BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 653
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
653 (Levine)
As Introduced February 24, 2015
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
|----------------+------+------------------------+--------------------|
|Higher |12-0 |Medina, Baker, Bloom, | |
|Education | |Harper, Irwin, | |
| | |Jones-Sawyer, Levine, | |
| | |Linder, Low, Santiago, | |
| | |Weber, Williams | |
|----------------+------+------------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |17-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, Bloom, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, Chang, | |
| | |Daly, Eggman, | |
| | |Gallagher, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Holden, Jones, | |
| | |Quirk, Rendon, Wagner, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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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
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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
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.
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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: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, costs for this measure would be minor and absorbable to
the segments (UC, CSU, and CCC).
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 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,
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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
http://www.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
for Education Network Initiatives in California, 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."
Analysis Prepared by:
Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960 FN:
0000203
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