Rep. Brett Guthrie introduces legislation to make college costs more transparent

BOWLING GREEN, Ky.- South central Kentucky Republican Congressman, Brett Guthrie, has introduced legislation that would make the costs of college more transparent.

Guthrie, along with Democratic Congressman, Elijah Cummings, have introduced the Net Price Calculator Improvement Act. If passed, the legislation would increase transparency and accessibility of college costs by improving calculators used by students and their families to estimate the costs of attending college.

Congress first required colleges to offer Net Price Calculator tools in 2008, but according to Guthrie, implementation of this requirement has been inconsistent and has led to confusion among students and institutions over the specific data provided by the calculator. Guthrie said in many cases, students cannot easily find the price calculator on their preferred college’s website.

The Net Price Calculator Improvement Act would improve existing law by requiring higher education institutions to display prominently on their websites the costs of tuition, room and board, and other expenses.

The bill also requires the Secretary of Education to conduct consumer testing to improve upon the universal net price calculator on the Department of Education website and report to Congress about the increased effectiveness expected with the changes.