Informed Student Document Act

Summary

To aid students and their parents, the Informed Student Document Act would publish the following outcomes by which a state’s universities can be compared:

1. “Sticker-price” tuition relative to other institutions

2. Net price, after grants and scholarships, relative to other institutions

3. Retention rate relative to other institutions

4. Graduation rate relative to other institutions

5. Average student debt relative to other institutions

6. Loan repayment rates relative to other institutions

7. Employment potential relative to other institutions.

8. Average starting salaries for each academic major (gleaned from national employment surveys).

In addition to posting this information online, all potential applicants to a state college or university would receive this document in their application packet.

Model Policy

Section 1. Title. This Act shall be known as “Informed Student Document Act.”

Section 2. Definitions.

(A) In this Act:

(1) “Institutions of higher learning” means any public technical institute, public junior college, public senior college or university, medical or dental unit, public state college, or other agency of higher education as defined in this section.

Section 3. Informed Student Document for Prospective Students and Their Parents.

(A) The {insert appropriate state education board} shall maintain for each institution to which this subchapter applies an informed student document that is designed for use by prospective students of the institution and their parents, but also available to the public, legislators and other interested policy makers.

(B) The informed student document required by this section must identify:

(1) the institutional grouping to which the institution is assigned under the {insert appropriate state education board} higher education accountability system; and

(2) the institution’s in-state and out-of-state peer institutions.

(C)  For purposes of this section, information required to be included in the informed student document regarding the institution’s in-state or out-of-state peer institutions must be listed in the form of the average of that information for those institutions unless otherwise prescribed by {insert appropriate state education board} rule.

(D) The informed student document must include the following information relating to the institution for the most recent state fiscal year for which the information is available and compare that information to the same information for the state fiscal year preceding the most recent state fiscal year for which the information is available and the state fiscal year preceding the most recent state fiscal year for which the information is available by five years:

(1) under the heading “COSTS”:

(a) the average annual total academic costs for a resident undergraduate student enrolled in 30 semester credit hours:

(i) at the institution; and

(ii) at the institution’s in-state and out-of-state peer institutions;

(b) net annual total academic costs for a resident undergraduate student enrolled in 30 semester credit hours, after grants and scholarships:

(i) at the institution; and

(ii) at the institution’s in-state and out-of-state peer institutions;

(c) average student debt:

(i) at the institution; and

(ii) at the institution’s in-state and out-of-state peer institutions;

(d) loan repayment rates:

(i) at the institution; and

(ii) at the institution’s in-state and out-of-state peer institutions;

(2) under the heading “STUDENT SUCCESS”:

(a) the retention rate of first-time, full-time, degree-seeking entering undergraduate students:

(i) enrolled in the institution after one academic year and after two academic years; and

(ii) enrolled in the institution’s in-state peer institutions after two academic years;

(b) the four-year, five-year, and six-year graduation rates of full-time bachelor’s degree-seeking students:

(i) at the institution; and

(ii) at the institution’s in-state and out-of-state peer institutions;

(c) the average number of fall and spring semesters of enrollment attempted by a student to obtain a bachelor’s degree:

(i) at the institution; and

(ii) at the institution’s in-state peer institutions;

(d) Collegiate Learning Assessment scores:

(i) at the institution; and

(ii) at the institution’s in-state and out-of-state peer institutions;

(3) under the heading “EMPLOYMENT”:

(a) employment potential:

(i) at the institution; and

(ii) at the institution’s in-state and out-of-state peer institutions;

(b) job placement of students within the first three years of graduation; and

(c) income of college alumni over the first twenty years of their careers;

(4) under the heading “ADMISSIONS”:

(a) the middle 50 percent test score range of first-time undergraduate students at the institution whose Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) scores were in the 25th to 75th percentile of students’ scores at that institution;

(b) the middle 50 percent test score range of first-time undergraduate students at the institution whose American College Test (ACT) scores were in the 25th to 75th percentile of students’ scores at that institution

(c) the percentage of the students who applied for first-time undergraduate admission to the institution who were offered admission to the institution;

(d) the percentage of students admitted from the top ten percent of Texas high school class.

(E) It will be required for the prospective student or legal guardian of the prospective student to verify the entire informed student document has been read on the institution of higher education’s website prior to the completion of the application for each institution of higher education.

(F) The powers and duties of {insert appropriate state education board}  apply to the informed student document as outlined in {insert state higher education regulations if applicable}.

(G) The duties of institutions of higher education apply to the informed student document as outlined in {insert state higher education regulations if applicable}.

(H) The informed student document will be made available to the public, legislators and other interested policy makers on the {insert appropriate state education board website and the institution’s website in accordance with procedures outlined in {insert state higher education regulations if applicable}.

Section 4. {Severability clause.}

Section 5. {Repealer clause.}

Section 6. {Effective date.}

Approved by the ALEC Legislative Board of Directors September 29, 2013.

Re-Approved By the ALEC Board of Directors: September 3, 2019