12 2 STA T .3097PUBLIC LA W 110 – 31 5— AU G .1 4, 200 8‘ ‘ (i ii )CONTAC TAN DWEBSI TE IN F O RM ATION .—TheS T EMDat a b a s e sha l l prov i d e— ‘‘( I ) sta n dard c ontact in f or m ation that an interested person ma yu se to contact a sponsor of any pro g ram of financial assistance included in the STEM Database
and ‘‘(II) if such sponsor maintains a public w ebsite , a lin k to the website. ‘‘(iv) SEARC H AND MATCH CA P ABI L ITIES.—The STEM Database shall— ‘‘(I) have a search capability that permits an individual to search for information on the basis of each category of the information provided through the STEM Database and on the basis of combinations of categories of the information provided, including— ‘‘(aa) whether the financial assistance is need - or merit-based; and ‘‘(bb) by relevant academic ma j ors; and ‘‘(II) have a match capability that— ‘‘(aa) searches the STEM Database for all financial assistance opportunities for which an individual may be q ualified to apply, based on the student characteristics provided by such individual; and ‘‘(bb) provides information to an individual for only those opportunities for which such individual is qualified, based on the student characteristics provided by such individual. ‘‘(v) R ECOMMENDATION AND DISCLAIMER.—The STEM Database shall provide, to the users of the STEM Database— ‘‘(I) a recommendation that students and fami- lies should carefully review all of the application requirements prior to applying for any aid or pro- gram of student financial assistance; and ‘‘(II) a disclaimer that the non- F ederal pro- grams of student financial assistance presented in the STEM Database are not provided or endorsed by the Department or the Federal G overnment. ‘‘(C) COMPILATION OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE INFORMA- TION.—In carrying out this paragraph, the Secretary shall— ‘‘(i) consult with public and private sources of schol- arships, fellowships, and other programs of student financial assistance; and ‘‘(ii) make easily available a process for such enti- ties to provide regular and updated information about the scholarships, fellowships, or other programs of stu- dent financial assistance. ‘‘(D) CONTRACT A U THORI Z ED.—In carrying out the requirements of this paragraph, the Secretary is authori z ed to enter into a contract with a private entity with dem- onstrated e x pertise in creating and maintaining databases such as the one required under this paragraph, under which contract the entity shall furnish, and regularly
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