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S 3368 114th Congress Senate Education Consumer affairs Education of the disadvantaged Education programs funding Higher education Student aid and college costs

ASPIRE Act

Introduced: September 21, 2016 Introduced by: Coons, Christopher A. Democratic · Delaware See on congress.gov
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This bill died when the 114th Congress ended
It never became law before the 114th Congress (2015–2016) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Sep 21, 2016
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Sep 21, 2016
Introduced in Senate
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 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Access, Success, and Persistence in Reshaping Education Act of 2016 or the ASPIRE Act

This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 by requiring the Department of Education (ED) to rank institutions of higher education based on the percentage of first-time, full-time students who receive Pell Grants and are enrolled at the institutions. The institutions in the bottom 5% must improve the enrollment of those students by specific deadlines or pay a fee-per-student penalty.

Additionally, ED must rank institutions of higher education based on the percentage of first-time, full-time students who enroll at the school and graduate within 6 years. The bill gives institutions in the bottom 5% the option of receiving funding to improve student graduation rates. Those institutions must improve those rates by specific deadlines or pay a penalty.

The bill establishes consumer warning requirements for institutions with low enrollment or graduation rates.

ED must establish: (1) grant programs for improving graduation rates, and (2) a bonus program for providing nonfinancial rewards to institutions of higher education that make college more affordable and increase college access and success for low-income or working class students and moderate-income students.

ED must collect the penalty fees and use them to fund the grant and award program.

What's happening now September 21, 2016

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
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APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 3368: ASPIRE Act. 114th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/114-S-3368/
MLA
"S. 3368: ASPIRE Act." 114th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/114-S-3368/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 3368, 114th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/114-S-3368/.
Markdown link
[S. 3368: ASPIRE Act](https://openamerica.io/bill/114-S-3368/)
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