Sec. 313. Alternative quality assurance experimental site initiative
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Section 487A of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1094a ) is amended— by redesignating subsection
(c)as subsection (d); and by inserting after subsection
(b)the end the following: The Secretary shall select, in accordance with paragraph (4), eligible entities that voluntarily seek to participate in an Alternative Quality Assurance experimental site initiative for a duration of 5 years and receive the waivers or other flexibility described in paragraph
(5)to evaluate whether the eligible entities, during such 5-year period, can maintain high student achievement outcomes while participating in programs under this title without being accredited by an accrediting agency or association recognized under section 496. For purposes of this subsection, an eligibility entity means— an institution of higher education (as defined in section 102); or an educational provider that— is not an institution of higher education; does not receive funding under this Act; is not accredited by an accrediting agency or association for the purposes of this title; and is authorized to operate in the State in which the provider is located. Each eligible entity desiring to participate in the experimental site initiative under this subsection shall submit an application to the Secretary, at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may require, which shall contain the information described in subparagraph (B). The Secretary may not require any information in such an application that is not described in subparagraph (B). Each application under paragraph
(1)shall include— a description of which program of study offered at the eligible entity will be included in the experimental site initiative, including— in the case of an eligible entity that is an institution of higher education, an attestation that such program meets the standards of accreditation of the institution’s accrediting agency or association described in clauses
(i)through
(iv)of section 496(a)(5)(A) (including the standard requiring that the median value-added earnings of students who complete the program are greater than the median total price charged to students for the program); and in the case of an eligible entity defined in paragraph (2)(B), documentation and verified administrative data that the program meets standards similar to the standards of accreditation referenced in subclause (I); a justification of the reason why the eligible entity seeks to receive the waiver described in paragraph (5)(A), including estimates or documentation of the potential savings to the entity of receiving such waiver; and a description of how the eligible entity plans to share the financial risk with the Secretary of receiving the waivers described in paragraph (5), such as by— providing matching non-Federal funds to the Secretary to cover the cost of at least half of the expected disbursements under this title to the students that enroll in such program for the first year of the experiment; providing a letter of credit to the Secretary to cover the cost described in subclause (I); or requesting to be placed on a reimbursement system of payment. No later than 6 months after the experimental site initiative is announced, the Secretary shall select eligible entities to participate in the initiative based on the applications submitted under paragraph (3). In making such selections, the Secretary— shall consider— the number and quality of applications; each applicant’s ability to effectively share the financial risk as required under paragraph (3)(B)(iii); and in the case of an applicant that is an institution of higher education, the applicant’s history of compliance with the requirements of this Act; shall ensure that the selected eligible entities represent a variety of eligible entities with respect to size, mission, and geographic distribution; shall ensure that the number of eligible entities selected that are institutions of higher education described in paragraph (2)(B) is equal to the number of eligible entities selected that are educational providers described in paragraph (2)(B); and may not select any eligible entity whose approval to operate in a State is at risk. The Secretary is authorized to waive, for any eligible entity participating in the experimental site initiative under this subsection— any requirements conditioning an eligible entity’s eligibility to participate in programs under this title to being accredited by an accrediting agency or association recognized under section 496; and any other requirements of this title determined necessary by the Secretary to carry out such initiative (including requirements related to the award process and disbursement of student financial aid, or other management procedures or processes), except that the Secretary shall not waive any provisions with respect to award rules (other than an award rule related to an experiment in modular or compressed schedules), grant and loan maximum award amounts, and need analysis requirements, unless the waiver of such provisions is authorized by another provision under this title. The Secretary shall review and evaluate the experimental site initiative conducted under this subsection, including by evaluating, with respect to each participating program of each participating eligible entity, whether— the median value-added earnings of students who complete the program of study are greater than the median total price charged to students for such program; and the program of study is meeting other student achievement outcomes (such as outcomes based on standards of accreditation described in section 496(a)(5)(A)), as appropriate for the program. If, based on such evaluation, the Secretary determines that participating eligible entities were able to meet the requirement of subparagraph (A)(i) and the other student achievement outcomes evaluated by the Secretary under subparagraph (A)(ii), the Secretary shall submit to the authorizing committees recommendations regarding amendments to this Act that will streamline and enhance the quality assurance process of institutions of higher education, and educational providers described in paragraph (2)(B). .
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Sec. 313
Alternative quality assurance experimental site initiative
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