S. 3550: Advancing College Choice and Ethics to Protect Taxpayers Act of 2012

112th Congress · introduced 2012-09-13 · Education · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2012-09-13 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Advancing College Choice and Ethics to Protect Taxpayers Act of 2012

Plain summary

Advancing College Choice and Ethics to Protect Taxpayers Act of 2012 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to bar the Secretary of Education from issuing new regulations related to the prohibition against provision of incentive compensation by institutions of higher education (IHEs) to certain school employees based on their success in securing student enrollments or financial aid. Prohibits IHEs from engaging in deceptive practices likely to mislead consumers or affect their decisions. Requires IHEs with a Student Default Risk Index for a year of 0.1 or greater to: (1) give individuals whose enrollment has been accepted at least two weeks to confirm their enrollment decision without the school's making benefit decisions contingent on an earlier decision; and (2) notify those individuals of financial aid determinations at least one week before the enrollment confirmation deadline, if they have submitted the requested application forms. Penalizes IHEs that substantially misrepresent: (1) the space available in a program for which an individual is considering enrollment, (2) admission requirements, (3) the transferability of credits, (4) whether a program qualifies students to sit for licensing examinations or obtain employment certifications, and (5) the success of their students in obtaining those licenses or certifications. (This is in addition to prohibiting a school from misrepresenting its educational program, financial charges, or graduates' employability.) Increases, and alters the formula for determining, the penalties imposed on IHEs that violate title IV provisions. Directs the Secretary annually to produce and make available to IHEs and the public standardized disclosure sheets with IHE data, and state, IHE category, and national averages. Requires IHEs to provide their students and individuals accepted for enrollment with that disclosure sheet which includes specified information regarding student costs, financial aid, debt and default rates, transfer and dropout rates, and the school's obligations under title IV. Requires IHEs to provide students and prospective students with the process for registering a complaint with the school's accreditor. Requires IHEs to provide individuals that have been accepted for enrollment with certain information about financial aid, the school, its procedures, and its graduates in a manner that allows them to take that information into account before making a final enrollment decision.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Advancing College Choice and Ethics to Protect Taxpayers Act of 2012

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] · 2 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Richard J. Durbin (D-IL)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT] reported raising $771,465 (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Obligation: A binding promise by a government agency to pay money, for example by signing a contract or awarding a grant. Spending data such as USAspending.gov counts money when it is obligated, which can be before it is actually paid out.
Rulemaking: The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-112s3550.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/112/s>

Record fed-us-cong112-s3550 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong112 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong112