[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7461 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7461
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to clarify competency-based
education.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 7, 2022
Mr. Grothman (for himself, Mr. Owens, Mr. Keller, Mr. Tiffany, and Mr.
Steil) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to clarify competency-based
education.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Competency-Based Education Act of
2022'' or the ``CBE Act of 2022''.
SEC. 2. REGULATORY RELIEF.
Beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act--
(1) the definition of the term ``credit hour'' in section
600.2 of title 34, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on
the day before such date of enactment) shall have no force or
effect;
(2) for purposes of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 1001 et seq), the term ``credit hour'' shall have the
meaning given that term by the Department of Education in
regulation before the effective date of the regulations
published by the Department of Education in the Federal
Register on October 29, 2010 (75 Fed. Reg. 66946); and
(3) the Secretary of Education may not promulgate or
enforce any additional regulations or rules with respect to the
definition of the term ``credit hour'' for any purpose under
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.).
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
Section 103 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1003) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(25) Competency-based education; competency-based
education program.--
``(A) Competency-based education.--Except as
otherwise provided, the term `competency-based
education' means education that--
``(i) measures academic progress and
attainment--
``(I) by direct assessment of a
student's level of mastery of
competencies;
``(II) by expressing a student's
level of mastery of competencies in
terms of equivalent credit or clock
hours; or
``(III) by a combination of the
methods described in subclauses (I) or
(II) and credit or clock hours; and
``(ii) provides the educational content,
activities, and resources, including
substantive instructional interaction,
including by faculty, and regular support by
the institution, necessary to enable students
to learn or develop what is required to
demonstrate and attain mastery of such
competencies, as assessed by the accrediting
agency or association of the institution of
higher education.
``(B) Competency-based education program.--Except
as otherwise provided, the term `competency-based
education program' means a postsecondary program
offered by an institution of higher education that--
``(i) provides competency-based education,
which upon a student's demonstration or mastery
of a set of competencies identified and
required by the institution, leads to or
results in the award of a certificate, degree,
or other recognized educational credential;
``(ii) ensures title IV funds may be used
only for learning that results from instruction
provided, or overseen, by the institution, not
for the portion of the program of which the
student has demonstrated mastery prior to
enrollment in the program or tests of learning
that are not associated with educational
activities overseen by the institution; and
``(iii) is organized in such a manner that
an institution can determine, based on the
method of measurement selected by the
institution under subparagraph (A)(i), what
constitutes a full-time, three-quarter time,
half-time, and less than half-time workload for
the purposes of awarding and administering
assistance under title IV of this Act, or
assistance provided under another provision of
Federal law to attend an institution of higher
education.
``(C) Competency defined.--In this paragraph, the
term `competency' means the knowledge, skill, or
ability demonstrated by a student in a subject area.''.
SEC. 4. GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO STUDENT ASSISTANCE.
(a) Definitions of Academic Year and Eligible Program.--Section 481
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1088) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the following:
``(3)(A) For the purpose of a competency-based education program
the term `academic year' shall be the published measured period
established by the institution of higher education that is necessary
for a student with a normal full-time workload for the course of study
the student is pursuing (as measured using the value of competencies or
sets of competencies required by such institution and approved by such
institution's accrediting agency or association) to earn--
``(i) one-quarter of a bachelor's degree;
``(ii) one-half of an associate's degree; or
``(iii) with respect to a non-degree or graduate program,
the equivalent of a period described in clause (i) or (ii).
``(B)(i) A competency-based education program that is not a term-
based program may be treated as a term-based program for purposes of
establishing payment periods for disbursement of loans and grants under
this title if--
``(I) the institution of higher education that offers such
program charges a flat subscription fee for access to
instruction during a period determined by the institution; and
``(II) the institution is able to determine the
competencies a student is expected to demonstrate for such
subscription period.
``(ii) Clause (i) shall apply even in a case in which instruction
or other work with respect to a competency that is expected to be
attributable to a subscription period begins prior to such subscription
period.
``(iii) In a case in which a competency-based education program
offered by an institution of higher education is treated as a term-
based program under clause (i), the institution shall review the
academic progress of each student enrolled in such program in
accordance with section 484(c), except that such review shall occur at
the end of each payment period.''; and
(2) in subsection (b), by striking paragraph (4) and
inserting the following:
``(4) For purposes of this title, the term `eligible program'
includes a competency-based program that--
``(A) has been evaluated and approved by an accrediting
agency or association that--
``(i) is recognized by the Secretary under subpart
2 of part H; and
``(ii) has evaluation of competency-based education
programs within the scope of its recognition in
accordance with section 496(a)(4)(C); or
``(B) as of the day before the date of enactment of the CBE
Act of 2022, met the requirements of a direct assessment
program under section 481(b)(4) (as such section was in effect
on the day before such date of enactment).''.
(b) Student Eligibility.--Section 484 of the Higher Education Act
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the following:
``(6) For purposes of competency-based education, in order to be
eligible to receive any loan under this title for an award year, a
student may be enrolled in coursework attributable only to 2 academic
years within the award year.''; and
(2) in subsection (c)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) in subparagraph (B)--
(I) by striking ``the student has a
cumulative'' and inserting the
following: ``the student has--''
``(i) a cumulative;'';
(II) by striking ``the second'' and
inserting ``each'';
(III) by striking the period at the
end and inserting ``; or''; and
(IV) by adding at the end the
following:
``(ii) for the purposes of competency-based
programs, a non-grade equivalent demonstration of
academic standing consistent with the requirements for
graduation, as determined by the institution, at the
end of each such academic year; and''; and
(ii) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) the student maintains a pace in his or her
educational program that--
``(i) ensures that the student completes the
program within the maximum timeframe; and
``(ii) is measured by a method determined by the
institution which may be based on credit hours, clock
hours, or competencies completed.'';
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``grading
period'' and inserting ``evaluation period''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(4) For purposes of this subsection, the term `maximum timeframe'
means--
``(A) with respect to an undergraduate program measured in
credit hours, a period that is no longer than 150 percent of
the published length of the educational program, as measured in
credit hours;
``(B) with respect to an undergraduate program measured in
competencies, a period that is no longer than 150 percent of
the published length of the educational program, as measured in
competencies;
``(C) with respect to an undergraduate program measured in
clock hours, a period that is no longer than 150 percent of the
published length of the educational program, as measured by the
cumulative number of clock hours the student is required to
complete and expressed in calendar time; and
``(D) with respect to a graduate program, a period defined
by the institution that is based on the length of the
educational program.''.
(c) Recognition of Accrediting Agency or Association.--Section 496
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1099b) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)(4)--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at the
end; and
(B) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the
following:
``(B) such agency or association demonstrates the ability
to review, evaluate, and assess the quality of any instruction
delivery model or method such agency or association has or
seeks to include within its scope of recognition, without
giving preference to or differentially treating a particular
instruction delivery model or method offered by an institution
of higher education or program except that, in a case in which
the instruction delivery model allows for the separation of the
student from the instructor--
``(i) the agency or association requires the
institution to have processes through which the
institution establishes that the student who registers
in a course or program is the same student who
participates in, including, to the extent practicable,
testing or other assessment, and completes the program
and receives the academic credit; and
``(ii) the agency or association requires that any
process used by an institution to comply with the
requirement under clause (i) does not infringe upon
student privacy and is implemented in a manner that is
minimally burdensome to the student; and
``(C) if such an agency or association evaluates or
assesses the quality of competency-based education programs,
the agency's or association's evaluation or assessment--
``(i) shall address effectively the quality of an
institution's competency-based education programs as
set forth in paragraph (5), except that the agency or
association is not required to have separate standards,
procedures, or policies for the evaluation of
competency-based education;
``(ii) shall establish whether an institution has
demonstrated that its program satisfies the definitions
in section 103(25); and
``(iii) shall establish whether an institution has
demonstrated that it has defined an academic year for a
competency-based program in accordance with section
481(a)(3).'';
(2) in subsection (c)(1), by inserting ``or competency-
based education'' after ``distance education'';
(3) in subsection (n)(3), by inserting ``, or competency-
based education programs,'' after each occurrence of ``distance
education courses or programs''; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``(r) Waiver.--The Secretary shall establish a process through
which an agency or association may seek to have a requirement of this
subpart waived, if such agency or association--
``(1) demonstrates that such waiver is necessary to enable
an institution of higher education or program accredited by the
agency or association to implement innovative practices
intended to--
``(A) reduce administrative burdens to the
institution or program without creating costs for the
taxpayer; or
``(B) improve the delivery of services to students,
improve instruction or learning outcomes, or otherwise
benefit students; and
``(2) describes the terms and conditions that will be
placed upon the program or institution to ensure academic
integrity and quality.''.
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