§1015a Transparency in College Tuition for Consumers

Summary

Requires the Education Department to put clear, searchable college cost and consumer information on the College Navigator website. Key terms: College Navigator website (the Department’s site), cost of attendance (average yearly total price for a first‑time, full‑time undergrad), net price (average yearly cost after grant aid), and tuition and fees (average yearly tuition and fees for first‑time, full‑time undergrads). By July 1, 2011 the Department must post sortable lists by State showing, for nine groups of schools (4‑year, 2‑year, and under‑2‑year, each split into public, private nonprofit, and private for‑profit), the top 5% with highest tuition, top 5% with highest net price, top 5% with largest 3‑year percentage increases in tuition and in net price, and the bottom 10% with lowest tuition and lowest net price. The lists and related data must be updated every year. For public schools, the cost, net price, and tuition are calculated for in‑state students. Colleges on the lists for largest 3‑year increases must file a report to the Department explaining which budget areas rose most, why costs rose, steps to lower costs, and progress if they recur. The Department publishes an annual summary of those reports. An institution is exempt from reporting if its dollar increase in tuition or net price is under $600 across the three years; that $600 amount is updated every three years starting in 2014 for inflation using the Consumer Price Index. The Department must also post annual State charts showing five‑year changes in State spending per full‑time student, tuition, and State aid. The Department had to create a net price calculator within one year after August 14, 2008 and a multi‑year tuition calculator within that same deadline; colleges must put a matching net price calculator on their websites within two years after the Department makes its tool available. All calculators must say the estimates are not final, tell students to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, and include a link to that form. The Department must also publish, updated yearly, a wide set of consumer facts for each institution (mission; admissions and enrollment numbers; test scores; student demographics and graduation rates; degrees awarded and top majors; faculty and student‑faculty ratios; costs for on‑ and off‑campus and, for public schools, resident vs. nonresident costs; average grants and loans and percent receiving aid; Pell counts; default and campus safety info; links to student services and regional wage data; pricing summaries and tuition plan info). The Department must report net price by these income ranges: $0–30,000; $30,001–48,000; $48,001–75,000; $75,001–110,000; and $110,001 and up (adjustable for inflation). The Department must run a State‑by‑State survey of federal aid recipients at least once every four years and publish the results. The Secretary may issue rules to carry out these requirements.