Romney, Enzi, Barrasso Introduce Bill to Modernize How Community Colleges Report Graduation Rates

Statement

U.S. Senators Mitt Romney (R-UT) and Mike Enzi (R-WY), members of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), with Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) introduced the Time for Completion Act, legislation that would help ensure community colleges more accurately report on graduation rates to provide better transparency for students.

Current law requires institutions of higher education to report on graduation rates for first-time, full-time students, excluding millions of nontraditional students and creating incomplete and inaccurate information. The Time for Completion Act would modify existing reporting requirements to better reflect diverse populations of mostly part-time, non-first-time students at community colleges.

"Right now graduation rates do not accurately reflect the scope of students who attend our community colleges in Utah and around the country," Senator Romney said. "Our bill will fix that discrepancy by modifying the reporting requirements to include non-traditional students, such as those students who attend part-time or return to school after serving in the military."

"It's important for students and families to have the most accurate information before choosing a college that best fits their needs," Senator Enzi said. "The Time for Completion Act would update how colleges report on graduation rates to help make sure our institutions of higher education are serving students well. It would benefit Wyoming's seven community colleges by more appropriately reflecting the diversity of our students there."

"Wyoming is fortunate to have seven wonderful community colleges. They deserve to have all of their students, traditional or non-traditional, accurately accounted for in graduation rates," Senator Barrasso said. "The Time for Completion Act will make sure prospective students have the most up-to-date information about graduation rates before choosing the best school for them."