BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 2247
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 7, 2014

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                  AB 2247 (Williams) - As Amended:  April 24, 2014 

          Policy Committee:                              Higher  
          EducationVote:12-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          Yes    Reimbursable:              Yes

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires all campuses of every public and private  
          postsecondary education institution in California that receives  
          state or federal financial aid funding to make available on the  
          institution's website the following accreditation documents: the  
          institution's self-study report, the accreditation team's final  
          report, and the accreditation agency's final action letter.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Any costs to the University of California, the California State  
          University, and the California Community Colleges to post these  
          documents would be minor and absorbable. Almost all campuses of  
          the three segments already do so.

           COMMENTS  

              1)   Background  . Accreditation is a voluntary,  
               non-governmental peer review process used to determine  
               academic quality.  Accrediting agencies are private  
               organizations that establish operating standards for  
               educational or professional institutions and programs,  
               determine the extent to which the standards are met, and  
               publicly announce their findings.

            Both accredited and unaccredited education and training  
            programs are allowed to operate in California.  However, only  
            accredited institutions are authorized to participate in  
            federal and state financial aid programs and private  
            accredited institutions are provided a streamlined pathway to  
            approval by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education  








                                                                  AB 2247
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            (BPPE).

              2)   Accreditation Documents  . This bill would require the  
               following documents to be posted on each accredited  
               institution's website:

              a)   Institutional Self-Study Report  .  At the outset of the  
               initial and renewal accreditation process, faculty, staff,  
               administrators, and students review the entire institution  
               and document its strengths and weaknesses.  The written  
               report is submitted to the accrediting agency visiting team  
               for review prior to their site visit.

              b)   Visiting Team Report  .  Visiting teams are generally  
               composed of faculty and administrators from the accrediting  
               agency's member schools. Service is voluntary and done with  
               the understanding that by helping another school in the  
               accreditation process, such service will be reciprocated  
               for the individual's own school. After the institutional  
               review and site visit, a visiting team report is generated  
               and provided to the accrediting commissioners to assist in  
               the commission's decision to provide, continue, sanction or  
               discontinue an institution's accreditation.     

              c)   Accrediting Agency Final Action Letter  .  Action letters  
               are provided to an institution from the accrediting agency  
               memorializing the agency's decision/action regarding the  
               institution's accreditation status.

              3)   Purpose  . According to the author, California relies  
               heavily on accrediting agencies to ensure that colleges and  
               universities are providing quality educational programs for  
               students. By obtaining accreditation, private (including  
               for-profit) institutions are guaranteed the ability to  
               operate in California, and both public and private  
               institutions are provided access to billions of dollars in  
               state and federal financial aid funding.  The state's  
               ability to monitor the work of accrediting agencies  
               themselves is virtually nonexistent. Given that accredited  
               institutions are able to access billions of dollars in  
               state and federal financial aid, this bill seeks to ensure  
               a basic level of transparency in the accreditation process  
               by providing public access to the substance of  
               accreditation reviews.









                                                                  AB 2247
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              4)   Opposition  . The University of Phoenix (UOPX) argues the  
               bill fits a one-size-fits all approach, based on the  
               standards of the Western Association of Schools and  
               Colleges (WASC), regardless of whether an institution is  
               accredited by WASC, another regional accreditor, or a  
               national accreditor. UOPX is opposed to posting self-study  
               and team visiting reports, especially those written with  
               the expectation of privacy.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081