Better Higher Ed Data means Better Decisions

We’re celebrating the bipartisan reintroduction of the College Transparency Act. Check out the bill text here.

Deciding to invest time and resources in a college education is one of the most important decisions a student will make. To empower that decision-making, students need and deserve complete and useful information about how other students fare at the colleges and programs they are considering. The College Transparency Act reforms our existing data systems so students and families can access timely, high-quality, and user-friendly information. CTA will also empower policymakers with answers to key questions so they can craft evidence-based solution that promote better outcomes for all students, particularly students of color and students from low-income backgrounds. And by illuminating inequities facing students, CTA can support equity-minded, data-driven action among higher education institutions. We look forward to working with Congressional leaders to pass this critically important legislation.

Mamie Voight
President & CEO
Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP)

We thank the bipartisan sponsors in the House and Senate for their leadership working to bolster transparency of higher education outcomes. Where to attend college is a critically important decision for millions of students and families each year, and they should have robust data on labor market outcomes to inform their decision. The College Transparency Act would enable exactly this kind of transparency while also helping institutions and policymakers better understand how populations of students, such as student veterans, are succeeding to ensure the promise of higher education delivers.

Waded Cruzado
President
Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU)

CTA serves the entire higher education community: it will provide students with better tools to weigh their college options, colleges and universities with insights to improve their student outcomes, and employers with a well-prepared workforce. Importantly, it achieves these aims while ensuring that student data are secure and privacy-protected, with robust data governance protocols to safeguard student information. CTA is a standout piece of legislation not only for its broad benefits, but also for its broad support across constituencies. It was the single most bipartisan bill by co-sponsor count in a prior Congress, and passed the House of Representatives on a bipartisan basis last year in an amendment to the America COMPETES Act of 2022. Beyond the Capitol, CTA has earned the public endorsement of over 160 diverse organizations, among them higher education institutions, civil rights groups, veterans’ organizations, student advocates, and the workforce and economic development community.

Lanae Erickson
Senior Vice President for Social Policy, Education & Politics
Third Way

For far too long, our understanding of postsecondary educational outcomes has been built on incomplete data that leaves out millions of students. The result has been policies that too often measure what is easiest to count instead of what matters most. The College Transparency Act will help change that by creating a secure, privacy-protected student-level data network that provides a more complete picture of who students are, where they enroll, how they progress, and what outcomes they achieve. Better information won’t solve every challenge facing higher education, but it is impossible to make sound policy—or for students to make informed decisions—without it.

Kevin Carey
Vice President, Education & Work
New America

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce (“Chamber”) strongly supports the College Transparency Act (CTA) and commends the bipartisan leadership of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) in advancing legislation to provide students and families with more complete information as they pursue postsecondary education. Historically, students have considered post-secondary education with the purpose of attaining a better job or more career opportunities. Yet, students and their families lack the robust data necessary to help them determine whether institutions of higher education truly deliver these outcomes, and whether the skills attained are aligned with employer needs. The CTA would change that. By providing accurate enrollment, completion, and postsecondary earnings by major, students would be able to find programs of study suited to their interests, while also meeting employer benchmarks. This would go a long way in addressing the work-readiness gap, in a market where high school graduates are viewed as less ready for work than previous generations.

Neil L. Bradley
Executive Vice President, Chief Policy Officer, and Head of Strategic Advocacy
U.S. Chamber of Commerce