A group of lawmakers have reintroduced legislation that seeks to provide students and families with greater information when considering higher education opportunities.
U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Joe Wilson (R-SC), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Nancy Mace (R-SC), and Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) recently detailed the College Transparency Act (CTA), which modernizes the college reporting system for postsecondary data by providing accurate reporting on student outcomes that include enrollment, completion, and post-college earnings while ensuring the privacy of individual students is securely protected.
“Higher education is one of the biggest investments American families make, and they need the best available information to be able to make informed decisions as they shop for the best educational programs for them,” Krishnamoorthi said. “I’m proud to join my colleagues in reintroducing the bipartisan College Transparency Act to ensure students and families have more complete information about college access, success, costs, and outcomes by providing them with a secure operational student-level data system.”
Krishnamoorthi said when families and students have the information they need to make the right choices for their futures, they can also make the right choices for the nation’s future.
Legislation proponents indicated institutions would securely report privacy-protected, student-level data to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) – with the NCES being responsible for securely storing student information, working with relevant federal agencies to generate post-college outcomes reports, and presenting the summary information on a user-friendly website for students and families.
“Students and parents should have every tool when making the decision on a college or university,” Wilson said. ”I am grateful to join my colleagues in introducing this bipartisan bill that provides important data to assist with this life-changing decision.”