1.This Act may be cited as
the Protecting Students from Worthless
Degrees Act
.
2.Consumer
protections for students
(a)
(1)In
this section:
(A)Federal
financial assistance programThe term Federal financial
assistance program
means a program authorized and funded by the Federal
Government under any of the following provisions of law:
(i)Title IV of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.).
(ii)Title I of the
Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.).
(iii)The Adult
Education and Family Literacy Act (20 U.S.C. 9201 et seq.).
(iv)Chapter 30, 31,
32, 33, 34, or 35 of title 38, United States Code.
(v)Chapter 101, 105,
106A, 1606, 1607, or 1608 of title 10, United States Code.
(vi)Section 1784a,
2005, or 2007 of title 10, United States Code.
(B)Institution of
higher educationThe term institution of higher
education
—
(i)with respect to a
program authorized under subparagraph (A)(i), has the meaning given the term in
section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002);
(ii)with respect to
a program authorized under subparagraph (A)(ii), has the meaning given the term
postsecondary educational institution as defined in section 101 of
the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (29 U.S.C. 2801);
(iii)with respect to
a program authorized under subparagraph (A)(iii), has the meaning given the
term postsecondary educational institution as defined in section
203 of the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (20 U.S.C. 9202);
(iv)with respect to
a program authorized under subparagraph (A)(iv), has the meaning given the term
educational institution under section 3452 of title 38, United
States Code;
(v)with respect to a
program authorized under subparagraph (A)(v), means an educational institution
that awards a degree or certificate and is located in any State; and
(vi)with respect to
a program authorized under subparagraph (A)(vi), means an educational
institution that awards a degree or certificate and is located in any
State.
(C)
(i)The
term State includes, in addition to the several States of the
United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Guam,
American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands, and the Freely Associated States.
(ii)The term Freely Associated States
means the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia,
and the Republic of Palau.
(2)Notwithstanding
any other provision of law, an institution of higher education is not eligible
to participate in a Federal financial assistance program with respect to any
program of postsecondary education or training, including a degree or
certificate program, that is designed to prepare students for entry into a
recognized occupation or profession that requires licensing or other
established requirements as a pre-condition for entry into such occupation or
profession, unless—
(A)the successful
completion of the program fully qualifies a student, in the State in which the
institution offering the program is located (and in any State in which the
institution indicates, through advertising or marketing activities or direct
contact with potential students, that a student will be prepared to work in the
occupation or profession after successfully completing the program), to—
(i)take any
examination required for entry into the recognized occupation or profession in
the State, including satisfying all State or professionally mandated
programmatic and specialized accreditation requirements, if any; and
(ii)be
certified or licensed or meet any other academically related pre-conditions
that are required for entry into the recognized occupation or profession in the
State;
(B)the institution
offering the program provides timely placement for all of the academically
related pre-licensure requirements for entry into the recognized occupation or
profession in the State, such as clinical placements, internships, or
apprenticeships;
(C)in the case of
State licensing or professionally mandated requirements for entry into the
recognized occupation or profession in the State in which the institution
offering the program is located (and in any State in which the institution
indicates, through advertising or marketing activities or direct contact with
potential students, that a student will be prepared to work in the occupation
or profession after successfully completing the program) that require
specialized accreditation—
(i)the
program meets that requirement for specialized accreditation through its
accreditation or pre-accreditation by an accrediting agency or association
recognized by the Secretary of Education as a reliable authority as to the
quality or training offered by the institution in that program; and
(ii)if
the program is in a pre-accredited, probation, or show cause status by an
accrediting agency or association described in clause (i), and the requirement
for specialized accreditation is for full accreditation, the
institution—
(I)establishes, to
the satisfaction of the Secretary of Education, that each student who enrolls
before the program is fully accredited attests of being advised that the
program is in a pre-accredited, probation, or show cause status and of being
informed of the effect on the student's eligibility for assistance under this
title and on the student's ability to satisfy State or professionally mandated
requirements for entry into the recognized occupation or profession if full
accreditation is delayed, denied, terminated, or withdrawn; and
(II)publicly and
prominently discloses in any advertising, marketing, or recruitment materials
and activities for the institution, the institution's pre-accredited,
probation, or show cause status and the implications of such status for
prospective students; and
(D)the
institution—
(i)discloses on the
application to enroll in the institution that its program does not necessarily
satisfy out-of-State requirements, if applicable; and
(ii)upon receipt of
an application to enroll in the institution, notifies the student, prior to
enrollment, if the program in which the student intends to enroll does not
satisfy the requirements of the State in which the student is a resident, if
applicable.
(b)This section shall be effective 6 months after the date of
enactment of this Act.