Sec. 6. Establishment of complaint resolution and tracking system
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Title I of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new part: Not later than 1 year after the enactment of the PRO Students Act, the Secretary shall complete the establishment of a complaint tracking system that includes a single, toll-free telephone number and a website to facilitate the centralized collection of, monitoring of, and response to complaints or inquiries regarding the educational practices and services, and recruiting and marketing practices, of all postsecondary educational institutions.
The Secretary shall establish within the Department an office whose functions shall include establishing, administering, and disseminating widely information about the complaint tracking system established under paragraph (1). The Secretary shall— to the extent necessary, combine and consolidate the other offices and functions of the Department to ensure that the office established under this paragraph is the single point of contact for students and borrowers with complaints; and to the extent practicable, ensure that the office established in this paragraph will work with the Student Loan Ombudsman appointed in accordance with section 141(f) to assist borrowers that have complaints regarding the educational practices and services, and recruiting and marketing practices, of postsecondary educational institutions.
The Secretary shall establish, in consultation with the heads of appropriate agencies, reasonable procedures to provide a timely response to complainants, in writing where appropriate, to complaints against, or inquiries concerning, an institution of higher education that receives funds under this Act. Each response shall include a description of— the steps that have been taken by the Secretary in response to the complaint or inquiry; any responses received by the Secretary from the institution of higher education; and any additional actions that the Secretary has taken, or plans to take, in response to the complaint or inquiry.
The Secretary shall notify each institution of higher education that receives funds under this Act and that is the subject of a complaint or inquiry under this section regarding the complaint or inquiry. Not later than 60 days after receiving such notice, such institution shall provide a response to the Secretary concerning the complaint or inquiry, including— the steps that have been taken by the institution to respond to the complaint or inquiry; all responses received by the institution from the complainant; and any additional actions that the institution has taken, or plans to take, in response to the complaint or inquiry.
The Secretary may, in the event that the complaint is not adequately resolved or addressed by the responses of the institution of higher education receiving funds under this Act under paragraph (2), ask additional questions of such institution or seek additional information from or action by the institution. An institution of higher education that receives funds under this Act shall, in a timely manner, comply with a request by the Secretary for information in the control or possession of such institution concerning a complaint or inquiry received by the Secretary under subsection (a), including supporting written documentation, subject to subparagraph (B).
An institution of higher education that receives funds under this Act shall not be required to make available under this subsection— any nonpublic or confidential information, including any confidential commercial information; any information collected by the institution for the purpose of preventing fraud or detecting or making any report regarding other unlawful or potentially unlawful conduct; or any information required to be kept confidential by any other provision of law.
An institution of higher education that receives funds under this Act shall comply with the requirements to provide responses and information, in accordance with this subsection, as a condition of receiving such funds. As appropriate and in accordance with section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act ( 20 U.S.C. 1232g ) (commonly referred to as the “Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974”) and other laws, the Secretary shall coordinate with the heads of relevant Federal and State agencies to— collect complaints related to the complaint tracking system described in subsection
(b)from such agencies; and when appropriate, route such complaints to the Department of Education, the Department of Justice, the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or any equivalent State agency. To the extent practicable, all procedures established under this section, and all coordination carried out under paragraph (1), shall be done in accordance with the complaint tracking systems established under Executive Order 13607 (77 Fed. Reg. 25861; relating to establishing principles of excellence for educational institutions serving servicemembers, veterans, spouses, and other family members). The Secretary shall regularly publish on the website of the Department information on the complaints and inquiries received for each postsecondary educational institution under this section, including— the number of complaints and inquiries received; the types of complaints and inquiries received; and where applicable, information about the resolution of the complaints and inquiries. In carrying out subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall— comply with applicable data privacy laws and regulations; and ensure that personally identifiable information is not shared. Each year, the Secretary shall prepare and submit to the authorizing committees a report describing— the types and nature of complaints the Secretary has received under this section; the extent to which complainants are receiving relief pursuant to this section; whether particular types of complaints are more common in a given sector of postsecondary educational institutions; any legislative recommendations that the Secretary determines are necessary to better assist students and families; and the schools with the highest volume of complaints, as determined by the Secretary. In this section, the term complainant means a person with a complaint against, or inquiry concerning, an institution of higher education that receives funds under this Act who is— a student of a postsecondary educational institution; a family member of a student of a postsecondary educational institution; a third party acting on behalf of a student of a postsecondary educational institution; or a staff member or employee of a postsecondary educational institution. .
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- 77 FR 25861
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Sec. 6
Establishment of complaint resolution and tracking system
Fed. Reg.77 FR 25861
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