Federal

Net Price Calculator Improvement Act

Source: Congress.gov · 2,093 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill changes the rules for how colleges must display their net price calculators, which are tools that help students figure out what college will actually cost them. The bill requires colleges to make these calculators easier to find and use, and adds new information that must appear on the results. It also allows the Secretary of Education to create one calculator that works for all colleges. ##

Who It Affects

- Prospective students and their families - Colleges and universities that receive federal student aid - The Secretary of Education (the head of the U.S. Department of Education) - Middle and high school students - Low-income families and students - First-generation college students (students whose parents did not attend college) - Veterans and active duty service members - Secondary school and postsecondary counselors (people who advise students about college) - Nonprofit consumer groups ##

Key Provisions

- Colleges must clearly label their net price calculator as a "net price calculator" and place the link prominently on web pages about costs and financial aid, matching the size and font of other important links on the website (Sec. 2) - The calculator results screen must show the individual net price as the most visually prominent figure, along with the year the price applies to and the year the data came from (Sec. 2) - Colleges must display cost of attendance information including total program cost, annual costs, tuition and fees, room and board, books and supplies, and other expenses, with statements about which years the costs apply to (Sec. 2) - The calculator must show estimated grant aid (money students don't have to repay) from federal, state, and college sources, broken down by type and academic year (Sec. 2) - Colleges must clearly indicate which calculator questions are required and must mark any requests for contact information as "optional." Personal information cannot be sold to third parties, and the calculator must state that information is confidential and not stored (Sec. 2) - The Secretary of Education may create a universal net price calculator housed at the Department of Education that allows users to enter information once and see net prices for any college (Sec. 3) - If the Secretary develops a universal calculator, it must be tested with students, families, counselors, and consumer groups before being released to the public. Testing must last no longer than 6 months (Sec. 3) - The Secretary must submit a report to Congress within 3 months after consumer testing ends, describing the testing results and any changes made to the calculator (Sec. 3) - The Secretary must submit a report to Congress within 1 year after the bill becomes law describing steps taken to make prospective students and families aware of net price calculators, especially middle and high school students and low-income families (Sec. 3) ##

What Changes

If this bill becomes law, colleges will have new requirements for their net price calculators within one year. They must make the calculator link more visible and prominent on their websites. The results students receive must include more detailed cost information and show grant aid by academic year. Colleges must protect student personal information and clearly label which questions are required versus optional. The Secretary of Education will have the ability to create a single calculator that works across all colleges, but only after testing it with different groups of students and families. ##

Important Definitions

- Net price: The individual cost of attendance minus grant aid (Sec. 2) - Grant aid: Money for college that students do not have to repay (Sec. 2) - Cost of attendance: The total estimated cost for a student to complete their program of study based on normal time to graduation (Sec. 2) - Prospective students: People considering attending college (stated throughout bill) ##

Effective Date

Colleges must meet these requirements not later than 1 year after the bill is enacted (Sec. 2). The Secretary must submit the universal calculator report to Congress within 3 months after consumer testing concludes (Sec. 3). The Secretary must submit the awareness report to Congress within 1 year after the bill is enacted (Sec. 3).

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 531 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make technical improvements to the Net Price Calculator system so that prospective students may have a more accurate understanding of the true cost of college. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 27, 2023 Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself and Ms. SMITH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Edu- cation, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make tech- nical improvements to the Net Price Calculator system so that prospective students may have a more accurate understanding of the true cost of college. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Net Price Calculator 4 Improvement Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:22 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S531.IS S531 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 531 IS SEC. 2. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR NET PRICE CALCULA- 1 TORS. 2 Section 132(h) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 3 (20 U.S.C. 1015a(h)) is amended— 4 (1) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para- 5 graph (6); 6 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting before the pe- 7 riod ‘‘, and, not later than 1 year after the date of 8 enactment of the Net Price Calculator Improvement 9 Act, shall meet the requirements of paragraph 10 (4)(C)’’; 11 (3) in paragraph (3), by inserting after the first 12 sentence the following: ‘‘Not later than 1 year after 13 the date of enactment of the Net Price Calculator 14 Improvement Act, such calculator shall meet the re- 15 quirements of paragraph (4).’’; and 16 (4) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol- 17 lowing: 18 ‘‘(4) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR NET PRICE 19 CALCULATORS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 20 of enactment of the Net Price Calculator Improve- 21 ment Act, a net price calculator for an institution of 22 higher education shall, at a minimum, meet the fol- 23 lowing requirements: 24 ‘‘(A) The link for the calculator— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:22 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S531.IS S531 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 531 IS ‘‘(i) is clearly labeled as a ‘net price 1 calculator’ and prominently, clearly, and 2 conspicuously (in such size and contrast 3 (such as shade) that it is readily noticeable 4 and readable) posted in locations on the in- 5 stitution’s website where information on 6 costs and aid is provided (such as financial 7 aid, prospective students, or tuition and 8 fees web pages); 9 ‘‘(ii) matches in size and font to the 10 other prominent links on the primary 11 menu; and 12 ‘‘(iii) may also be included on the in- 13 stitution’s compliance web page, which 14 contains information relating to compliance 15 with Federal, State, and local laws. 16 ‘‘(B) The input screen for the net price 17 calculator displays a chart of the net prices for 18 students receiving Federal student financial aid 19 under title IV (as required by subsection (i)(5)) 20 for the most recent academic year for which 21 data are available, disaggregated by income cat- 22 egories. 23 ‘‘(C) The results screen for the calculator 24 specifies the following information: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:22 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S531.IS S531 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 531 IS ‘‘(i) The individual net price (as cal- 1 culated under paragraph (2)) for the indi- 2 vidual student, which is the most visually 3 prominent figure on the results screen, in- 4 cluding a statement of— 5 ‘‘(I) the year for which the net 6 price applies; and 7 ‘‘(II) the year from which the 8 data was used to determine that net 9 price. 10 ‘‘(ii) Cost of attendance, including— 11 ‘‘(I) the total estimated cost for a 12 student to complete the program of 13 study, based on normal time for com- 14 pletion of, or graduation from, the 15 student’s particular program of study; 16 ‘‘(II) the total annual cost of at- 17 tendance; 18 ‘‘(III) annual tuition and fees; 19 ‘‘(IV) average annual cost of 20 room and board for the institution for 21 a first-time, full-time undergraduate 22 student enrolled in the institution; 23 ‘‘(V) average annual cost of 24 books and supplies for a first-time, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:22 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S531.IS S531 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 531 IS full-time undergraduate student en- 1 rolled in the institution; 2 ‘‘(VI) estimated annual cost of 3 other expenses (including personal ex- 4 penses and transportation) for a first- 5 time, full-time undergraduate student 6 enrolled in the institution; and 7 ‘‘(VII) a statement of— 8 ‘‘(aa) the year for which 9 each cost described in this clause 10 applies; and 11 ‘‘(bb) the year from which 12 the data was used to determine 13 each cost described in this clause. 14 ‘‘(iii) Estimated total need-based 15 grant aid and merit-based grant aid, from 16 Federal, State, and institutional sources 17 that may be available to the individual stu- 18 dent, showing the subtotal for each cat- 19 egory and the total of all sources of grant 20 aid and disaggregated by academic year 21 for normal time for completion of, or grad- 22 uation from, the student’s particular pro- 23 gram of study. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:22 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S531.IS S531 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 531 IS ‘‘(iv) Percentage of the first-time, full- 1 time undergraduate students enrolled in 2 the institution who received any type of 3 grant aid described in clause (iii), 4 disaggregated by their first year and sub- 5 sequent years of enrollment up to the num- 6 ber of years for normal completion of, or 7 graduation from, their particular program 8 of study. 9 ‘‘(v) The disclaimer described in para- 10 graph (6). 11 ‘‘(vi) In the case of a calculator 12 that— 13 ‘‘(I) includes questions to esti- 14 mate a student’s (or prospective stu- 15 dent’s) eligibility for veterans’ edu- 16 cation benefits (as defined in section 17 480) or educational benefits for active 18 duty service members, such benefits 19 are displayed on the results screen in 20 a manner that clearly distinguishes 21 them from the grant aid described in 22 clause (iii); or 23 ‘‘(II) does not include questions 24 to estimate eligibility for the benefits 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:22 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S531.IS S531 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 531 IS described in subclause (I), the results 1 screen— 2 ‘‘(aa) indicates that certain 3 students (or prospective stu- 4 dents) may qualify for such bene- 5 fits; 6 ‘‘(bb) states why the institu- 7 tion is not including questions to 8 estimate a student’s eligibility for 9 such benefits; and 10 ‘‘(cc) includes a link to an 11 appropriate Federal website that 12 provides information about such 13 benefits. 14 ‘‘(D) The institution populates the calcu- 15 lator with data from not earlier than 2 aca- 16 demic years prior to the most recent academic 17 year. 18 ‘‘(5) PROHIBITION ON USE OF DATA COL- 19 LECTED BY THE NET PRICE CALCULATOR.—A net 20 price calculator for an institution of higher edu- 21 cation shall— 22 ‘‘(A) clearly indicate which questions are 23 required to be completed for an estimate of the 24 net price from the calculator; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:22 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S531.IS S531 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 531 IS ‘‘(B) in the case of a calculator that re- 1 quests contact information from users, clearly 2 mark such requests as ‘optional’; 3 ‘‘(C) prohibit any personally identifiable in- 4 formation provided by users from being sold or 5 made available to third parties; and 6 ‘‘(D) clearly state ‘Any information that 7 you provide on this site is confidential. The Net 8 Price Calculator does not store your responses 9 or require personal identifying information of 10 any kind.’.’’. 11 SEC. 3. UNIVERSAL NET PRICE CALCULATOR. 12 Section 132(h) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 13 (20 U.S.C. 1015a(h)), as amended by section 2, is further 14 amended by adding at the end the following: 15 ‘‘(7) UNIVERSAL NET PRICE CALCULATOR.— 16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 17 develop a universal net price calculator that is 18 housed within the Department of Education, 19 with Department branding, and that may be 20 based on or utilize an existing platform devel- 21 oped by a public or private entity, that— 22 ‘‘(i) enables users to answer 1 set of 23 questions and receive net prices for any in- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:22 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S531.IS S531 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 531 IS stitution that is required to have a net 1 price calculator under this subsection; 2 ‘‘(ii) provides the information required 3 under subparagraphs (C) and (D) of para- 4 graph (4) for each institution for which a 5 net price is being sought; 6 ‘‘(iii) is developed in consultation with 7 the heads of relevant Federal agencies; and 8 ‘‘(iv) before being finalized and pub- 9 licly released, is tested in accordance with 10 subparagraph (B). 11 ‘‘(B) CONSUMER TESTING.— 12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary 13 develops a universal net price calculator 14 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary, in 15 consultation with the heads of relevant 16 Federal agencies, shall establish a process 17 to submit the universal net price calculator 18 developed under this paragraph for con- 19 sumer testing among representatives of 20 students (including low-income students, 21 first generation college students, adult stu- 22 dents, and prospective students), students’ 23 families (including low-income families, 24 families with first generation college stu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:22 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S531.IS S531 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 531 IS dents, and families with prospective stu- 1 dents), institutions of higher education, 2 secondary school and postsecondary coun- 3 selors, and nonprofit consumer groups. 4 ‘‘(ii) LENGTH OF CONSUMER TEST- 5 ING.—The Secretary shall ensure that the 6 consumer testing lasts no longer than 6 7 months after the process for consumer 8 testing is developed under clause (i). 9 ‘‘(iii) USE OF RESULTS.—The results 10 of consumer testing under clause (i) shall 11 be used in the final development of the 12 universal net price calculator. 13 ‘‘(iv) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.— 14 Not later than 3 months after the date the 15 consumer testing under clause (i) con- 16 cludes, the Secretary shall submit to Con- 17 gress the final universal net price calcu- 18 lator and a report detailing the results of 19 such testing, including whether the Sec- 20 retary added any additional items to the 21 calculator as a result of such testing. 22 ‘‘(v) AUTHORITY TO MODIFY.—The 23 Secretary may modify the definitions, 24 terms, formatting, and design of the uni- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:22 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S531.IS S531 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 531 IS versal net price calculator based on the re- 1 sults of consumer testing required under 2 this paragraph and before finalizing the 3 calculator. 4 ‘‘(8) REPORT FROM SECRETARY.—Not later 5 than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Net 6 Price Calculator Improvement Act, the Secretary 7 shall submit a report to Congress on steps taken to 8 raise awareness of net price calculators among pro- 9 spective students and families, particularly among 10 students in middle school and high school and stu- 11 dents from low-income families.’’. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:22 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S531.IS S531 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

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