§ 3698 — Comprehensive Policy On Providing Education Information To Veterans

(a) The Secretary shall develop a comprehensive policy to improve outreach and transparency to individuals entitled to educational assistance under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs through the provision of information on institutions of higher learning. (b) In developing the policy required by subsection (a), the Secretary shall include each of the following elements: (1) Effective and efficient methods to inform individuals of the educational and vocational counseling provided under section 3697A of this title. (2) A centralized mechanism for tracking and publishing feedback from students and State approving agencies regarding the quality of instruction, recruiting practices, and post-graduation employment placement of institutions of higher learning that— (A) provides institutions of higher learning— (i) up to 30 days to review and respond to feedback from individuals described in subsection (a) and address issues regarding the feedback before the feedback is published; and (ii) if an institution of higher learning contests the accuracy of the feedback, the opportunity to challenge the inclusion of such data with an official appointed by the Secretary; (B) protects the privacy of students, including by not publishing the names of students; (C) publishes only feedback, and responses from institutions of higher learning to such feedback, that conform with criteria for relevancy that the Secretary shall determine; (D) for each institution of higher learning that is approved under this chapter, retains, maintains, and publishes all of such feedback for not less than six years; and (E) is easily accessible to individuals described in subsection (a) and to the general public. (3) The merit of and the manner in which a State approving agency shares with an accrediting agency or association recognized by the Secretary of Education under subpart 2 of part H of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b) information regarding the State approving agency’s evaluation of an institution of higher learning. (4) Description of the information provided to individuals participating in the Transition Assistance Program under section 1144 of title 10 relating to institutions of higher learning. (5) Effective and efficient methods to provide individuals described in subsection (a) with information regarding postsecondary education and training opportunities available to the individual. (1) The Secretary shall ensure that the information provided pursuant to subsection (b)(5) includes— (A) an explanation of the different types of accreditation available to educational institutions and programs of education; (B) for each individual described in subsection (a) seeking information provided under subsection (b)(5), the name of each Federal student aid program, and a description of each such program, from which the individual may receive educational assistance; and (C) for each institution of higher learning, for the most recent academic year for which information is available— (i) whether the institution is public, private nonprofit, or proprietary for-profit and a definition of each type of institution; (ii) the name of the national or regional accrediting agency that accredits the institution, including the contact information used by the agency to receive complaints from students; (iii) information on the State approving agency, including the contact information used by the agency to receive complaints from students; (iv) whether the institution participates in any programs under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) and if so, which programs; (v) the average annual cost and the total cost to earn an associate’s degree and a bachelor’s degree, with available cost information on any other degree or credential the institution awards; (vi) the median amount of debt from Federal student loans under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) held by individuals upon completion of programs of education at the institution of higher learning (as determined from information collected by the Secretary of Education) disaggregated by— (I) the type of beneficiary of educational assistance; (II) individuals who received a credential and individuals who did not; and (III) (vii) the cohort default rate, as defined in section 435(m) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1085(m)), of the institution; (viii) the total enrollment, graduation rate, and retention rate, as determined from information collected by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System of the Secretary of Education; (ix) whether the institution provides students with technical support, academic support, and other support services, including career counseling and job placement; (x) the information regarding the institution’s policies related to transfer of credit from other institutions, as required under section 485(h)(1) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092(h)(1)) and provided to the Secretary of Education under section 132(i)(1)(V)(iv) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1015a(i)(1)(V)(iv)); (xi) information on whether the institution administers a priority enrollment system that allows certain student veterans to enroll in courses earlier than other students; (xii) information on whether the institution requires a covered individual to take additional action pursuant to section 3679(e)(4) of this title to stay enrolled in a course pending receipt of educational assistance under a law administered by the Secretary; (xiii) whether the institution is listed on the College Navigator website as affiliated with a religion and, if so, which religious denomination; (xiv) whether the Secretary of Education or other head of a department or agency of the Federal Government has determined that the institution is a minority serving institution and, if so, which one or more types of minority serving institutions; (xv) whether the institution is gender specific; (xvi) the number of veterans or members who completed covered education at the institution leading to— (I) a degree, disaggregated by type of program, including— (aa) an associate degree; (bb) a bachelor’s degree; and (cc) a postbaccalaureate degree; and (II) a certificate or professional license, disaggregated by type of certificate or professional license; (xvii) programs available and the average time for completion of each program; (xviii) employment rate and median income of graduates of the institution in general two and five years after graduation, disaggregated by— (I) specific program; and (II) individuals using educational assistance under laws administered by the Secretary and individuals who are not; and (xix) the number of individuals using educational assistance under laws administered by the Secretary who are enrolled in the both the 1 institution and specific program per year. (A) To the extent practicable, the Secretary shall provide the information described in paragraph (1) by including hyperlinks on the Internet website of the Department to other Internet websites that contain such information, including the Internet website of the Department of Education, in a form that is comprehensive and easily understood by veterans, members of the Armed Forces, and other individuals. To the extent practicable, the Secretary shall ensure that such information is provided in a searchable format. (B) The Secretary shall ensure that information provided pursuant to subsection (b)(5) is provided in a manner that is easy for, and accessible to, individuals described in subsection (a). (C) In providing information pursuant to subsection (b)(5), the Secretary shall maintain the anonymity of individuals described in subsection (a) and, to the extent that a portion of any data would undermine such anonymity, ensure that such data is not made available pursuant to such subsection. (A) If the Secretary of Veterans Affairs requires, for purposes of providing information pursuant to subsection (b)(5), information that has been reported, or information that is similar to information that has been reported, by an institution of higher learning to the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Labor, or the heads of other Federal agencies under a provision of law other than under this section, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall obtain the information the Secretary of Veterans Affairs requires from the Secretary or head with the information rather than the institution of higher learning. (B) If the Secretary of Veterans Affairs requires, for purposes of providing information pursuant to subsection (b)(5), information from an institution of higher learning that has not been reported to another Federal agency, the Secretary shall, to the degree practicable, obtain such information through the Secretary of Education. (d) In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall ensure that— (1) the comprehensive policy is consistent with any requirements and initiatives resulting from Executive Order No. 13607; and (2) the efforts of the Secretary to implement the comprehensive policy do not duplicate the efforts being taken by any Federal agencies. (e) To the extent practicable, if the Secretary considers it necessary to communicate with an institution of higher learning to carry out the comprehensive policy required by subsection (a), the Secretary shall carry out such communication through the use of a communication system of the Department of Education. (f) In this section: (1) The term “institution of higher learning” has the meaning given that term in section 3452(f) of this title. (2) The term “postsecondary education and training opportunities” means any postsecondary program of education, including apprenticeships and on-job training, for which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs provides assistance to a veteran or member of the Armed Forces. (3) (20 U.S.C. 1015a). (4) The term “minority serving institution” means any of the following: (A) A part B institution, as such term is defined in section 322(2) of the Higher Education Act 2 (20 U.S.C. 1061(2)). (B) A Hispanic-serving institution, as such term is defined in section 502(a)(5) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1101a(5)). (C) A Tribal College or University, as such term is defined in section 316(b)(3) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b)(3)). (D) A predominantly Black institution, as such term is defined in section 318(b)(6) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1059e(b)(6)). (E) A Native American-serving, nontribal institution, as such term is defined in section 319(b)(2) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1059f(b)(6)). (F) An Alaska Native-serving institution or Native Hawaiian-serving institution, as such terms are defined in section 317(b) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1059d(b)). (G) An Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institution, as such term is defined in section 320(b) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1059g(b)).