Voters should care about this bill because it directly addresses the growing concern about student loan debt and the return on investment for higher education. Currently, much of the public data about colleges is school-wide, making it hard to compare specific programs. If this bill becomes law, prospective students will be able to see, for example, the median earnings and typical debt for graduates of a specific computer science program at one university versus a similar program at another.
This added transparency could empower students to choose programs that offer a better financial outlook, potentially reducing overall student debt and improving financial literacy. Without this law, students would continue to rely on less specific data, making it harder to gauge the real-world financial impact of their educational choices before taking on significant loans.
KEY PROVISIONS
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PROVISION 01
Requires the U.S. Department of Education to annually expand the College Scorecard with detailed program-level data for all programs receiving federal student aid.
This means students can see specific outcomes for individual majors, not just general school averages.
PROVISION 02
Mandates the inclusion of median annual earnings for students from specific programs 10 years after enrollment, regardless of completion status.
This provides clear, long-term income projections linked to specific fields of study.
PROVISION 03
Requires the College Scorecard to display the median debt amounts for various federal student loans (Stafford, PLUS) and the default and repayment rates for specific programs and institutions.
This gives a comprehensive financial picture, showing not just earnings but also how much debt is typically accumulated and how well it's repaid.
PROVISION 04
Defines 'repayment rate' as the share of borrowers who graduated with federal student loans making progress or in other specific statuses two years after entering repayment.
This provides a standardized way to measure how well students are managing their loan obligations after graduation.
Voters should care about this bill because it directly addresses the growing concern about student loan debt and the return on investment for higher education. Currently, much of the public data about colleges is school-wide, making it hard to compare specific programs. If this bill becomes law, prospective students will be able to see, for example, the median earnings and typical debt for graduates of a specific computer science program at one university versus a similar program at another.
This added transparency could empower students to choose programs that offer a better financial outlook, potentially reducing overall student debt and improving financial literacy. Without this law, students would continue to rely on less specific data, making it harder to gauge the real-world financial impact of their educational choices before taking on significant loans.
KEY PROVISIONS
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high
Requires the U.S. Department of Education to annually expand the College Scorecard with detailed program-level data for all programs receiving federal student aid.
This means students can see specific outcomes for individual majors, not just general school averages.
high
Mandates the inclusion of median annual earnings for students from specific programs 10 years after enrollment, regardless of completion status.
This provides clear, long-term income projections linked to specific fields of study.
high
Requires the College Scorecard to display the median debt amounts for various federal student loans (Stafford, PLUS) and the default and repayment rates for specific programs and institutions.
This gives a comprehensive financial picture, showing not just earnings but also how much debt is typically accumulated and how well it's repaid.
med
Defines 'repayment rate' as the share of borrowers who graduated with federal student loans making progress or in other specific statuses two years after entering repayment.
This provides a standardized way to measure how well students are managing their loan obligations after graduation.
The Secretary of Education shall expand and update the College Scorecard annually with the specified program-level and institution-level data.
GLOSSARY
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College Scorecard
A website managed by the U.S. Department of Education that provides data on college costs, graduation rates, debt, and post-college earnings.
Federal student aid
Financial assistance from the U.S. government to help students pay for education, including grants (like Pell Grants) and student loans.
Program-level data
Information specifically about a particular course of study, such as a bachelor's degree in biology or a certificate in welding, rather than about the entire school.
Median annual earnings
The middle income for a group of people; half earn more, and half earn less. It's used here to show typical salaries after completing a program.
Federal Direct Stafford Loan
A type of low-interest student loan funded by the U.S. government, available to eligible students to help cover the cost of higher education.
Federal Direct PLUS loan
A federal loan program for graduate or professional students (Graduate PLUS) and parents of dependent undergraduate students (Parent PLUS) to help pay for education expenses not covered by other financial aid.
Default rate
ACTION TIMELINE
2 EVENTS
SEP 3, 25
Introduced in Senate
INTROREFERRAL
SEP 3, 25
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
The percentage of borrowers who fail to make payments on their student loans for a specified period, typically leading to the loan being declared in default.
Repayment rate
The percentage of students who are successfully making payments on their federal student loans or are in a status like deferment or forbearance, rather than being delinquent or in default, a couple of years after starting repayment.
