BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 42|
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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
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(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.
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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
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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
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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
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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:
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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
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