BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 760
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Date of Hearing: July 5, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Marty Block, Chair
SB 760 (Alquist) - As Amended: June 28, 2011
SENATE VOTE : 30-9
SUBJECT : Postsecondary education: the Cal Grant Program.
SUMMARY : Clarifies annual reporting requirements, required
under SB 70 (Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, Chapter
7, Statutes of 2011), for all institutions that choose to
participate in the Cal Grant program. Specifically, this bill :
1)Specifies that participating institutions begin reporting by
December 1, 2013, for the academic year immediately prior.
2)Clarifies that institutions shall report on all students in
its Cal Grant eligible undergraduate programs.
3)Authorizes the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) to use
data already available from federal agencies and other state
agencies in lieu of requiring institutions to report if CSAC
determines the data are sufficient for meeting the
requirements in this bill.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Existing law authorizes the Cal Grant Program, administered by
CSAC, to provide grants to financially needy students in order
for them to attend college. These grants are awarded in order
to assist with the costs of a program of study that result in
the award of an associate or baccalaureate degree or
certificate requiring at least 24 semester units or the
equivalent, or results in eligibility for transfer from a
community college to a baccalaureate degree program.
(Education Code § 69430 et seq.)
2)Existing law provides that a "qualifying institution" for
purposes of participation in the Cal Grant Program must be one
of the following (EC § 69432.7):
a) A California private or independent postsecondary
educational institution that participates in the Pell Grant
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program and at least two of the following:
i) Federal Work-Study
ii) Perkins Loan Program
iii) Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Program
b) A nonprofit institution headquartered and operating in
California that:
i) Certifies to CSAC that 10% of its operating budget,
as demonstrated in an audited financial statement, is
expended for institutionally funded student financial aid
in the form of grants;
ii) Demonstrates the capacity to administer the funds;
iii) Is accredited by the Western Association of Schools
and Colleges or is regionally accredited and was deemed
qualified to participate in the Cal Grant Program by CSAC
for the 2000-01 academic year; and,
iv) Meets any other state-required criteria adopted by
regulation by CSAC in consultation with the Department of
Finance.
c) Any California public postsecondary educational
institution.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill has been amended since its
hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee, which determined
potentially significant on-going cost pressure as a result of
increased reporting, particularly by the California Community
Colleges.
COMMENTS : Background . The Education Trailer Bill (SB 70,
Chapter 7, Statutes of 2011) that was approved in March 2011,
requires each Cal Grant participating institution to provide
CSAC with the following information in order to participate in
the Cal Grant program:
1)Enrollment, persistence, and graduation data for all students;
and,
2)Job placement rate and salary data and wage information for
each program that is either (1) designed or advertised to lead
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to a particular type of job or (2) advertised or promoted with
any claim regarding job placement.
SB 70 also cut the Cal Grant Program by $124 million by
requiring CSAC to annually verify income and asset levels of
renewals and by making institutions with specified student
default rates ineligible to participate in Cal Grant programs.
Need for this bill . According to the author, it was apparent
during the budget hearing on this topic that there was a desire
to have institutions receiving Cal Grants show the value that
the state and students get from the grants. This bill would
clarify some of these provisions.
Regulatory process . According to CSAC, it will begin developing
regulations to implement SB 70 in July 2011 and estimates that
the regulatory process will take 12-18 months (July 2012 to
February 2013). The federal government recently promulgated
regulations requiring institutions to report specified
information pertaining to gainful employment in order to be
eligible to participate in federal student aid programs,
including the Pell Grant program. It is anticipated that CSAC's
regulations will align with federal definitions.
Report date . Since this bill requires institutions to report on
the "academic year immediately prior," the author may wish to
consider if a report date of December 1, 2013, will give the
institutions enough time to compile information from the 2012-13
academic year, which generally ends in July 2013.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Sandra Fried / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
SB 760
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