S. 2700: Debt, Earnings, and Cost Information Disclosure for Education Act

This bill, titled the Debt, Earnings, and Cost Information Disclosure for Education Act or the DECIDE Act, aims to improve the transparency and accountability of information available to Federal student loan borrowers by requiring the Department of Education to provide more detailed data on educational programs. Here's a breakdown of the key components:

Program-Level Data

The bill mandates that the Secretary of Education annually update the College Scorecard (or a similar tool) to include the following information for each educational program eligible for Federal student aid:

• The median annual earnings of students who received Federal funds for their program, measured ten years after their enrollment.
• The median amount of Federal Direct Stafford Loan debt for borrowers who completed the program when they entered repayment.
• For graduate programs, the median amount of Graduate Federal Direct PLUS loan debt for borrowers who completed the program.
• The median amount of Parent Federal Direct PLUS loan debt for students whose parents borrowed for their education, if applicable.
• The default rate of students who completed the program.
• The repayment rate for the program.

Institution-Level Data

Additionally, the Secretary of Education is required to expand the data available at the institutional level in the College Scorecard, which would include:

• The cohort default rate: the percentage of a school's borrowers who defaulted on their loans.
• The repayment rate: the percentage of borrowers who are successfully repaying their loans.
• The rate of default on Graduate Federal Direct PLUS loans and their repayment rate for students who received these loans.
• The rate of default on Parent Federal Direct PLUS loans and the repayment rate for such loans on behalf of students.

Definitions

The bill also provides clear definitions for terms used within the Act:

• Cohort Default Rate: Defined according to existing regulations in the Higher Education Act.
• Repayment Rate: This refers to the percentage of borrowers, two years after entering repayment, who are either making progress in their repayment status or have paid in full, among other specified categories. It excludes private student loans and loans originated at different institutions.

Overall Purpose

The overall goal of the DECIDE Act is to provide prospective students and current borrowers with detailed, program-specific information that can help them make informed decisions about their education, debt, and potential earnings. By enhancing the data available, the bill seeks to ensure greater accountability from educational institutions regarding the outcomes of their students.

Relevant Companies

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