Other
College Transparency Act
This bill establishes a secure federal college data system to provide students and families with detailed, comparable information about higher education costs, completion rates, student debt, and post-graduation earnings by college and program. Colleges participating in federal financial aid programs will be required to submit student enrollment and completion data, which will be periodically matched with federal tax, wage, and veterans' records. The legislation prohibits the collection of sensitive personal details like health records or citizenship status, bans the sale of student data, and bars the use of personal records for law enforcement or immigration enforcement.
People affected—The text applies broadly to students and institutions of higher education participating in Title IV federal aid programs, but does not provide a specific population count.
Fiscal magnitude—no CBO estimate published
Reach64provisional · pending reviewrigor: heuristic llm
What this bill touches.
Market protections+52
Who it helps · who it burdens.
Who it helps
- Prospective college students and their familiesGain access to a searchable public website and analytical tool providing aggregate data on college completion rates, net costs, student loan debt, and post-graduation earnings by institution and program (Sec. 2(2)(l)(4)).
- Education researchersGain access to privacy-protected, de-identified student-level data from the system for approved research and evaluation purposes (Sec. 2(2)(l)(5)(A)(i)).
- State higher education agenciesReceive annual feedback reports on student mobility and workforce outcomes, and can submit high school graduate lists to obtain aggregate college completion and outcome data (Sec. 2(2)(l)(5)(A)(ii)-(iii)).
- Postsecondary studentsGain a formal right and dedicated staffing process to inspect their personal data in the postsecondary system and receive written responses to correction requests (Sec. 2(2)(l)(3)(C)(iv)).
Who it burdens
- Colleges and universities participating in federal student aidMust collect and submit detailed student data to the National Center for Education Statistics to maintain eligibility under Title IV federal aid programs (Sec. 2(2)(l)(6)(A), Sec. 4(a)).
- Federal officers and employees with data system accessSubject to civil penalties, criminal penalties, and mandatory termination of employment if they willfully disclose personally identifiable student information without authorization (Sec. 2(2)(l)(7)).
- Partner federal agencies (IRS, DOD, VA, Census, SSA, BLS)Required to enter into data-sharing agreements and execute periodic data matches to assess student earnings, military/veteran benefit usage, debt, and employment outcomes (Sec. 2(2)(l)(3)(A)).
Who opposes it
- Federal, state, and local law enforcement and immigration authoritiesExplicitly barred from using personally identifiable student information collected by the data system for any enforcement actions, investigations, debt collection, or immigration enforcement against students or their families (Sec. 2(2)(l)(5)(E)).