Institutions of Higher Education - Mandatory Disclosures for New and Prospective Students (Informed Enrollment Act)
Summary
HB611, the Informed Enrollment Act, requires Maryland institutions of higher education that admit first-time undergraduate students to prominently post a link to the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard on their publicly accessible prospective-student webpages by July 1, 2026. The bill also requires schools to explain what the Scorecard is and how it can help students evaluate cost of attendance, graduation rates, salary outcomes, and debt outcomes.
In addition to the website requirement, institutions must share the link and explanation during orientation and recruitment events, in recruitment materials, and regularly with prospective students and their parents or guardians, incoming students, current students, academic advisors, and campus career counselors. Schools must also post the information on social media at least once each semester and on campus career center websites, where applicable.
Impact
The bill adds a new Section 15-140 to the Education Article, creating a statewide disclosure mandate for qualifying higher education institutions. It does not change admissions standards or financial aid rules, but it imposes new consumer-information obligations on colleges and universities and may require updates to websites, orientation materials, recruitment practices, and social media communications. If the federal College Scorecard is discontinued, the Maryland Higher Education Commission must compile and provide the required data using Commission, Maryland Longitudinal Data System, and other related sources, in collaboration with institutions.
Sentiment
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee testimony or votes in the provided materials, the bill appears to be framed as a transparency and student-information measure rather than a controversial policy change. Its sponsors present it as a way to help students make more informed enrollment decisions by making outcome data easier to find and understand. No formal opposition, amendments, or divided vote history is shown in the materials provided.
Contention
The main potential point of contention is the administrative burden on colleges and universities, which would need to update multiple communication channels and ensure repeated disclosures to several audiences. Another possible issue is the fallback requirement for the Maryland Higher Education Commission to assemble comparable data if the federal College Scorecard is unavailable, which could raise questions about data quality, consistency, and implementation costs. No specific opposing stakeholders or recorded disputes are included in the provided context.