Protecting Students from Worthless Degrees Act
Latest action · Nov 21, 2019 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedNov 21, 2019
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Protecting Students from Worthless Degrees Act
This bill makes an institution of higher education (IHE) ineligible to receive federal student financial assistance if it fails to meet certain requirements, and it requires an IHE to make certain certifications about its gainful employment programs.
Specifically, an IHE that offers a degree or certificate program to prepare students for entry into a profession that requires licensing or certification as a precondition for entry is not eligible to receive any federal student financial assistance unless (1) a student is fully qualified to take the required entry examination or be licensed or certified for the profession upon the successful completion of the program, and (2) the institution provides timely placement for all of the academically related pre-licensure requirements for entry into the profession (e.g., clinical placements or internships).
An IHE must also certify that each eligible gainful employment program meets specified requirements, including approval or accreditation by a recognized agency and satisfaction of applicable educational prerequisites for professional licensure or certification. If an IHE does not satisfy such prerequisites, it must notify a student who intends to enroll in the program and obtain a handwritten acknowledgement from the student that they wish to enroll.
Lastly, an IHE that offers distance education or correspondence courses must be legally authorized within each state in which its enrolled students are located.
Cosponsors 1
Members who signed on, in the order they did. All signed on Nov 21, 2019.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-IL | Richard J. Durbin | Original | Nov 21, 2019 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Nov 21, 2019Introduced in Senate
- Nov 21, 2019Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 5241 | Protecting Students from Worthless Degrees Act | Identical bill | Dec 19, 2019 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Education.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Nov 21, 2019Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.