Transparency and Accountability in Higher Education
As outstanding student debt balloons to $1.6 trillion, it's time to ensure the higher education system is transparent and accountable.
Our higher education system is broken!
It’s time for Congress to act and hold higher education institutions accountable to students and taxpayers.
Protecting Students and Taxpayers
If you didn’t know that nearly 500 federally-funded colleges leave their students worse off than when they enrolled, or with no return on investment, you’re not alone. Today, Americans have better information at their fingertips when they’re car shopping than when they’re making decisions about higher education investments that can affect their earning potential and financial security for years to come.
Currently more than $1.6 trillion in student loan debt is piling up for borrowers across the country.
Holding Colleges Accountable
Higher education institutions themselves aren’t held to any standards to ensure they’re graduating students who are prepared for the workforce – and can afford to repay their student loan debt!
As outstanding student debt balloons to $1.6 trillion, it’s time for Congress and the Administration to ensure the higher education system is transparent and accountable. Students need more and better information about completion rates and post-graduation outcomes before they enroll and take out loans. Institutions participating in federal student aid and grant programs funded by taxpayers need to be accountable for quality, cost, and outcomes.
3 Key Reforms
While recent action by the Administration to cancel some student loan debt may provide needed relief to some students, the student debt crisis in America won’t end without systemic reforms, including:
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Increasing Transparency
Last Congress, a bipartisan bill, the College Transparency Act, would have improved the availability of information to students when making decisions about their higher education.
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Holding Schools Accountable
Congress and the Administration should insist taxpayer funds are only available to schools that can demonstrate their value to students. Supporting policies like the gainful employment rule will end taxpayer support for predatory and low-value programs that leave students worse off than when they enrolled.
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Prioritizing Completion and Reward Success
Congress and the Administration should reward institutions that get students to graduation day and invest in programs with a proven record of increasing completion rates, especially at schools serving large proportions of low-income and first-generation students.
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