BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 1397 (Ting) - Community colleges: California Community
Colleges Fair Accreditation Act of 2015.
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|Version: July 8, 2015 |Policy Vote: ED. 6 - 3 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: August 17, 2015 |Consultant: Jillian Kissee |
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This bill may meet the criteria for referral to the Suspense
File.
Bill
Summary: This bill establishes the California Community Colleges (CCC)
Fair Accreditation Act of 2015 and requires the accrediting
agency for CCCs to meet various specified operational standards.
Fiscal
Impact: No direct and certain cost to the state.
Potential costs to the extent fees are increased by the
Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges
(ACCJC) to modify systems to conform to this bill. Though
community colleges pay these fees, they are not reimbursable
pursuant to state mandate law. Instead, increases in fees
could put pressure on colleges' budgets which are largely
funded by Proposition 98 General Fund.
CCC student eligibility for state and federal financial aid
could potentially be compromised to the extent the United
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States Department of Education (USDE) does not recognize the
ACCJC due to the bill's provisions that may conflict with
federal accrediting agency recognition requirements. This
could create a significant General Fund cost pressure to
backfill any loss in funding. See staff comments.
Background: State regulations require each community college within a
district to be an accredited institution. 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. They determine the
extent to which the standards are met and publicly announce
their findings. Federal law requires institutions to be
accredited in order to participate in federal programs that
provide financial assistance to students.
The National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and
Integrity advises the USDE on matters related to postsecondary
accreditation and the eligibility and certification process for
higher education institutions to participate in federal student
aid programs. It assesses whether accrediting agencies'
standards are sufficiently rigorous to ensure the entity is a
reliable authority regarding the quality of the education
provided by the institutions or programs it accredits.
Accrediting entities must meet all the criteria for recognition.
The ACCJC is the regional accrediting agency for community
colleges in the western region. Its 19 commissioners, one of
which is a representative of the CCC Chancellor's Office, are
elected by a vote of the presidents of the member colleges,
which have been accredited by the ACCJC.
After an initial accreditation, colleges must have their
accreditation reaffirmed every six years. Generally, this
involves a self-study, a site visit by a team of peers, a
recommendation by the visiting team, an action by the
accrediting agency, and follow-up progress reports.
Institutions pay annual membership dues and fees to the
accrediting agency to support expenses resulting from
AB 1397 (Ting) Page 2 of
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comprehensive evaluation visits and any special and follow-up
visits. The accrediting agency charges fees for a variety of
other services such as those related to eligibility review,
candidacy, and initial accreditation.
The CCC Chancellor's Office has an Accreditation Task Force to
advise and provide recommendations regarding the accreditation
process. These recommendations are expected to be available
later this year.
Proposed Law:
This bill establishes the CCC Fair Accreditation Act of 2015
and requires ACCJC to meet specified operational standards.
This bill makes its provisions applicable only to accrediting
procedures for institutions in California.
This bill further prescribes the accreditation process by
requiring:
The establishment and enforcement of procedures to
ensure no conflicts of interest, as specified, exist with
individuals serving on visiting accreditation teams.
The agency to conduct meetings to ensure the public has
an opportunity to attend open sessions; there is sufficient
time for public comment; and that no action of the agency
related to an institution's accreditation is to be taken
prior to hearing public comment.
Accreditation-related decisions to be based on published
standards, consistent with state and federal law.
That no revision is to be made by the agency to a report
from a visiting accreditation team report unless it is
shared with the team and with the institution under review
and is afforded an opportunity to comment on the revision.
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An institution under review six weeks to review visiting
accreditation team reports and recommendation for action
before a decision relating to the institution's
accreditation is to be made.
Time for an institution to correct any deficiencies that
have prevented the institution from receiving full
accreditation and the ability to apply for an extension.
An appeals process for certain sanctions issued by the
agency.
Related
Legislation: AB 1385 (Ting, 2015) requires notification to the
CCC Board of Governors before an accrediting agency increases
membership fees, special assessments, or other payments charged
to a community college.
AB 404 (Chiu, 2015) requires, among other things, the ACCJC to
report to the CCC Board of Governors the date by which the
agency's application for continued recognition is due. AB 404
is pending in this Committee.
Staff
Comments: As noted above, this bill does not result in direct
costs to the state at this time. However, potential costs to
the state could arise depending on the implications of a recent
letter issued to the ACCJC from the USDE expressing "serious
concerns" regarding the ability of an accrediting agency to
enforce its standards effectively, as required by the USDE's
recognition criteria. It indicates that the timeline
established in the bill prior to a decision is able to be made
would appear to interfere with an accrediting agency's ability
to act swiftly in taking enforcement action. Federal
regulations require that if the accrediting agency's review of
an institution is not in compliance their standards, the agency
must immediately initiate adverse action against the institution
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or program. This bill requires that the accrediting agency
operate only by policies that are in compliance with the federal
criteria for recognition of an accrediting agency. The USDE
indicates that only it can interpret and apply its recognition
criteria.
The implication of USDE's concerns is unknown at this time.
Conflict with USDE's recognition criteria could put recognition
of the ACCJC as an accrediting agency in jeopardy. This would
have serious implications as it could potentially compromise CCC
student eligibility for state and federal financial aid. Other
possible implications could be costs attributed to disputes or
litigation to determine the ability of the state to enforce
statutorily-imposed requirements since accrediting agencies are
private membership-based, non-profit organizations recognized by
the USDE.
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