QUALITY ASSURANCE; IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS.

SEC. 491. QUALITY ASSURANCE; IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS. Part G of title IV of the Act is further amended by inserting after section 487 the following new sections: “SEC. 487A. QUALITY ASSURANCE PROGRAM. “(a) In General.— The Secretary is authorized to select institutions for voluntary participation in a Quality Assurance Program that provides participating institutions with an alternative management approach through which individual schools develop and implement their own comprehensive systems to verify student financial aid application data, thereby enhancing program integrity within the student aid delivery system. The Quality Assurance Program authorized by this section shall be based on criteria that include demonstrated institutional performance, as determined by the Secretary, and shall take into consideration current quality assurance goals, as determined by the Secretary. “(b) Exemption From Requirements.— The Secretary is authorized to exempt any institution participating in the Quality Assurance Program from any reporting or verification requirements in 106 STAT. 630this title, and may substitute such quality assurance reporting as the Secretary deems necessary to ensure accountability and compliance with the purposes of the programs under this title. “(c) Removal From the Program.— The Secretary is authorized to determine— “(1) when an institution that is unable to administer the Quality Assurance Program must be removed from such program, and “(2) when institutions desiring to cease participation in such program will be required to complete the current award year under the requirements of the Quality Assurance Program. “(d) Experimental Sites.— (1) The Secretary is authorized to select institutions for voluntary participation as experimental sites to provide recommendations to the Secretary on the impact and effectiveness of proposed regulations or new management initiatives. “(2) The Secretary is authorized to exempt any institution participating as an experimental site from any requirements in this title, or in regulations prescribed under this title, that would bias experimental results. “(e) Definitions.— For purposes of this section, ‘current award year’ is defined as the award year during which the participating institution indicates its intention to cease participation. “SEC. 487B. ASSIGNMENT OF IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS. “The Secretary shall assign to each participant in title IV programs, including institutions, lenders, and guaranty agencies, a single Department of Education identification number to be used to identify its participation in each of the title IV programs.”.