[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6498 Reported in House (RH)]
<DOC>
Union Calendar No. 395
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6498
[Report No. 119-461]
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to increase transparency in
college tuition for consumers, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 9, 2025
Mr. Guthrie (for himself, Mr. Onder, and Mrs. Trahan) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and
Workforce
January 21, 2026
Additional sponsors: Mr. Norcross and Mr. Vindman
January 21, 2026
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on
December 9, 2025]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to increase transparency in
college tuition for consumers, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Student Financial Clarity Act of
2025''.
SEC. 2. TRANSPARENCY IN COLLEGE TUITION FOR CONSUMERS.
(a) Amendment.--Section 132 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1015a) is amended by striking subsections (a) through (j) and
inserting the following:
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) College scorecard website.--The term `College
Scorecard website' means the College Scorecard website required
under subsection (b) and includes any successor website.
``(2) Cost of attendance.--The term `cost of attendance'
has the meaning given such term in section 472(a).
``(3) Required costs.--The term `required costs' means the
sum of all the items listed in section 472(a) that are required
by an institution of higher education for a program of study
for the program length of a program of study, for the time to
credential for a student, or for an award year of a program of
study, as applicable, including--
``(A) the tuition and fees normally assessed a
student enrolled in such program of study carrying the
same academic workload, as determined by the
institution; and
``(B) in a case in which the institution requires a
student to reside in institutionally owned or operated
housing or to use institutionally owned or operated
food services, the applicable standard allowance for
such housing or food services determined by the
institution in accordance with section 472(a)(5).
``(4) Amount of grant and scholarship aid.--The term
`amount of grant and scholarship aid' means the sum of all of
the grant and scholarship aid that is available to the student
for the program length of a program of study, for the time to
credential for a student, or for an award year of a program of
study, as applicable, that a student does not have to repay,
including need-based, merit-based, or athletic-based, or
another type of grant and scholarship aid, that is--
``(A) offered under title IV;
``(B) offered through other Federal programs;
``(C) offered by the institution;
``(D) offered by a State; or
``(E) offered by any other source.
``(5) Net price required for completion.--
``(A) Total net price required for completion.--The
term `total net price required for completion' means,
with respect to a student in a program of study--
``(i) the required costs charged to such
student for the program of study for the time
to credential; minus
``(ii) the amount of grant and scholarship
aid that is available to the student for such
program for the time to credential.
``(B) Annual net price required for completion.--
The term `annual net price required for completion'
means, with respect to a student in a program of
study--
``(i) the required costs charged to such
student for the program of study for an award
year; minus
``(ii) the amount of grant and scholarship
aid that is available to the student for such
program for such award year.
``(6) Net price of attendance.--
``(A) Total net price of attendance.--The term
`total net price of attendance' means, with respect to
a student in a program of study, the sum of--
``(i) the total net price required for
completion; and
``(ii) the sum, for the time to credential,
of all the costs listed in section 472(a) that
are not required costs.
``(B) Annual net price of attendance.--The term
`annual net price of attendance' means, with respect to
a student in a program of study, the net price of
attendance for a specific year of the program of study,
determined by disaggregating the total net price of
attendance for the student by each year of the
student's time to credential.
``(7) Program length.--The term `program length' means the
minimum amount of time in weeks, months, or years that is
specified in the catalog, marketing materials, or other
official publications of an institution of higher education for
a full-time student to complete the requirements to obtain the
degree or credential awarded for a specific program of study.
``(8) Time to credential.--The term `time to credential'
means, with respect to a student, the actual amount of time in
weeks, months, or years it takes the student to complete the
requirements to obtain the degree or credential awarded for a
specific program of study.
``(b) Consumer Information.--
``(1) Availability of information for title iv institutions
and programs.--Not later than 18 months after the effective
date of this subsection, the Secretary shall make publicly
available on the College Scorecard website the following
information with respect to students of the institution who
have received Federal financial assistance described in
paragraph (2)(I), for the most recent award year for which such
information is available:
``(A) Institutions.--With respect to each
institution of higher education that participates in a
program under title IV, the following:
``(i) A link to the website of the
institution.
``(ii) A link to the Universal Net Price
calculator described in subsection (c) and, if
applicable, a link to any net price calculator
developed by the institution in accordance with
paragraph (7) of such subsection.
``(iii) Information on the type of
institution, including predominant and highest
credential awarded, research intensity, and
programs of study offered.
``(iv) In the case of an institution that
requires scores for a college entrance
examination (such as the SAT or ACT) to be
submitted, data on such submitted scores.
``(v) The acceptance rate, determined by
calculating the percentage of individuals who
submitted a completed application to the
institution who were accepted for enrollment.
``(vi) The institution's cohort default
rate, as defined under section 435(m).
``(vii) A link to the website of the
institution containing the information on
campus safety required to be collected under
section 485(i).
``(B) Institutions and programs of study.--With
respect to each such institution and to each program of
study at each such institution, the following:
``(i) The geographic location.
``(ii) Information on student enrollment,
including the number and percentage of students
enrolled full-time, less than full-time, and
enrolled in distance education.
``(iii) Information on the number of
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduate
students who have transferred from another
institution.
``(iv) Information on student progression
and completion, including time to credential
and rates of withdrawal, retention, transfer,
or completion.
``(v) Information on college costs and
financial aid, including--
``(I) the average, median, minimum,
and maximum values of--
``(aa) the required costs
for such award year (determined
for an institution based on the
required costs for all programs
of study);
``(bb) the cost of
attendance for such award year
(determined for an institution
based on the cost of attendance
for all programs of study);
``(cc) the amount of grant
and scholarship aid received by
students for such award year
(determined for an institution
based on the amount of grant
and scholarship aid received by
students for all programs of
study);
``(dd) the information
described in item (cc) and
subclause (II)(cc),
disaggregated--
``(AA) by the type
of source described in
subparagraphs (A)
through (E) of
subsection (a)(4); and
``(BB) by whether
such aid is need-based,
merit-based, or
athletic-based, or is
another type of aid;
``(II) with respect to students who
completed a credential during the most
recent award year, the average, median,
minimum, and maximum values of--
``(aa) the program length
(determined for an institution
based on the program length for
all programs of study);
``(bb) the time to
credential (determined for an
institution based on the time
to credential for all programs
of study);
``(cc) the amount of grant
and scholarship aid received
for the time to credential
(determined for an institution
based on the amount of grant
and scholarship aid received by
students for all programs of
study);
``(dd) the total net price
required for completion
(determined for an institution
based on the total net price
required for completion for all
programs of study); and
``(ee) the total net price
required for attendance
(determined for an institution
based on the total net price
required for attendance for all
programs of study);
``(III) the number and percentage
of students receiving any amount of
grant and scholarship aid for such
award year, and with respect to
students who completed a credential
during the most recent award year, the
number and percentage of such students
receiving any amount of grant and
scholarship aid for the time to
credential;
``(IV) the average annual
percentage change and average annual
dollar change in the required costs for
each of the three most recent academic
years for which data are available; and
``(V) the average annual percentage
change and average annual dollar change
in the total and annual net price
required for completion for each of the
three most recent academic years for
which data are available.
``(vi) Information on student debt and
repayment, including--
``(I) the average, median, minimum,
and maximum amounts borrowed by
students under title IV;
``(II) information with respect to
repayment of loans made under title IV,
including borrower-based repayment
rates, dollar-based repayment rates,
and time spent in repayment; and
``(III) the number and percentage
of students who--
``(aa) are borrowers of a
loan made under title IV;
``(bb) are not borrowers of
a loan made under title IV, but
have at least one parent who is
a borrower of a loan made under
title IV on behalf of the
student; and
``(cc) are borrowers of a
loan made under title IV, and
have at least one parent who is
a borrower of a loan made under
title IV on behalf of the
student.
``(vii) Information on the earnings of
students, including the average, median,
minimum, and maximum values of--
``(I) with respect to students who
complete a program of study in the most
recent award year for which data are
available--
``(aa) the annual earnings
of such students; and
``(bb) the value-added
earnings (as defined in section
481(b)(3)(A)(iv)) of such
students; and
``(II) the annual earnings of
students who were enrolled in a program
of study at the institution during the
most recent award year for which data
are available, and who at the time the
information is reported--
``(aa) have not completed
such program of study; and
``(b