BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 653
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 7, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Jose Medina, Chair
AB 653
(Levine) - As Introduced February 24, 2015
SUBJECT: Postsecondary education: intersegmental coordination
in governance
SUMMARY: Requires the Chancellor of the California State
University (CSU) and the Chancellor of the California Community
Colleges (CCC), and requests the President of the University of
California (UC) to coordinate the efforts of their respective
segments when procuring technology and software for the purposes
of enhancing student achievement; specifies the segments should
develop procedures to coordinate the collection of, and to
share, student performance data, as specified; and expresses the
intent of the Legislature that, among other things, the segments
of public higher education coordinate their efforts to invest
state resources in technologies that are useful to multiple
segments or campuses. Specifically, this bill:
1)Declares that the Legislature intends that all of the
following occur:
a) That the segments of public higher education coordinate
their efforts to invest state resources in technologies
that are useful to multiple segments or campuses;
b) That, as these segments invest in new technologies, the
AB 653
Page 2
public segments jointly leverage their combined purchasing
power;
c) That investments in new technology made by these
segments prioritize the ability to coordinate with other
segments of higher education; and,
d) That these segments ease the student transfer process
between systems through increased coordination in the
purchasing of new technology platforms.
2)Requires the CSU Chancellor and the CCC Chancellor, and
requests the UC President to, coordinate their efforts when
procuring technology and software for the purposes of
enhancing student achievement.
3)Specifies that the coordination required shall only apply to
large-scale information technology and software purchases that
benefit the three segments (UC, CSU, and CCC) of public higher
education for which coordination by these segments would
reduce costs and increase efficiency.
4)Stipulates that as the segments of public postsecondary
education invest in, and upgrade, infrastructure and software
for data storage and analysis, these segments shall develop
procedures to coordinate the collection of, and to share,
student performance data in a manner that is consistent with
state and federal privacy law.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: Purpose of this bill. According to the author, this
measure endeavors to continue the work of the UC, CSU, and CCC
in the coordination of their efforts when purchasing systemwide
information technology. The author states, "In the past
services and resources across and within the three segments have
developed in silos. That has resulted in both duplicative work
and posed challenges for information to be shared." The author
AB 653
Page 3
contends that the existing coordination currently taking place
between the three segments is because of the innovation of the
present segment leaders. The author argues that, "Nothing in
current law states that the ongoing coordination must continue
past the tenure of current leadership. This bill seeks to
ensure that existing collaboration between the segments
continues and will ensure that the doors that have been opened
for coordination remain open."
Current collaboration of segments. During the March 26, 2014,
CSU Board of Trustees meeting, CSU Chancellor Timothy P. White,
UC President Janet Napolitano, and CCC Chancellor Brice W.
Harris gave a joint presentation about collaboration among the
three systems. The three leaders highlighted a number of
efforts that are leading to extended collaboration among the
systems including, but not limited to, streamlining student
transfer pathways, shared administrative services, and
contracts.
The segments have also launched http://www.uknowledgeshare.com ,
which is the CSU, CCC and UC's online collaborative site created
to encourage the sharing of information, ideas and high-impact
practices.
Additionally, the three segments co-fund and co-manage
ASSIST.org, an online tool that helps students find community
college courses that are transferable to a UC or CSU campus
and how those transferable courses might be used to satisfy
subject matter requirements for specific majors or general
education requirements. ASSIST also provides information
about majors offered at UC and CSU campuses.
Lastly, the three segments all participate in the Corporation
AB 653
Page 4
for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC), in
order to obtain cost-effective, high-bandwidth networking to
support their missions and respond to the needs of their
faculty, staff, and students.
Previous legislation. Assembly Bill 1969 (Levine) of 2014,
which was vetoed by the Governor, was similar in nature to this
measure. The Governor's veto message stated, "When viable, the
University of California, California State University and
California Community Colleges have coordinated on major
information technology projects. I prefer to maintain the
current flexibility that allows the segments to identify and
pursue opportunities for joint projects when it makes
programmatic and fiscal sense."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
AB 653
Page 5
Analysis Prepared by:Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960