Mel’s Law would amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require colleges and universities that participate in Title IV federal student aid programs to establish a formal policy for awarding degrees posthumously to certain deceased students. Specifically, the policy would apply to students who were enrolled in a degree program, died before completing it, and were in academic standing at the time of death consistent with graduation requirements. The bill also amends accreditation criteria to prevent accrediting agencies from considering the number of posthumous degrees awarded when evaluating an institution. All changes would take effect one year after enactment. In short, the bill creates a federal requirement for posthumous degree policies and protects institutions from accreditation penalties related to posthumous degrees.
Key Points
- 1Adds a new requirement to 487(a): institutions must certify that they have a policy to award posthumous degrees to deceased students who were enrolled, died before completing the program, and were in academic standing at death per the institution’s graduation requirements.
- 2Accreditation safeguard: adds a new paragraph (6) to 496(a) stating that accreditation standards must not consider the number of posthumous degrees an institution awards.
- 3Title IV condition: the posthumous-degree policy becomes a condition of participation in Title IV programs, tying federal program eligibility to implementing the policy.
- 4Effective date: the provisions take effect one year after enactment.
- 5Scope and definitions: the bill leaves certain details unspecified (e.g., which degree levels or programs are covered beyond “degree program,” and how “academic standing” is measured at death), delegating policy specifics to institutions.