House Ed Panel Advances Financial Aid Transparency Bills

"One of the bills, the Student Financial Clarity Act, would require the Education Department to create a universal net price calculator that would give students an estimate of what they might have to pay for a particular program or institution. That legislation, which passed with bipartisan support, would also expand the College Scorecard to include more program-level statistics so students could compare outcomes and costs."

"Under the other bill, the College Financial Aid Clarity Act, the Education Department would develop a standardized format for college financial aid offers. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have sought for years to improve institutional offer letters-efforts that picked up steam in 2023 after the Government Accountability Office found that most colleges failed to clearly and accurately tell students how much their education would cost."

A House education panel advanced two bipartisan bills to increase transparency about college costs and payment options. The Student Financial Clarity Act would require the Education Department to create a universal net price calculator estimating student costs for specific programs or institutions and would expand the College Scorecard with additional program-level statistics. The College Financial Aid Clarity Act would require the department to develop a standardized format for financial aid offers, with federally funded colleges required to adopt it by July 1, 2029. The Government Accountability Office found most colleges failed to clearly and accurately communicate total education costs. Lawmakers called price transparency a legislative priority.

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