BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



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          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  








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               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  








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          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  








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          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.


          










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          Analysis Prepared by:Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916)  
          319-3960