This bill, called the College Transparency Act, would create a secure, national student-level data system for higher education. Within four years, the National Center for Education Statistics would build it to track enrollment, graduation, college costs and financial aid, and what happens after students leave college. The aim is to give students and families clear, comparable information and to reduce duplicate reporting by schools. It also removes a prior federal ban on creating such a system.

The system would publish an easy-to-use website with anonymous summaries for each school and program, including admissions, enrollment, staying on track, graduation, costs and financial aid, and outcomes like jobs, earnings, loan repayment, and further education. People could filter and compare schools, but no personal details would be shown.

Privacy and security are strict. Public releases cannot identify anyone, data must follow strong federal security standards, and data cannot be sold. Personally identifiable information cannot be used for law enforcement, immigration enforcement, or to limit services, and the federal government can’t use the system to create college rankings. Approved researchers may access de-identified student-level data, and students can ask to see and correct their own information.

• Who is affected:
  • Students and families, who get clearer, comparable college info.
  • Colleges that take federal financial aid must submit data; others can join voluntarily. States and schools will also get regular feedback reports.
• What changes:
  • One system replaces duplicate reporting where possible.
  • Secure, periodic data matches with agencies like IRS, Social Security, Veterans Affairs, Defense, Census, Federal Student Aid, and Labor help report earnings and other outcomes, without creating one giant combined database.
  • Sensitive details won’t be collected, such as health records, exact addresses, citizenship or national origin, grades, test scores, or religion.
  • The old federal ban on this kind of student data system is repealed.
• When:
  • System built within 4 years of enactment; a stakeholder advisory group is set up within 2 years; school reporting requirements start 4 years after enactment.