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S 2201 115th Congress Senate Education Congressional oversight Consumer affairs Department of Education Education of the disadvantaged Education programs funding Educational technology and distance education Government information and archives Government lending and loan guarantees Higher education Student aid and college costs

ASPIRE Act

Introduced: December 6, 2017 Introduced by: Coons, Christopher A. Democratic · Delaware See on congress.gov
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 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Dec 6, 2017
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Dec 6, 2017
Introduced in Senate
 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Access, Success, and Persistence in Reshaping Education Act of 2017 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 (IHEs) based on the percentage of first-time, full-time students who receive Pell Grants and are enrolled at the IHEs. The IHEs 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 IHEs based on the percentage of first-time, full-time students who enroll at the school and graduate within 6 years. The bill gives IHEs in the bottom 5% the option of receiving funding to improve student graduation rates. Those IHEs must improve those rates by specific deadlines or pay a penalty.

The bill establishes consumer warning requirements for IHEs 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 IHEs 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 December 6, 2017

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

 Committees of jurisdiction 1