BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2296
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Date of Hearing: May 9, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2296 (Block) - As Amended: April 9, 2012
Policy Committee: Higher
EducationVote:5-2
Business and Professions 6-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill requires institutions regulated by the Bureau for
Private Postsecondary Education to provide additional
disclosures, specifically regarding the following:
1)Whether the institution offers an unaccredited associate,
baccalaureate, or master's degree and whether a graduate will
be able to sit for any applicable licensure exam, (b) that the
degree is not recognized for some employment positions,
including positions with the State of California, and (c) that
a student will not be eligible for federal financial aid.
2)That the school catalog state whether the institution, or any
of its programs, are accredited, and if unaccredited to
disclose the limitations of any degree program as in (1).
3)That all institutions disclose salary and wage data, and in a
manner that the bureau deems sufficient to independently
determine salary and wage information for each graduate of
each education program.
4)That the School Performance Fact Sheet and the annual report
disclose the institution's most recent three-year cohort
default rate and the percentage of students receiving federal
student loans.
5)That an institution maintaining a website to provide the
school catalog, School Performance Fact Sheet for each
educational program, any brochures offered to students, a link
to the bureau's website in the institution's most recent
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annual report.
6)That specified information used to substantiate the Student
Performance Fact Sheet data be documented and maintained by
the institution for five years.
The bill also establishes a new definition of "graduates
employed in the field" to mean graduates gainfully employed in
a position for at least 13 weeks and working at least 17.5
hours per week in an occupation identified by the institution.
FISCAL EFFECT
Minor absorbable costs to the Bureau to modify enforcement
procedures consistent with the new disclosure requirements on
institutions.
COMMENTS
1)Background . California has a long and arduous history of
attempted oversight of the private postsecondary education
sector. On January 1, 2007, the former law authorizing the
regulation of the private postsecondary education sector was
allowed to sunset. Between 2007 and 2009, several attempts to
establish a new regulatory structure failed. In 2009, AB 48
(Portantino)/ Chapter 310 established a new Bureau with the
Department of Consumer Affairs to enforce the provisions of
the new Act, which are scheduled to sunset on January 1, 2015.
2)Purpose . In February, the Assembly Higher Education Committee
and the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development
Committee held a joint hearing to evaluate California's
regulatory structure for private postsecondary education,
including a discussion of the Act and the bureau's
implementation of its provisions. According to the author,
this bill is intended to respond to several concerns raised at
the hearing, specifically regarding the need to increase
transparency among private colleges and universities and to
ensure that prospective students have all of the information
necessary to make informed decisions about where to pursue
postsecondary education.
3)Opposition . The California Association of Private
Postsecondary Schools (CAPPS) argues that this bill makes
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sweeping changes to AB 48, which was carefully written and
recently implemented through the regulatory process.
4)Related Legislation . AB 2534 (Block), pending on this
committee's Suspense file, extends the sunset for the Act by
one year, to January 1, 2016.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081