BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1837
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
1837 (Low and Eggman)
As Amended March 17, 2016
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Higher |11-2 |Medina, Baker, Bloom, |Chávez, Levine |
|Education | |Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, | |
| | |Linder, Low, Olsen, | |
| | |Santiago, Weber, | |
| | |Williams | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |20-0 |Gonzalez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bloom, Bonilla, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, | |
| | |Chang, Daly, Eggman, | |
| | |Gallagher, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Roger | |
| | |Hernández, Holden, | |
| | |Jones, Obernolte, | |
| | |Quirk, Santiago, | |
| | |Wagner, Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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AB 1837
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SUMMARY: Establishes the Office of Higher Education Performance
and Accountability (OHEPA) to provide statewide postsecondary
education planning and coordination. Specifically, this bill:
1)Establishes OHEPA as the statewide postsecondary education
coordination and planning entity within the Governor's office
and under the direct control of an Executive Director
(Director) appointed by the Governor and subject to Senate
confirmation.
2)Provides that the Director is responsible for all duties,
powers, and responsibilities vested in OHEPA, including
contracting for relevant professional or consultant services.
The Director is required to appoint any staff positions
authorized by the Governor.
3)Establishes an Advisory Board to OHEPA, subject to open
meetings requirements and meeting at least quarterly, for the
purpose of reviewing and commenting on any recommendations
made by OHEPA to the Governor and the Legislature, developing
an annual report on the condition of California higher
education, issuing an annual performance review of the
Director. Provides that the Advisory Board members shall
serve without compensation, except reimbursement for expenses.
Establishes the Advisory Board membership as follows:
a) Three members with experience in postsecondary education
appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules;
b) Three members with experience in postsecondary education
appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly; and,
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c) The chair of the Senate Committee on Education and the
chair of the Assembly Committee on Higher Education to
serve as ex officio members.
4)Requires OHEPA to actively seek input from and consult with
the advisory board and higher education segments and
stakeholders, as appropriate, in the conduct of its duties and
responsibilities.
5)Establishes OHEPA for the purpose of advising the Governor,
the Legislature and other appropriate government officials and
institutions of postsecondary education, and specifically
requires OHEPA to conduct all of the following:
a) Inform the identification and periodic revision of state
goals and priorities for higher education in a manner that
is consistent with the goals, and taking into consideration
the metrics, outlined in existing law. OHEPA is required
to biennially interpret and evaluate both statewide and
institutional performance in relation to these goals and
priorities.
b) Review and make recommendations, as necessary, regarding
cross-segmental and interagency initiatives and programs in
areas that may include efficiencies and instructional
delivery, financial aid, transfer, and workforce
coordination;
c) Advise the Legislature and the Governor regarding the
need for, and location of, new institutions and campuses of
public higher education;
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d) Review proposals by the public segments for new
programs, the priorities that guide them, and the degree of
coordination with nearby public, independent, and private
postsecondary educational institutions, and make
recommendations regarding those proposals to the
Legislature and the Governor;
e) Act as a clearinghouse for postsecondary education
information and as a primary source of information for the
Legislature, the Governor, and other agencies, and develop
and maintain a comprehensive database, as specified.
f) Review proposals for changes in eligibility pools for
admission to public institutions and segments of
postsecondary education, and make recommendations to the
Legislature, the Governor, and institutions of
postsecondary education. Provides that OHEPA shall
periodically study the percentages of California public
high school graduates estimated to be eligible for
admission to the California State University (CSU) and the
University of California (UC);
g) Through its use of information and its analytic
capacity, inform the identification and periodic revision
of state goals and priorities for higher education in a
manner that is consistent with the goals and metrics
outlined in existing law. Requires OHEPA to biennially
interpret and evaluate both statewide and institutional
performance in relation to these goals and priorities;
h) Submit reports to the Legislature, as specified;
i) Manage data systems and maintain programmatic, policy,
and fiscal expertise to receive and aggregate information
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reported by the institutions of higher education in this
state; and,
6)Provides that on or before December 31 of each year, OHEPA
shall report to the Legislature and the Governor regarding its
progress in achieving the aforementioned objectives and
responsibilities.
7)Provides that on or before January 1, 2020, the Legislative
Analyst's Office (LAO) shall review and report to the
Legislature regarding the performance of the office in
fulfilling its functions and responsibilities.
8)Sunsets the law on January 1, 2021.
EXISTING LAW: Establishes the California Postsecondary
Education Commission (CPEC) composed of 17 members representing
the higher education segments, the State Board of Education, and
nine representatives appointed by the Governor, Senate Rules
Committee, and Assembly Speaker to coordinate public,
independent, and private postsecondary education in California.
(Education Code Section 66900 et. seq.)
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)In its last full year of operation, California Postsecondary
Education Commission's (CPEC's) General Fund operating budget
was $1.9 million for the equivalent of 18 positions. The new
office established in this bill would likely have a somewhat
smaller budget. In addition, the office would incur one-time
information technology costs and other start-up costs in the
low hundreds of thousands of dollar.
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2)The three public higher education segments will incur the
following costs to work with the new office and to respond to
data requests:
a) UC. Ongoing costs of $50,000 for one-half position.
b) CSU. Ongoing costs of $110,000 for one position.
c) California Community Colleges (CCC). Estimates ongoing
costs of up to $440,000 for four positions, based on prior
workload demands involving CPEC.
COMMENTS: Background on CPEC. As previously outlined, CPEC was
established to coordinate postsecondary education in California
and to provide independent policy analyses and recommendations
to the Legislature and the Governor on postsecondary education
issues. However, CPEC's budget and responsibilities were
reduced over time, casting doubt on its effectiveness and
triggering calls for its restructuring. In the 2011-12 Budget
Act, Governor Brown vetoed funding for CPEC citing the agency's
ineffectiveness in higher education oversight. In his veto
message, the Governor acknowledged the well-established need for
coordinating and guiding state higher education policy and
requested that stakeholders explore alternative ways these
functions could be fulfilled. CPEC shut down in fall 2011,
transferring its federal Teacher Quality Improvement grant
program to the California Department of Education (CDE) and
extensive data resources to the California Community Colleges
(CCC) Chancellor's Office. There is currently no coordinating
entity for higher education in California.
Establishing goals and accountability in the absence of CPEC.
The National Commission on Accountability in Higher Education,
in a report published in 2005, concluded that "real improvement
in higher education will come when accountability in higher
education provides for explicit shared goals, progress in
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achieving these goals is measured, and work to improve
performance is motivated and guided." Statewide higher
education goals and objectives have been considered by the
Legislature for over a decade; in recent years, despite the
absence of CPEC, some progress has been made on this front.
The 2013-14 Budget Act education trailer bill (AB 94 (Committee
on Budget), Chapter 50, Statutes of 2013) required CSU and UC to
report annually on specified performance measures, in order to
inform budget and policy decisions and promote effective and
efficient use of resources. SB 195 (Liu), Chapter 367, Statutes
of 2013, established general statewide goals for higher
education, and Legislative intent to identify specific metrics
for measuring progress toward statewide goals. The 2014-15
Budget Act (SB 852 (Leno), Chapter 25, Statutes of 2014)
required UC and CSU to approve three-year "sustainability plans"
that use funding projections to establish projections of
enrollment and the university's goals for the performance
measures that are required to be adopted pursuant to AB 94; this
requirement was continued in the 2015-16 Budget Act. CCCs were
required, pursuant to the 2014-15 Budget higher education
trailer bill (SB 860 (Committee on Budget), Chapter 34, Statutes
of 2014), to adopt goals and targets for student performance by
June 30, 2015, and to establish and report on Student Equity
Plans designed to ensure equal educational opportunities and to
promote student success for all students.
Purpose of this bill. According to the author, "this bill
represents the next necessary step in establishing greater
clarity and accountability for our higher education system's
performance in meeting the statewide goals outlined in the
Master Plan of equity, access, and success; alignment with
workforce needs; and the effective and efficient use of
resources. This bill establishes OHEPA as the statewide
postsecondary coordination and planning entity, outlines its
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responsibilities, functions and authorities, and establishes an
advisory board to the office (comprised of legislative
appointees) to examine and make recommendations regarding its
functions and operations, and to review and comment on the
office's recommendations to the Governor and Legislature."
Recommendations to reestablish coordination. A number of
reports have been issued in recent years that recommend various
approaches to reestablishing higher education oversight and
coordination in California. In 2012, the Legislative Analyst's
Office (LAO) recommended, in Improving Higher Education
Oversight, the Legislature establish an oversight body and
increase the body's independence from the public higher
education segments, assign the body with limited and clear
responsibilities, and develop a more unified governing board
appointment process. In 2014, California Competes, in
Chartering a Course for California's Colleges: State Leadership
in Higher Education, also highlighted the importance of
impartiality and independence from the higher education
segments. The Institute for Higher Education Leadership and
Policy, in March of 2014, issued A New Vision for California
Higher Education: A Model Public Agenda, which noted that
policy leadership could be best filled by regional consortia
that set goals and targets working in coordination with an
executive branch entity (such as a Higher Education Office) that
reported to the Governor with respect to finance and
accountability.
Analysis Prepared by:
Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960 FN:
0003109
AB 1837
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