What This Bill Does
This bill updates the Net Price Calculator system to help students better understand how much college will cost them. Colleges must make technical improvements to their calculators so students receive more accurate information about the true cost of attending.
Who It Affects
Colleges and universities that have net price calculators. Prospective students and families considering college. The Secretary of Education.
Key Provisions
• Colleges must place a clearly labeled net price calculator link in prominent locations on their websites where cost and financial aid information appears, and the link must match the size and font of other prominent links on the main menu (Sec. 2, paragraph 4(A)).
• Calculator input screens must display a chart showing net prices for different income groups of students who received federal student financial aid for the most recent academic year available (Sec. 2, paragraph 4(B)).
• Calculator results screens must show the individual student's net price as the most visually prominent figure, along with the cost of attendance broken down by tuition, fees, room and board, books, supplies, and other expenses (Sec. 2, paragraph 4(C)).
• Colleges must prohibit personally identifiable information entered into the calculator from being sold or shared with third parties, and must clearly state that information provided is confidential and not stored (Sec. 2, paragraph 5).
• The Secretary of Education may develop a universal net price calculator housed within the Department of Education that lets users answer one set of questions and receive net prices for any college (Sec. 3, paragraph 7).
What Changes
All colleges must update their calculators to meet new minimum requirements within one year. Calculators must display net prices more prominently, show cost breakdowns in more detail, and clearly protect student information. A new option emerges for the federal government to create a single calculator that works across multiple colleges.
Important Definitions
Net price: The individual cost for a student after subtracting grant aid (gifts that don't require repayment) from the total cost of attendance. Grant aid: Money from federal, state, or institutional sources that a student does not have to repay. Cost of attendance: The total estimated cost for a student to complete their program of study, including tuition, fees, room, board, books, supplies, and personal expenses.
Effective Date
Colleges must meet these new requirements no later than one year after the bill becomes law. Not specified in bill text.
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1214
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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 27, 2023
Mr. GUTHRIE (for himself and Mrs. TRAHAN) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce
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
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•HR 1214 IH
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
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•HR 1214 IH
‘‘(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
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•HR 1214 IH
‘‘(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
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•HR 1214 IH
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
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•HR 1214 IH
‘‘(iv) Percentage of the first-time, full-
1
time undergraduate students enrolled in
2
the institution that received any type of
3
grant aid described in clause (iii), disag-
4
gregated by their first year and subsequent
5
years of enrollment up to the number of
6
years for normal completion of, or gradua-
7
tion from, their particular program of
8
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
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•HR 1214 IH
described in subclause (I), the results
1
screen indicates—
2
‘‘(aa) that certain students
3
(or prospective students) may
4
qualify for such benefits;
5
‘‘(bb) states why the institu-
6
tion is not including questions to
7
estimate a student’s eligibility for
8
such benefits; and
9
‘‘(cc) includes a link to an
10
appropriate Federal website that
11
provides information about such
12
benefits.
13
‘‘(D) The institution populates the calcu-
14
lator with data from not earlier than 2 aca-
15
demic years prior to the most recent academic
16
year.
17
‘‘(5) PROHIBITION
ON
USE
OF
DATA
COL-
18
LECTED BY THE NET PRICE CALCULATOR.—A net
19
price calculator for an institution of higher edu-
20
cation shall—
21
‘‘(A) clearly indicate which questions are
22
required to be completed for an estimate of the
23
net price from the calculator;
24
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•HR 1214 IH
‘‘(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 one set of
23
questions and receive net prices for any in-
24
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•HR 1214 IH
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
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•HR 1214 IH
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
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•HR 1214 IH
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
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