,,ii #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #hhi ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,march #bg1 #bjai ,mr4 ,grassley 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,smith1 and ,ms4 ,ernst7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife to make technical improvements to the ,net ,price ,calculator system so that prospective students may have a more accurate understanding of the true cost of college4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,net ,price ,calculator ,improvement ,act4 #b4 ,minimum standards for net price calculators ,section #acb7;h7 of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajae;a7h77 is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating paragraph 7#d7 as paragraph 7#f72 7#b7 in paragraph 7#b71 by inserting before the period 1 and1 not later than #a year after the date of enactment of the ,net ,price ,calculator ,improvement ,act1 shall meet the requirements of paragraph 7#d77;,c72 7#c7 in paragraph 7#c71 by inserting after the first sentence the following3 ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of the ,net ,price ,calculator ,improvement ,act1 such calculator shall meet the requirements of paragraph 7#d742 and 7#d7 by inserting after paragraph 7#c7 the following3 7#d7 ,minimum requirements for net price calculators ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of the ,net ,price ,calculator ,improvement ,act1 a net price calculator for an institution of higher education shall1 at a minimum1 meet the following requirements3 7,a7 ,the link for the calculator-- 7i7 is clearly labeled as a net price calculator and prominently1 clearly1 and conspicuously 7in such size and contrast 7such as shade7 that it is readily noticeable and readable7 posted in locations on the institution's website where information on costs and aid is provided 7such as financial aid1 prospective students1 or tuition and fees web pages72 7ii7 matches in size and font to the other prominent links on the primary menu2 and 7iii7 may also be included on the institution's compliance web page1 which contains information relating to compliance with ,federal1 ,state1 and local laws4 7,b7 ,the input screen for the net price calculator displays a chart of the net prices for students receiving ,federal student financial aid under title ,,iv 7as required by subsection 7i77#e77 for the most recent academic year for which data are available1 disaggregated by income categories4 7,c7 ,the results screen for the calculator specifies the following information3 7i7 ,the individual net price 7as calculated under paragraph 7#b77 for the individual student1 which is the most visually prominent figure on the results screen1 including a statement of-- 7,i7 the year for which the net price applies2 and 7,,ii7 the year from which the data was used to determine that net price4 7ii7 ,cost of attendance1 including-- 7,i7 the total estimated cost for a student to complete the program of study1 based on normal time for completion of1 or graduation from1 the student's particular program of study2 7,,ii7 the total annual cost of attendance2 7,,iii7 annual tuition and fees2 7,,iv7 average annual cost of room and board for the institution for a first-time1 full-time undergraduate student enrolled in the institution2 7,v7 average annual cost of books and supplies for a first-time1 full-time undergraduate student enrolled in the institution2 7,,vi7 estimated annual cost of other expenses 7including personal expenses and transportation7 for a first-time1 full-time undergraduate student enrolled in the institution2 and 7,,vii7 a statement of-- 7aa7 the year for which each cost described in this clause applies2 and 7bb7 the year from which the data was used to determine each cost described in this clause4 7iii7 ,estimated total need-based grant aid and merit-based grant aid1 from ,federal1 ,state1 and institutional sources1 that may be available to the individual student1 showing the subtotal for each category and the total of all sources of grant aid1 and disaggregated by academic year for normal time for completion of1 or graduation from1 the student's particular program of study4 7iv7 ,percentage of the first-time1 full-time undergraduate students enrolled in the institution that received any type of grant aid described in clause 7iii71 disaggregated by their first year and subsequent years of enrollment up to the number of years for normal completion of1 or graduation from1 their particular program of study4 7v7 ,the disclaimer described in paragraph 7#f74 7vi7 ,in the case of a calculator that-- 7,i7 includes questions to estimate a student's 7or prospective student's7 eligibility for veterans' education benefits 7as defined in section #dhj7 or educational benefits for active duty service members1 such benefits are displayed on the results screen in a manner that clearly distinguishes them from the grant aid described in clause 7iii72 or 7,,ii7 does not include questions to estimate eligibility for the benefits described in subclause 7,i71 the results screen indicates-- 7aa7 that certain students 7or prospective students7 may qualify for such benefits2 7bb7 states why the institution is not including questions to estimate a student's eligibility for such benefits2 and 7cc7 includes a link to an appropriate ,federal website that provides information about such benefits4 7,d7 ,the institution populates the calculator with data from not earlier than #b academic years prior to the most recent academic year4 7#e7 ,prohibition on use of data collected by the net price calculator ,a net price calculator for an institution of higher education shall-- 7,a7 clearly indicate which questions are required to be completed for an estimate of the net price from the calculator2 7,b7 in the case of a calculator that requests contact information from users1 clearly mark such requests as optional2 7,c7 prohibit any personally identifiable information provided by users from being sold or made available to third parties2 and 7,d7 clearly state ,any information that you provide on this site is confidential4 ,the ,net ,price ,calculator does not store your responses or require personal identifying information of any kind44 4 #c4 ,universal net price calculator ,section #acb7;h7 of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajae;a7h771 as amended by section #b1 is further amended by adding at the end the following3 7#g7 ,universal net price calculator 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary may develop a universal net price calculator that is housed within the ,department of ,education1 with ,department branding1 and that may be based on or utilize an existing platform developed by a public or private entity1 that-- 7i7 enables users to answer one set of questions and receive net prices for any institution that is required to have a net price calculator under this subsection2 7ii7 provides the information required under subparagraphs 7,c7 and 7,d7 of paragraph 7#d7 for each institution for which a net price is being sought2 7iii7 is developed in consultation with the heads of relevant ,federal agencies2 and 7iv7 before being finalized and publicly released1 is tested in accordance with subparagraph 7,b74 7,b7 ,consumer testing 7i7 ,in general ,if the ,secretary develops a universal net price calculator under subparagraph 7,a71 the ,secretary1 in consultation with the heads of relevant ,federal agencies1 shall establish a process to submit the universal net price calculator developed under this paragraph for consumer testing among representatives of students 7including low-income students1 first generation college students1 adult students1 and prospective students71 students' families 7including low-income families1 families with first generation college students1 and families with prospective students71 institutions of higher education1 secondary school and postsecondary counselors1 and nonprofit consumer groups4 7ii7 ,length of consumer testing ,the ,secretary shall ensure that the consumer testing lasts no longer than #f months after the process for consumer testing is developed under clause 7i74 7iii7 ,use of results ,the results of consumer testing under clause 7i7 shall be used in the final development of the universal net price calculator4 7iv7 ,reporting requirement ,not later than #c months after the date the consumer testing under clause 7i7 concludes1 the ,secretary shall submit to ,congress the final universal net price calculator and a report detailing the results of such testing1 including whether the ,secretary added any additional items to the calculator as a result of such testing4 7v7 ,authority to modify ,the ,secretary may modify the definitions1 terms1 formatting1 and design of the universal net price calculator based on the results of consumer testing required under this paragraph and before finalizing the calculator4 7#h7 ,report from ,secretary ,not later than #a year after the date of enactment of the ,net ,price ,calculator ,improvement ,act1 the ,secretary shall submit a report to ,congress on steps taken to raise awareness of net price calculators among prospective students and families1 particularly among students in middle school and high school and students from low-income families4 4