EMPLOYMENT OF POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION GRADUATES.

SEC. 1102. EMPLOYMENT OF POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION GRADUATES.(a) Study, Assessments, and Recommendations.—The Comptroller General of the United States shall—(1) conduct a study of—(A) the information that States have on the employment of students who have completed postsecondary education programs;(B) the feasibility of collecting information on students who complete all types of postsecondary education programs (including two- and four-year degree, certificate, professional, and graduate programs) at all types of institutions of higher education (including public, private nonprofit, and for–profit schools), regarding—(i) employment, including—(I) the type of job obtained not later than six months after the completion of the degree, certificate, or program;(II) whether such job was related to the course of study;(III) the starting salary for such job; and(IV) the student’s satisfaction with the student’s preparation for such job and guidance provided with respect to securing the job; and(ii) for recipients of Federal student aid, the type of assistance received, so that the information can be used to evaluate various education programs;(C) the evaluation systems used by other industries to identify successful programs and challenges, set priorities, monitor performance, and make improvements;(D) the best means of collecting information from or regarding recent postsecondary graduates, including—(i) whether a national website would be the most effective way to collect information;(ii) whether postsecondary education graduates could be encouraged to voluntarily submit information by allowing a graduate to access aggregated information about other graduates (such as graduates from the graduate’s school, with the graduate’s degree, or in the graduate’s area) if the graduate completes an online questionnaire;122 STAT. 3492(iii) whether employers could be encouraged to submit information by allowing an employer to access aggregated information about graduates (such as institutions of higher education attended, degrees, or starting pay) if the employer completes an online questionnaire to evaluate the employer’s satisfaction with the graduates the employer hires; and(iv) whether postsecondary institutions that receive Federal funds or whose students have received Federal student financial aid could be required to submit aggregated information about the graduates of the institutions; and(E) the best means of displaying employment information; and(2) provide assessments and recommendations regarding—(A) whether successful State cooperative relationships between higher education system offices and State agencies responsible for employment statistics can be encouraged and replicated in other States;(B) whether there is value in collecting additional information from, or about, the employment experience of individuals who have recently completed a postsecondary educational program;(C) the most promising ways of obtaining and displaying or disseminating such information;(D) if a website is used for such information, whether the website should be run by a governmental agency or contracted out to an independent education or employment organization;(E) whether a voluntary information system would work, both from the graduates’ and employers’ perspectives;(F) the value of such information to future students, institutions, accrediting agencies or associations, policymakers, and employers, including how the information would be used and the practical applications of the information;(G) whether the request for such information is duplicative of information that is already being collected; and(H) whether the National Postsecondary Student Aid Survey conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics could be amended to collect such information.(b) Reports.—(1) Preliminary report.—Not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the authorizing committees a preliminary report regarding the study, assessments, and recommendations described in subsection (a).(2) Final report.—Not later than two years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the authorizing committees a final report regarding such study, assessments, and recommendations.