Sec. 3. Program eligibility for workforce pell grants
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Section 481(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1088(b) ) is amended— by redesignating paragraphs
(3)and
(4)as paragraphs
(4)and (5), respectively; and by inserting after paragraph
(2)the following: A program is an eligible program for purposes of the Workforce Pell Grants program under section 401(k) (referred to in this paragraph as an eligible workforce program ) only if the program— is at least 150 clock hours of instruction, but less than 600 clock hours of instruction (or an equivalent number of credit hours) offered during a minimum of 8 weeks, but less than 15 weeks; in a case in which the State in which the program is located, or a Federal agency, has established the minimum number of clock hours (or an equivalent number of credit hours) required for the training provided by such program, does not exceed by more than 50 percent such minimum number of clock hours (or credit hours); is a career and technical education program at an eligible institution of higher education; provides an education aligned with the requirements of high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand industry sectors or occupations (including in nontraditional fields) in the State or local area in which the program is provided, as determined by an accrediting agency or association recognized by the Secretary pursuant to section 496(a)(4)(C), after validation of such determination by— the State board or local board that serves such State or local area; the eligible agency for such State, on the basis of the sectors or occupations in such State that such eligible agency identifies under section 122(d)(13)(C) of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006; the eligible agency for such State, on the basis of the results of the comprehensive needs assessment submitted to the agency under section 134(b)(1) of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 with respect to the local area in which the program is provided; or an industry or sector partnership convened by or acting in partnership with the State board or local board that serves such State or local area; is a program— provided through an eligible training provider, as described under section 122(d) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act; and subject to the reporting requirements of section 116(d)(4) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, or would be subject to such requirements except for a waiver issued to a State under section 189(i) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act; has been determined by the eligible institution of higher education providing such program (after validation of that determination by at least one of the entities described in subclauses
(I)through
(IV)of clause (iv)) to provide academic content, an amount of instructional time, competencies, and a recognized postsecondary credential that are sufficient to— meet the hiring requirements of potential employers in the sectors or occupations described in clause (iv); and satisfy any applicable educational prerequisite requirement for professional licensure or certification in the State or States in which the program is offered, so that a student who completes the program and seeks employment is qualified to practice or find employment in such sectors or occupations that the program prepares students to enter, including, if applicable, being qualified to take any relevant licensure or certification examinations that may be needed to practice such employment; subject to subparagraph (E), provides a student, upon completion of the program, with a recognized postsecondary credential that is stackable and portable across multiple employers and geographical areas; not later than 18 months after the date the program has been approved as an eligible workforce program under this paragraph, has demonstrated that students who complete the program receive a median increase of 20 percent of median earnings as compared to median earnings of such students prior to enrolling in such program, in accordance with subparagraph (B); not later than 18 months after the date the program has been approved as an eligible workforce program under this paragraph, has demonstrated (on the basis of the data collected under section 131(i) and such other information as the Secretary may require) that the median earnings of students who complete such program, as calculated in accordance with subparagraph (B)(i)(II), exceed the median earnings for adults who are at least 25 years old, but younger than 35 years old, with only high school diploma (or a recognized equivalent) in the State in which the program is located, based on data from the Bureau of the Census and approved by the Secretary; publishes prominently on the website of the institution, and provides a written disclosure to each prospective student prior to entering into an enrollment agreement for such program (which each such student shall confirm receiving through a written affirmation prior to entering such enrollment agreement) containing, at a minimum, the following information calculated, as applicable, in accordance with section 131(i), including— the required tuition and fees of the program; the difference between required tuition and fees described in subclause
(I)and any grant aid (which does not need to be repaid) provided to the student; the completion rate of the program; the employment rates of students who complete the program, measured at approximately 6 months and 1 year, respectively, after completion of the program; median earnings of students who complete the program, as calculated in accordance with subparagraph (B)(i)(II)); median earnings of students who do not complete the program, calculated based on earnings approximately 6 months after ceasing enrollment in the program; the ratio of the amount that is the difference between required tuition and fees and any grant aid provided to the student described in subclause
(II)to the median earnings of students described in subclause (V); an explanation, in clear and plain language that shall be specified by the Secretary, of the ratio described in subclause (VII); and in the case of a program that prepares students for a professional licensure or certification examination, the share of such students who pass such examinations; prepares students to pursue one or more related certificate or degree programs at one or more institutions of higher education (which may include the eligible institution of higher education providing the eligible workforce program), including— by ensuring the acceptability of the credits received under the workforce program toward meeting such certificate or degree program requirements (such as through an articulation agreement as defined in section 486A); and subject to subparagraph (B), by ensuring that a student who completes noncredit coursework in the workforce program, upon completion of the workforce program and enrollment in such a related certificate or degree program, will receive academic credit for such noncredit coursework that will be accepted toward meeting such certificate or degree program requirements; is not offered exclusively through distance education or a correspondence course, except as determined by the Secretary to be necessary, on a temporary basis, in connection with a— major disaster or emergency declared by the President under section 401 or 501 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170 and 5191); or national emergency declared by the President under section 201 of the National Emergencies Act ( 50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq. ); includes counseling for students to— support each such student in achieving the student’s education and career goals; and ensure that each such student receives information on— the sectors or occupations described in clause
(iv)for which the eligible workforce program provides training (including the median earnings of students who have completed the program, as calculated in accordance with subparagraph (B)(i)(II), and are employed in such sectors or occupations); the related certificate or degree programs described in clause
(xi)for which the workforce program provides preparation; and other sources of financial aid or other assistance for any component of the student’s cost of attendance (as defined in section 472); meets requirements that are applicable to a program of training to prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation; has been offered by an institution for not less than 1 year prior to a determination by such agency or association under this paragraph; has a verified completion rate of at least 70 percent, calculated so as to ensure that a student shall be counted as a completion if the student completes the program within 150 percent of the normal time for completion; has a verified a employment placement rate of at least 70 percent, as determined in accordance with the regulations of the Secretary; submits to the Secretary, for each institutional fiscal year, disclosures on the expenditures of the program; and in the case of a program that has been approved for not less than 4 years as an eligible workforce program under this paragraph, for each of the 3 most recent fiscal years for which the institution submits the disclosures under clause (xviii), the amount expended by the program for educational spending is greater than or equal to an amount equal to 1⁄2 of the amount of revenue for such program derived from tuition and fees for such program. Subject to clauses
(ii)and (iii), the Secretary shall, using the data collected under section 131(i) and such other information as the Secretary may require, determine whether a workforce program meets the requirements of subparagraph (A)(viii) with respect to whether the students who complete the program receive a median increase of 20 percent of such students’ median earnings. For the purposes of this paragraph, the Secretary shall determine such percentage increase by calculating the difference between— the median earnings of students who enroll in such program, calculated based on earnings approximately 6 months prior to enrollment; and the median earnings of students who complete such program, calculated based on earnings approximately 6 months after completing such program, subject to clause (ii). An eligible institution of higher education offering a program has been approved as an eligible workforce program under this paragraph may exclude from the calculation under clause (i)(II) any students who are enrolled in any eligible program (as such term is defined in this subsection) at the time that earnings are evaluated under clause (i)(II). The requirement under this paragraph shall take effect beginning on the date that is 18 months after the date the program has been approved as an eligible workforce program under this paragraph. The Secretary shall establish an appeals process to permit any program has been approved as an eligible workforce program under this paragraph to submit alternate earnings data to comply with subparagraph (A)(ix) or subparagraph (B), provided that such data are statistically rigorous, accurate, comparable, and representative of students who receive a Workforce Pell Grant, and enroll in and complete the program. In the case of a program that is seeking to establish initial eligibility as an eligible workforce program under this paragraph, the Secretary shall make a determination whether the program meets the requirements of this paragraph not more than 120 days after the date on which such program is submitted for consideration as an eligible workforce program. If the Secretary determines the program meets the requirements of this paragraph, the Secretary shall grant an initial period of approval of 2 years. The Secretary shall not determine that a program is an eligible workforce program in accordance with subclause
(I)unless the Secretary receives a certification from the State in which the eligible workforce program is provided, containing an assurance that the program meets the requirements of clauses
(iv)through
(vi)of subparagraph (A). An eligible workforce program that desires to continue eligibility as an eligible workforce program after the period of initial approval described in clause (i), or the subsequent period described in this clause, shall submit a renewal application to the Secretary (with such information as the Secretary may require), not more than 270 days and not less than 180 days before the end of the previous approval period. If the Secretary determines the program meets such requirements, the Secretary shall grant another period of approval for 3 years. If at any time the Secretary determines that a program previously approved under clause
(i)or
(ii)is no longer meeting any of the requirements of an eligible workforce program described in this subsection, the Secretary— shall deny a subsequent renewal of approval in accordance with clause
(ii)for such program after the expiration of the approval period; may withdraw approval for such program before the expiration of the approval period; shall ensure students who enrolled in such programs have access to transcripts for completed coursework without a fee or monetary charge and without regard to any balance owed to the institution; and shall prohibit such program and any substantially similar program, from being considered an eligible workforce program described in this subsection for a period of not less than 5 years. The requirements of subparagraph (A)(ix)(II) and the requirement that a program be stackable (as described in subparagraph (A)(vii)) shall not apply to any program seeking approval as an eligible workforce program under this paragraph with respect to which at least one of the entities described in subclauses
(I)through
(IV)of subparagraph (A)(iv) determines— prepares students for employment in an occupation for which there is only one recognized postsecondary credential; and provides students with such a credential upon completion of such program. A program that has been approved as an eligible workforce program under this paragraph is an eligible program for purposes of part D only if such program consists of at least 300 clock hours of instruction, but less than 600 clock hours of instruction (or an equivalent number of credit hours) offered during a minimum of 10 weeks, but less than 15 weeks. In this paragraph: The term career and technical education has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006. The term educational spending means amounts expended on instruction or instructional activities, academic support, and support services. The term educational spending does not include amounts expended on recruiting activities, advertising, or other pre-enrollment expenditures. The term eligible institution of higher education means an institution of higher education (as defined in section 102) that— is approved by an accrediting agency or association that meets the requirements of section 496(a)(4)(C); and has not been subject, during any of the preceding 5 years, to— any suspension, emergency action, or termination of programs under this title; any adverse action by the institution’s accrediting agency or association; or any action by the State to revoke a license or other authority to operate. The term median earnings means the median annualized earnings, calculated using earnings for a pay period, month, quarter, or other time period deemed appropriate by the Secretary. The terms industry or sector partnership , in-demand industry sector or occupation , recognized postsecondary credential , local board , and State board have the meanings given such terms in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. . Section 481(b)(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1088(b)(2) ) is amended by adding at the end the following— No program may be determined eligible under this paragraph on or after the date that is 60 days after the date on which the Secretary approves the first workforce program for purposes of the Workforce Pell Grants Program under section 401(k). .
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