Major higher education associations are urging lawmakers to advance the College Transparency Act, a proposal that would lift the federal ban on collecting student-level data. A Senate panel is set to consider the bipartisan bill, which supporters say would create a new database within the National Center for Education Statistics and improve outcome data for students beyond current reporting limits. Current federal systems largely rely on institution-level surveys and restricted datasets. For example, College Scorecard outcomes are limited to students who received federal financial aid, and Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System graduation rates are based on first-time, full-time students—omitting large segments of the population, including many community college students. The bill would overturn the 2008 Higher Education Act provisions that restricted student-level data collection due to privacy concerns. Supporters argue the updated data would allow more accurate comparisons of graduation rates and earnings across institutions and student populations, including those not captured in existing federal metrics.