Hearing of the Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee of the House Education and the Workforce Committee - Opening Statement of Rep. Davis, Hearing on Empowering Students and Families to Make Informed Decisions on Higher Education

Hearing

Thank you, Chairman Guthrie. And thank you to the witnesses for
being here. I look forward to hearing your testimony.
The profile of our students attending college today looks much
different than it did when the federal government first began collecting
data on colleges and universities in the mid-1960s. Back then your
typical student was a white 18-year old male going directly to college
from high school in order to pursue intangible benefits. Today, our
students are older, attending college part-time while balancing many
priorities like childcare and work, and from more socioeconomically and
racially diverse families than their peers of decades past.
Many of them are first in their families to go to college and have
attended more than one institution throughout their college education.
And more and more, students are going to college to receive tangible
benefits a decent chance of getting a job with a living wage and health
benefits.
But our current postsecondary data system doesn't reflect today's
student. Our most comprehensive dataset, the federally mandated
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, more commonly
referred to as IPEDS, leaves many students unaccounted for.
Some students, for example, are unable to attend college in the fall
right after high school due to financial setbacks or inability to line up
child care. And schools, particularly community colleges, allow for that
flexibility. However, many of the enrollment figures in IPEDS only
account for students who first enrolled in the fall and leave out students
who may have enrolled in the spring.
What's worse is the incomplete picture of graduation rates.
Although nearly three out of five students attend more than one school
and nearly two out of five attend school part-time, IPEDS outcome
metrics only account for first-time, full-time students. This means that
transfer and part-time students are largely invisible in our higher
education system. And although the Department of Education has been
working to include more students in these metrics, it is simply not
enough.
Given our significant investment in higher education, we have a
vested interest in ensuring that colleges and universities are serving all
their students well. But to do that, we need comprehensive information
that accurately portrays today's students.
Additionally, many schools have signaled that the current system
of data reporting duplicates efforts by the institution. Directly involving
the Department of Education would decrease administrative burden
placed on colleges.
Students also need better data. When Isabella asks how long it
usually takes students to gradate at her school of interest, there should be
an answer for her. And when she specifically asks questions about the
success of other students who look like her, the response should not lead
to political excuses.
In fact, our Committee should remember that providing better
consumer information has been a bipartisan issue. Members have been
pushing improvements to the postsecondary data infrastructure for years.
Where there are concerns about the privacy of our students, our
Committee can come together to have a solutions-based conversation
about the best way to secure this data. To dismiss this critical lack of
data for privacy reasons would be short-sighted.
This type of data collection is what would allow us to uncover
equity gaps in access, affordability, and completion for all students, and
empower them to make better informed decisions about where to spend
their time and hard-earned money.
That's why two of our Members on our Committee, Rep. Paul
Mitchell and Rep. Jared Polis, introduced the College Transparency Act
last week. This bill would repeal the student unit record ban currently in
HEA and create a cohesive student unit record data system. I applaud
my colleagues for taking a bold step forward.
One thing is certain; our data infrastructure has not evolved with
the changing student demographics and it is simply not equipped to do
so. We need to improve our postsecondary data infrastructure system to
move the needle on access, affordability, and completion.
Thank you, Chairman. I yield back.

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