BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 42| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: SB 42 Author: Liu (D) Amended: 4/7/15 Vote: 21 SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 8-0, 3/25/15 AYES: Liu, Huff, Block, Hancock, Leyva, Mendoza, Pan, Vidak SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 6-1, 5/25/15 AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza NOES: Nielsen SUBJECT: Postsecondary education: California Commission on Higher Education Performance and Accountability SOURCE: Author DIGEST: This bill recasts the California Postsecondary Education Commission as the California Commission on Higher Education Performance and Accountability, modifies the make-up of the prior commission, reduces and clarifies the Commission's functions and responsibilities, deletes obsolete reporting requirements, and makes conforming and technical changes. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1)Establishes the California Postsecondary Education Commission SB 42 Page 2 (CPEC) to be responsible for coordinating public, independent, and private postsecondary education in California and to provide independent policy analysis and recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor on postsecondary education policy. (Education Code § 66900 et. seq.) 2)Prescribes the composition of CPEC to include the following 17 members: a) One representative from each of the following bodies: i) The University of California Regents. ii) The California State University (CSU) Trustees. iii) The California Community College Board of Governors. iv) The Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. a) The chair or designee of the Council for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education. b) The President or designee of the State Board of Education. c) Nine representatives of the general public, with three appointed by the Governor, three by the Senate Rules Committee, and three by the Speaker of the Assembly. d) Two student representatives. (EC § 66901) This bill: 1)Recasts CPEC as the California Commission on Higher Education Performance and Accountability (CCHEPA). 2)Modifies the make-up of the prior commission. More specifically, it provides for 17 members of the general public appointed as follows: a) Requires that four members be appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly. SB 42 Page 3 b) Requires that four members be appointed by the Senate Rules Committee. c) Requires that nine members, including the chairperson, be appointed by the Governor subject to Senate confirmation. d) Requires that the CCHEPA be representative of civic, business, and public school leaders. e) Requires that CCHEPA members serve staggered six year terms. 3)Modifies the make-up of the advisory committee to the CCHEPA to include one student representative enrolled during their time of service and an executive officer from among the independent California colleges and universities, as specified. 4)Makes the Director of the CCHEPA subject to Senate confirmation. 5)Reduces and clarifies the CCHEPA's functions and responsibilities as follows: a) Deletes a number of functions previously assigned to CPEC. b) Requires that it articulate and monitor state performance objectives for higher education. c) Requires that it advise the Legislature and the Governor regarding the need for, and location of, new institutions and campuses of public higher education. d) Requires that it review proposals by the public segments for new programs, as specified, and make recommendations regarding those proposals to the Legislature and the Governor. e) Requires that it act as a clearinghouse for postsecondary education information and as a primary source of information for the Legislature, the Governor, and other SB 42 Page 4 agencies. f) Requires that it develop and maintain a comprehensive database that ensures data compatibility, supports longitudinal studies, is compatible with K-12 data systems, provides internet access to data for the sectors of higher education in order to support statewide, segmental and individual campus educational research needs. g) Requires that it review all proposals for changes in eligibility pools for admission to public institutions and segments of postsecondary education and that it periodically conduct eligibility studies. h) Requires, through its use of information and its analytic capacity, that it inform the identification and periodic revision of state goals and priorities for higher education consistent with the existing goals and metrics outlined in statute by SB 195 (Liu, Chapter 367, Statutes of 2013) and in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 Budget Acts, and that it biennially evaluate both statewide and institutional performance in relation to these goals and priorities. i) Requires that it manage data systems and maintain programmatic, policy, and fiscal expertise to receive and aggregate information reported by the institutions of higher education in this state. j) Requires that it perform all other duties assigned by the Legislature. 6)Deletes obsolete reporting requirements. 7)Makes conforming and technical changes. Comments 1)Need for the bill. California's education and workforce needs cannot be addressed by any single segment. According to the author, the state's approach to higher education must become more comprehensive if it is to ensure state-level workforce needs and priorities are being met. Numerous reports, including legislative reviews of the Master Plan for Higher SB 42 Page 5 Education and more recent reports from higher education experts, have called for California to establish a central higher education body. This central body is an important element of the state's ability to honor its promise of affordable, high quality postsecondary education for all high school graduates and adults who could benefit from instruction offered at California's colleges and universities. Without such an entity, California cannot systematically plan to address the current and future needs of all its students and the overall economy. 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 for postsecondary education (SB 195, Liu, Chapter 367, Statutes of 2013) of equity, access, and success; alignment with workforce needs; and the effective and efficient use of resources. This bill reflects national trends, recommendations from several recent reports, and recommendations by the Legislative Analyst. 2)Related reports/recommendations. A number of recent reports have cited the need for an independent body to steward a public agenda for higher education. These include the following: a) Improving Higher Education Oversight (Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO), January 2012) - In this report, the LAO raised concerns that in the wake of CPEC's closure, the future of higher education oversight was unclear. The LAO noted that while the public segments had stepped in to assume some roles previously performed by CPEC, they expressed concerns about how institutional and public interests would be balanced. The LAO also noted that while CPEC's performance had been problematic, several important functions performed by CPEC had been lost. Among other things, the LAO recommended the Legislature re-establish an independent 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. b) Charting a Course for California's Colleges: State SB 42 Page 6 Leadership in Higher Education (California Competes, February 2014) - The report noted that California is one of only two states nationwide (the other being Michigan) without comprehensive oversight or coordination of higher education. The report opined that the state needs an independent agency to develop a public agenda for higher education that links the needs of the state's economy to the degree attainment outputs of the state's institutions. Further, that independence means that the entity would not have representatives of the segments on its decision-making body to allow it to maintain its impartiality. Finally, the report recommended that the state's priorities be focused on the goals of access to quality programs and outcomes from those programs; that the entity should be a coordinating agency and the segments should remain autonomous; and that its primary functions should be planning and policy development, data collection, analysis and monitoring, and administration of state financial aid programs. c) A New Vision for California Higher Education: A Model Public Agenda (Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Policy, March 2014) - The report highlights the challenges faced by California and offers a model public agenda centered on these goals: addressing access and attainment; equity, affordability and efficiency; and state policy leadership. As regards policy leadership the report opines that this function is best filled by an executive branch entity, such as a California Office of Higher Education, that reports to the Governor. The responsibilities of this office would be to, among other things, provide policy leadership and advise the Governor on higher education budget and policy development, administer financial aid programs, manage a coordinated higher education data system that allows for analysis of enrollments, progression, and completion across all public segments, manage a higher education accountability process, and conduct analysis of goals and targets to assess how well regional efforts aggregate to meet statewide goals. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: No According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: SB 42 Page 7 This bill results in estimated costs in the low millions General Fund. Additional significant administrative costs could be incurred for restoration of a database and related information as well as conducting required studies included in this bill. CSU indicates minor ongoing costs. SUPPORT: (Verified5/28/15) California Faculty Association Campaign for College Opportunity Little Hoover Commission OPPOSITION: (Verified5/28/15) Academic Senate for California Community Colleges Faculty Association of California Community Colleges Prepared by:Kathleen Chavira / ED. / (916) 651-4105 5/31/15 11:34:48 **** END ****