[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 7534-7537]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        IMPROVING POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION DATA FOR STUDENTS ACT

  Mr. MESSER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 1949) to direct the Secretary of Education to convene the 
Advisory Committee on Improving Postsecondary Education Data to conduct 
a study on improvements to postsecondary education transparency at the 
Federal level, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1949

       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 ``Improving Postsecondary 
     Education Data for Students Act''.

     SEC. 2. STUDY ON IMPROVEMENTS TO POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION 
                   TRANSPARENCY AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL.

       (a) Formation of Advisory Committee on Improving 
     Postsecondary Education Data.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Education shall 
     convene the Advisory Committee on Improving Postsecondary 
     Education Data (in this Act referred to as the ``Advisory 
     Committee''), which shall be comprised of 15 members who 
     represent economically, racially, and geographically diverse 
     populations appointed by the Secretary in consultation with 
     the Commissioner for Education Statistics, including--
       (A) individuals representing different sectors of 
     institutions of higher education, including individuals 
     representing undergraduate and graduate education;
       (B) experts in the field of higher education policy;
       (C) State officials;
       (D) students and other stakeholders from the higher 
     education community;
       (E) representatives from the business community;
       (F) experts in choice in consumer markets;
       (G) privacy experts;
       (H) college and career counselors at secondary schools;
       (I) experts in data policy, collection, and use; and
       (J) experts in labor markets.
       (2) Chairperson.--The Secretary shall appoint the 
     Chairperson of the Advisory Committee.
       (b) Study Required.--The Advisory Committee shall conduct a 
     study examining--
       (1) the types of information, including information related 
     to costs of postsecondary education, sources of financial 
     assistance (including Federal student loans), student 
     outcomes, and postgraduation earnings, the Federal Government 
     should collect and report on institutions of higher education 
     to assist students and families in their search for an 
     institution of higher education;
       (2) how such information should be collected and reported, 
     including how to disaggregate information on student outcomes 
     by subgroups of students, such as full-time students, part-
     time students, nontraditional students, first generation 
     college students, students who are veterans, and Federal Pell 
     Grant recipients under subpart 1 of part A of title IV of the 
     Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070a); and
       (3) the ways in which the Federal Government may make such 
     information more readily available to--
       (A) students and their families in a format that is easily 
     accessible and understandable, and will aid students and 
     their families in making decisions; and
       (B) States, local governments, secondary schools, 
     individual or groups of institutions of higher education, and 
     private-sector entities.
       (c) Scope of Study.--In conducting the study under this 
     Act, the Advisory Committee shall, at a minimum, examine--
       (1) whether the current Federal transparency initiatives on 
     postsecondary education--
       (A) are reporting consistent information about individual 
     institutions of higher education across Federal agencies; and
       (B) are similar to transparency initiatives on 
     postsecondary education carried out by States, individual or 
     groups of institutions of higher education, or private-sector 
     entities;
       (2) whether--
       (A) the collection and reporting of postgraduation earnings 
     by the Federal Government is feasible, and if feasible, the 
     options for collecting and reporting such information;

[[Page 7535]]

       (B) collecting and reporting such information would improve 
     the use of Federal transparency initiatives and ease 
     decisionmaking for students and their families; and
       (C) collecting and reporting such information would have an 
     impact on student privacy, and if so, how such impact may be 
     minimized;
       (3) whether any other information, including information 
     relating to student outcomes or identified under the review 
     required under subsection (d), should be collected and 
     reported by the Federal Government to improve the utility of 
     such initiatives for students and their families, and if so, 
     how such information may be collected and reported, including 
     whether the information should be disaggregated by subgroups 
     of students;
       (4) whether any information currently collected and 
     reported by the Federal Government on institutions of higher 
     education is not useful for students and their families and 
     should not be so collected and reported;
       (5) the manner in which the information from Federal 
     transparency initiatives is made available to students and 
     their families, and whether format changes may help the 
     information become more easily understood and widely utilized 
     by students and their families;
       (6) any activities being carried out by the Federal 
     Government, States, individual or groups of institutions of 
     higher education, or private-sector entities to help inform 
     students and their families of the availability of Federal 
     transparency initiatives;
       (7) the cost to institutions of higher education of 
     reporting to the Federal Government the information that is 
     being collected and reported through Federal transparency 
     initiatives, and how such cost may be minimized; and
       (8) the relevant research described in subsection (d).
       (d) Review of Relevant Research.--In conducting the study 
     under this Act, the Advisory Committee shall review and 
     consider--
       (1) research and studies, if any, that have been conducted 
     to determine questions most frequently asked by students and 
     families to help inform their search for an institution of 
     higher education;
       (2) the types of information students seek before enrolling 
     in an institution of higher education;
       (3) whether the availability to students and their families 
     of additional information on institutions of higher education 
     will be beneficial or confusing;
       (4) results, if any, that are available from consumer 
     testing of Federal, State, institution of higher education, 
     and private-sector transparency initiatives on postsecondary 
     education that have been made publicly available on or after 
     the date that is 10 years before the date of enactment of 
     this Act; and
       (5) any gaps in the research, studies, and results 
     described in paragraphs (1) and (4) relating to the types of 
     information students seek before enrolling in an institution 
     of higher education.
       (e) Consultation.--
       (1) In general.--In conducting the study under this Act, 
     the Advisory Committee shall--
       (A) hold public hearings to consult with parents and 
     students; and
       (B) consult with a broad range of interested parties in 
     higher education, including appropriate researchers, 
     representatives of secondary schools (including college and 
     career counselors) and institutions of higher education from 
     different sectors of such institutions (including 
     undergraduate and graduate education), State administrators, 
     and Federal officials.
       (2) Consultation with the authorizing committees.--The 
     Advisory Committee shall consult on a regular basis with the 
     authorizing committees in conducting the study under this 
     Act.
       (f) Reports to Authorizing Committees.--
       (1) Interim report.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
     of enactment of this Act, the Advisory Committee shall 
     prepare and submit to the authorizing committees and the 
     Secretary an interim report describing the progress made in 
     conducting the study under this Act and any preliminary 
     findings on the topics identified under subsection (c).
       (2) Final report.--
       (A) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Advisory Committee shall prepare 
     and submit to the authorizing committees and the Secretary a 
     final report on the study, including--
       (i) recommendations for legislative, regulatory, and 
     administrative actions based on findings related to the 
     topics identified under subsection (c); and
       (ii) a summary of the research described in subsection (d).
       (B) Consultation with NCES.--The Advisory Committee shall 
     consult with the Commissioner of Education Statistics prior 
     to making recommendations under subparagraph (A)(i) with 
     respect to improving the information being collected and 
     reported by the Federal Government on institutions of higher 
     education.
       (g) Availability of Funds.--The amount necessary to conduct 
     the study under this Act shall be made available from amounts 
     available to the Secretary for administrative expenses of the 
     Department of Education.
       (h) Definitions.--For purposes of this Act:
       (1) Authorizing committees.--The term ``authorizing 
     committees'' has the meaning given the term in section 103 of 
     the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003).
       (2) First generation college student.--The term ``first 
     generation college student'' has the meaning given the term 
     in section 402A(h) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
     U.S.C. 1070a-11(h)).
       (3) Institution of higher education.--The term 
     ``institution of higher education'' has the meaning given the 
     term in section 102 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
     U.S.C. 1002), except that such term does not include 
     institutions described in subsection (a)(1)(C) of such 
     section 102.
       (4) Secondary school.--The term ``secondary school'' has 
     the meaning given the term in section 9101 of the Elementary 
     and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
       (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of Education.
       (6) State.--The term ``State'' has the meaning given the 
     term in section 103 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
     U.S.C. 1003).
       (7) Student.--The term ``student'' includes--
       (A) a prospective student;
       (B) a student enrolled in an institution of higher 
     education;
       (C) a nontraditional student (as defined in section 
     803(j)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     1161c(j)(2))); and
       (D) a veteran (as defined in section 480(c)(1) of such Act 
     (20 U.S.C. 1087vv(c)(1))) who is a student or prospective 
     student.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Indiana (Mr. Messer) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Indiana.


                             General Leave

  Mr. MESSER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on 
H.R. 1949.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Indiana?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. MESSER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in support of H.R. 1949, the Improving Postsecondary Education 
Data for Students Act. I want to thank Chairman Kline and Higher 
Education Subcommittee Chairwoman Foxx for their work on and support of 
this measure. I also want to commend Ranking Member Miller, 
Subcommittee Ranking Member Hinojosa, and our Democratic committee 
colleagues for their contributions to this bill.
  Few decisions in life are bigger than whether to attend college and 
which college to attend, yet many families struggle to wade through the 
complicated maze of statistics available to find the information they 
need to make fully informed, cost-conscious decisions. Consequently, 
they may choose schools or programs that don't meet their needs and 
leave them with high debt and limited career potential.
  Despite Federal efforts to improve data collection and transparency 
in the higher education system, families and students still struggle, 
and institutions of higher learning are spending more time and money 
than ever. During the 2012-2013 academic year, institutions spent an 
estimated 850,000 man-hours and almost $31 million to fill out required 
Federal surveys. Higher education leaders have highlighted several of 
these requirements as duplicative to State and local transparency 
efforts and may partially contribute to the increase in college costs.
  Through the Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act, 
we hope to simplify this process and help ensure students can access 
the information they need to make good decisions while lessening the 
burden on colleges and universities that have far too many reporting 
requirements today. The bill would require the Department of Education 
to evaluate the information colleges and universities are required to 
provide to determine what helps make students better consumers and what 
simply buries them in paper--and the schools they attend in paper, as 
well.
  The information yielded by this report will play a critical role in 
assisting the Education and Workforce Committee's efforts to 
reauthorize the Higher Education Act. We need to ensure students have 
the information

[[Page 7536]]

they actually need in a user-friendly manner to help them make the best 
decisions they can.
  We also must streamline the current regulatory burden of unnecessary 
and unhelpful reporting requirements imposed on institutions of higher 
education. This bill will help guide that process.
  I urge all of our colleagues to support the Improving Postsecondary 
Education Data for Students Act, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ANDREWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I'm pleased to rise in support of the gentleman's legislation. I 
think it's an example of how we can work together and achieve a benefit 
for the American people. I commend him for introducing the bill and 
would outline our reasons for our support.
  Probably the second largest expenditure most Americans make in their 
lifetime is a college education for themselves or for their children, 
second only to their real estate, to the home that they buy. It's 
surprising how little consumer information is available to families 
before they make that choice.
  If you buy a phone, you can find out what apps it can run, how much 
bandwidth it has, how much it can store, what it can do, what it can't 
do. You can find all this information about what the phone cost, what 
it does, and how it works. But if you're about to enroll in a school 
that purports to teach Web site design, or if you're about to send your 
son or daughter off to a college to major in philosophy or engineering, 
it's surprising how little you know about that school.
  The gentleman's proposal is that there be an effort by the Department 
of Education to make those data more accessible and more transparent 
for students and their families, questions that are natural to ask: 
What does it cost to go to the school? What happens to students when 
they graduate from the school? What kind of jobs do they get? How much 
money do they make? How much debt do they graduate with? Who transfers 
in and out of the school and what numbers? How many people finish their 
education at the schools?
  I'm not suggesting that there is any one-size-fits-all list of 
questions, that it's the right list of questions. What I'm suggesting 
is that the maximum amount of information should be available to 
families and students to make reasonable decisions about this sort of 
thing.
  The only comment that I would make further is that we would 
encourage, Mr. Speaker, the committee leadership to consider bipartisan 
legislation--that's been sponsored by Mr. Duncan Hunter, Jr., on the 
majority side; I'm involved in it on the minority side; and the other 
body, it's sponsored by Senators Wyden and Warner, along with Senator 
Rubio--that would create this kind of information in a user-friendly, 
Web-based environment as soon as possibly could be done.

                              {time}  1910

  I view this bill as complementary to this effort, and I look forward 
to working with the gentleman and the other leaders of the committee on 
this issue.
  I would finally say that, on our side, we do strongly believe that 
the time has come for a full reauthorization of the Higher Education 
Act. There are a myriad of issues. Tomorrow, we will have student loan 
financing issues on the floor. There are questions about Pell Grants, 
the cost of college and numerous other issues that we think are best 
dealt with in an omnibus and comprehensive fashion.
  Having said that, we commend the gentleman for his introduction of 
the bill, urge its support, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MESSER. I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for his comments 
and his leadership on this important topic. It's certainly a pleasure 
to work with you on this bill and on the other bills that you 
mentioned.
  I would now like to yield 1 minute to my good friend, the gentleman 
from Virginia (Mr. Cantor).
  Mr. CANTOR. I thank the gentleman for his leadership and for bringing 
this bill forward. I appreciate the ranking member's support on this as 
well.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the Improving Postsecondary 
Education Data for Students Act.
  American moms and dads are working tirelessly to help their children 
achieve their dreams. For many, that dream includes college. However, 
the cost of a postsecondary education has become increasingly difficult 
for a lot of families to bear. Young graduates today are not only 
confronting a tough job market when they leave school, they are 
continually facing a growing mountain of debt that is financially 
burdensome and extremely difficult to pay back. Many students choose 
schools and their majors without ever knowing the earning potential of 
their fields of study. This leaves many young Americans with a lower 
than expected income and struggling to pay down their loans once they 
graduate. For some, it can take decades. This has got to change.
  In my home State of Virginia, we've become a leader in attempting to 
address this problem. In 2012, Virginia enacted a requirement that 
schools in our State publish information regarding the proportion of 
graduates with employment, their average salaries and higher education 
debt at 18 months and 5 years after graduation.
  I expect that this data will become extremely useful to parents and 
students alike. Unfortunately, the data available to Virginia is 
limited to graduates who remain in the Commonwealth. This means that 
information available in the State database fails to fully capture 
students that graduate from a school, like the University of Richmond, 
which attracts students from 46 different States. Very often, they go 
on to take jobs throughout the country where they become leaders in 
their fields.
  We can help resolve this situation. The Federal Government currently 
has a significant amount of data that could help parents and students 
make better decisions regarding the financial benefits of prospective 
schools and majors, but this information is often hard to understand or 
is difficult to access.
  This bill requires the Secretary of Education to convene a 15-member 
advisory panel to provide recommendations on how to improve the 
information available to parents and students when deciding on their 
schools and majors. This panel will provide an interim report within 6 
months and a final one within 1 year for Congress' consideration during 
the reauthorization of the Higher Ed Act.
  This legislation will serve to kick-start the process of improving 
transparency in higher education and will provide students and parents 
with the information that they need to make informed decisions so that 
a college education can continue to be a source of empowerment for 
millions of Americans. This bill is a great step in the right 
direction.
  I want to thank the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Messer) for his 
leadership, Chairman John Kline, Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, and the rest 
of the Education and the Workforce Committee for their work on this 
issue, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. ANDREWS. I would just ask my friend, Mr. Speaker, if he has any 
other speakers.
  Mr. MESSER. I have two others.
  Mr. ANDREWS. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MESSER. I yield such time as she may consume to my friend and 
colleague from the great State of Indiana (Mrs. Brooks).
  Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support 
of the Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act.
  I am the mother of a current college student and a recent college 
graduate as well as a former general counsel and senior vice president 
at Ivy Tech Community College in Indiana. I personally and 
professionally understand the difficult and often life-defining 
decisions our young people make when they decide where to attend 
college. Students want to make the most educated decisions they can, 
but currently, they struggle to access and process all of the data they 
need to make the best decisions for themselves and their futures, and 
it's not because there is a lack of data being reported.

[[Page 7537]]

  Currently, the Federal Government requires colleges and universities 
to report overwhelming amounts of information. As Congressman Messer 
has already said, rather than having institutions across the country 
spend over 850,000 hours and almost $31 million to fill out all of 
these required Federal surveys, why not allow our higher ed 
institutions to spend those hours and those dollars doing a better job 
serving our students in classrooms, advising students and figuring out 
ways to lower tuition costs? The problem is that the Federal Government 
is not requiring the right information and putting it in a readable and 
understandable format for students.
  This bill directs the Department of Education to conduct a survey on 
which factors students and families want and need when researching 
their postsecondary options. It's common sense. I appreciate that it's 
a bipartisan piece of legislation that will benefit students and our 
higher ed institutions. This bill is simple, and it helps Congress 
improve transparency as we approach the reauthorization of the Higher 
Education Act.
  I applaud the work of my fellow Hoosier and colleague Mr. Messer, and 
I urge the adoption of this important bill.
  Mr. ANDREWS. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MESSER. I would now like to yield 2 minutes to my good friend 
from Georgia (Mr. Collins).
  Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this 
legislation.
  I have a personal take on this. I have a 17-year-old son, Copeland, 
and my wife and I are in the process of guiding him through the 
difficult and often complex process of choosing a higher education 
institution to attend.
  As families across America know, there are a lot of factors to 
consider when assessing what institution will provide my son with the 
best opportunity to graduate college and be set on a path to 
professionally succeed. In this economy, our children deserve the best 
possible chance we can give them to find jobs that will allow them to 
provide for themselves and their future families.
  The key to good decisionmaking is having accurate information, and 
this legislation will provide my son Copeland and all of the other 
students of northeast Georgia with the best possible data that they and 
their parents can use to select the right postsecondary education paths 
for them.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill, and I would 
like to thank the gentleman from Indiana for his leadership. The nature 
in which we bring this forward is a positive solution for our country 
and is a positive solution for the families looking at this decision of 
higher education.
  Mr. ANDREWS. Mr. Speaker, in closing, this is an example of how we 
can work together and accomplish something constructive for the 
American people. I am pleased to support this bill, and I would urge a 
``yes'' vote.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. MESSER. I am a former State legislator from Indiana. They used to 
say on the House floor back there, ``Good bill. Should pass,'' and it's 
great when you have the opportunity to work together across the aisle 
on a bill that just makes sense.
  My colleague from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) made the comment that 
there is a lot of data out there for families but that there is a 
difference between data and information. Our goal with this bill is to 
help bring this data together, to get past the data dump and to try to 
get families the information they need while at the same time lessening 
the regulatory burden on our colleges and universities. They're doing 
the best they can with limited resources as well.
  So, with that, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Messer) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 1949, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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