College Transparency Act
The College Transparency Act would create a new, national postsecondary student data system overseen by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The goal is to better measure who enrolls in higher education, how students progress and complete their programs, and what their outcomes and costs look like after graduation. The system would collect standardized, privacy-protected student-level data from participating colleges and universities (and optional data from non-participating institutions), and would link this information with other federal data to assess things like earnings, debt, and use of federal aid. The Act emphasizes privacy, data security, and minimizing reporting burden on institutions, and it would publicly share aggregate information about institutions with controls to protect individual privacy. It also sets up an advisory committee, prohibits certain sensitive data, and restricts how the data can be used (including a prohibition on creating a federal ranking system). The bill would repeal a current prohibition on such a student data system, require specific data elements (with many disaggregations), establish data-sharing agreements with multiple federal agencies, create consumer-facing public reporting, and set up processes for data access, corrections, and research use. It lays out penalties for unlawful disclosure and requires robust privacy and security safeguards, including audits and confidentiality protections. The transition provisions indicate that the data system would be developed and implemented over several years.
Key Points
- 1Establishment and timeline for a postsecondary student data system: The Commissioner of NCES must develop and maintain a secure, privacy-protected system within 4 years after enactment to track enrollment, progression, completion, postcollegiate outcomes, education costs, and federal aid analysis, while reducing reporting burden on institutions.
- 2Minimum data elements and advisory oversight: The system must include specified student-level data elements (with extensive disaggregation by enrollment status, credential level, race/ethnicity, age, gender, program, military status, distance learning, Pell/loan status, etc.) and may add additional elements after consultation with an Advisory Committee that includes privacy/security experts, institutional representatives, student advocates, state agencies, and other stakeholders.
- 3Data sharing, matching, and privacy safeguards: The Act requires secure, periodic data matching with multiple federal agencies (e.g., Treasury/IRS, Defense, Veterans Affairs, Census, Federal Student Aid, SSA, BLS) and mandates protections to prevent a single linked federal database, ensure privacy, and minimize reporting duplication. It also requires student notification about data use, data minimization, and a process for correcting inaccuracies.
- 4Public reporting with privacy protections: The Commissioner must publish publicly accessible, aggregate information on a consumer website with customizable filters, cross-institution comparisons, and context for comparisons, while safeguarding against disclosure of personally identifiable information (PII) through statistical disclosure limitation techniques.
- 5Use restrictions and enforcement: Data cannot be sold to third parties; use by other federal agencies is limited to vetted research or explicitly authorized purposes; lawmakers prohibit federal rankings or a single summative rating system, though aggregate data may support accountability. Unlawful disclosure of PII carries penalties, and federal employees can be dismissed for violations. The system must include data security guidance, audits, and breach protocols.