College Transparency Act
The College Transparency Act would create a new federal, postsecondary student data system to be run by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The system would collect student-level data (with privacy protections) to track enrollment, progression, completion, and post-college outcomes, as well as higher education costs and financial aid. It aims to improve transparency for students and families, support institutional improvement, and assist analysis of federal aid programs, while reducing reporting burden on colleges. A bipartisan advisory committee would help determine which data to collect and how to present it, and the act would require careful data security, privacy, and access controls. The bill also forbids the use of individual data for federal rankings or punitive actions and prohibits selling data. Public, aggregated information would be made available through a consumer-friendly website, with safeguards to prevent identifying individuals. Key elements include a four-year timeline to establish the system, mandatory data submission from participating Title IV institutions (and voluntary participation for others), a robust data-minimization and security framework, periodic data matching with multiple federal agencies for aggregate outcomes, and a process for individuals to request access to and correction of their own information. The bill would repeal a current prohibition on a national student data system and amend the Higher Education Act accordingly to implement these changes.
Key Points
- 1Establishment and purpose of a Postsecondary Student Data System
- 2- Create a secure, privacy-protected system within four years to measure enrollment, progression, completion, postcollegiate outcomes, and higher education costs/aid; designed to aid transparency, institutional improvement, and federal aid analysis; aims to reduce institution reporting burden.
- 3Data elements, privacy, and governance
- 4- Minimum data elements modeled on IPEDS surveys with disaggregation by multiple categories (e.g., enrollment status, attendance intensity, race/ethnicity, program of study, veteran status, distance education, Pell/loan status); advisory committee with diverse stakeholders to guide data elements and system design; strong privacy/security requirements including data minimization and student notice.
- 5Data sharing and use restrictions
- 6- Requires secure, periodic data matches with federal agencies (Treasury/IRS, Defense, Veterans Affairs, Census, Federal Student Aid, SSA, BLS) for aggregate outcomes; prohibits continuous linking into a single federal database; limits uses to research/evaluation or as explicitly authorized; prohibits law enforcement use or immigration enforcement actions; data cannot be sold; includes safeguards and breach protocols.
- 7Public reporting and user access
- 8- Summary aggregate data publicly accessible via a consumer-friendly website with tools to filter and compare by institution/program, while ensuring no personally identifiable information is released; requires statistical disclosure techniques to protect privacy; includes a mechanism for institutions to receive feedback and for states to request aggregate outcomes (with privacy protections).
- 9Implementation and transition provisions
- 10- Repeals the current prohibition on a national student data system; institutions participating in Title IV (or their agents) must submit required data; non-participating institutions may voluntarily participate; a process to correct inaccurate personal data for students; transition provisions to reduce duplicative reporting and align with federal privacy standards; establishes effective dates and timelines to ensure orderly implementation.