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Hickenlooper Champions Bill to Modernize College Data Reporting System, Support Students’ College Search

May 8, 2023

Bill would improve and expand data on postsecondary outcomes available to students and parents to inform their decisions on college and career training

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper joined Senator Bill Cassidy and a bipartisan group of 16 colleagues to introduce the College Transparency Act. The bill would revamp the current college data reporting system by requiring comprehensive reporting of student outcomes including enrollment, completion, and post-college earnings across colleges and majors.

The bill aims to make higher education more transparent by giving parents and students the tools to decide which school or program is the best fit.

“We need to give students and families all the information they need to decide what college or career training program is the best choice for them,” said Hickenlooper. “Making student outcomes more transparent will help do that.”

“The University of Colorado applauds the reintroduction of the bipartisan College Transparency Act,” said University of Colorado President Todd Saliman. “We believe this legislation will give students and parents the tools they need to make informed decisions about cost and quality across academic institutions and programs in Colorado and beyond. The bill strikes an important balance between providing those interested in pursuing higher education with essential information while also safeguarding student privacy, and we thank Senator Hickenlooper for his leadership on this issue.”

The current college data reporting system is burdensome for institutions to navigate and provides very little practical information for students and families. This bill would create an updated system to close gaps in college data reporting, and present the collected data on a user-friendly website for students and families. The bill would also report information back to the states and colleges to encourage them to implement new strategies to support student success.

The bill would require educational institutions to report their data to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). NCES would be responsible for securely storing student information and working with federal agencies to generate comprehensive reports with the collected data.

Hickenlooper sits on the Senate Committee for Health, Education. Labor, Pensions (HELP). Senator Cassidy is the ranking member of the HELP Committee.

Full text of the bill is available HERE.

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