Thompson-Sponsored Amendment Adopted with Bipartisan Support
WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Rep. Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (PA-5) has released the following statement on House passage of H.R. 3136, the Advancing Competency-Based Education Demonstration Project Act, and H.R. 4983, the Strengthening Transparency in Higher Education Act. Both measures passed the House with bipartisan support.
“Promoting competency-based education through higher education programming has the potential to improve college affordability, making educational opportunities more accessible for all,” Thompson stated.
“With college tuition at an all-time-high, reducing costs and promoting transparency and accountability for students and taxpayers is essential. H.R. 3136 is one part of this effort to strengthen America’s higher education system and provide students the tools to succeed.”
Thompson and Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI), the co-chairmen of the bipartisan Congressional Career and Technical Education Caucus, successfully offered an amendment to H.R. 3136 that will help eligible demonstration project participants better understand the career paths graduates take, given their course of study or program.
“This bipartisan amendment is an important improvement to this legislation that will enable institutions of higher learning better identify courses of study that have a high prevalence of job placement and provide students with the information they need to make smart choices for their futures,” Thompson stated on the House floor.
Thompson, a member of the House Education & the Workforce Committee, is a co-sponsor of both bills.
Advancing Competency-Based Education Demonstration Project Act–
·Promotes innovation in higher education by directing the secretary of education to implement competency-based education demonstration projects.
·Provides accountability by requiring an annual evaluation of each demonstration project to determine program quality.
·Delivers greater flexibility to institutions that want to provide students a more personalized, cost-effective education.
Strengthening Transparency in Higher Education Act–
· Requires the secretary of education to create a consumer-tested College Dashboard that would display key information students need when deciding which school to attend.
·Instructs the secretary to provide a link to the page of each institution listed on a student’s FAFSA to make sure students know this information is available.
·Streamlines and eliminates unnecessary information and federal transparency initiatives.
