2017 (H.R. 3774)
In September, U.S. Representative Luke Messer (R-IN)—alongside Reps. Jared Polis (D-CO), Drew Ferguson (R-GA), and Thomas Garrett, Jr. (R-VA)—introduced legislation to assist institutions in identifying students who have earned enough credits to be awarded an associate’s degree through "reverse transfer." Currently, there are no processes or guidelines for sharing student credit information from four-year to two-year year institutions for the possible award of degrees or certificates from a two-year institution.
The bipartisan Reverse Transfer Efficiency Act of 2017 would create a new exemption under FERPA to permit the disclosure of students' postsecondary coursework and credit information to an institution the student was previously enrolled at for the purpose of applying such coursework and credits toward completion of a recognized postsecondary credential. An institution would still need to "record" the sharing of this data, so it would be part of the student record, and still meet FERPA requirements as institutions would need to receive “consent” from the student before conferring a degree to the student.