BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
218 (Portantino)
Hearing Date: 08/27/2009 Amended: As Introduced
Consultant: Dan Troy Policy Vote: ED 8-1
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 218 would require the state to establish a
postsecondary accountability framework to biennially assess and
report on the state's system of higher education in meeting
certain educational and economic goals. The bill states the
intent that both the state's public and private and independent
institutions of higher education will report biennially to the
Legislature, the Governor, and to the California Postsecondary
Education Commission (CPEC) as part of the accountability
process. CPEC will serve as the repository for the collection
of data for the framework and for making data broadly available,
as specified. The Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) would
convene a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) that would
coordinate the technical specifications of the data needed to
address the key issues of accountability. The LAO would also be
responsible for assessing the data compiled by CPEC and making
policy and budgetary recommendations.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Fund
HiED Accountability $300 to $600, depending on General
data specifications
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STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE.
This bill addresses the issue of whether or not postsecondary
education in California is meeting the educational and economic
needs of the state. The system of accountability outlined is not
intended to make comparisons between institutions, but would
instead examine whether or not state policy on higher education
is accomplishing desired ends. The bill would require the
accountability framework to measure the postsecondary system's
collective performance in terms of progress measured by how well
the following key economic and educational questions are
addressed:
- Are enough Californians prepared for postsecondary education?
- Are enough Californians going to college?
- Is the state's postsecondary education affordable to all
Californians?
- Are enough Californians successfully completing certificates
and degrees?
- Are college graduates prepared for life and work in
California?
- Are California's people, communities, and economy benefiting?
These questions would be addressed through a series of key
indicators specified in the bill and subject to technical
refinement by the TAC. The bill indicates that existing data
should be utilized to the extent possible. To the extent
practical, the segments would submit specified data to CPEC by
May of 2010 and biennially thereafter. The bill also
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AB 218 (Portantino)
expresses Legislative intent that the Governor will convene a
task force in 2012 to review the framework proposed by this bill
and recommend changes, as needed.
While UC, CSU, the CCCs and CPEC all indicate a willingness to
comply with the provisions of the bill, it is likely that the
segments will incur costs, at least at the outset, to collect
and report the necessary data. Staff assumes each segment will
require at least one position for this effort. One-time costs
will likely also be incurred to align required data with
existing longitudinal education data systems (e.g., CALPADS).
Overall, total costs will likely range from $300,000 to
$600,000, though costs could be higher depending on the data
specifications ultimately required through the TAC process.
This bill is substantially similar to SB 325 (Scott, 2008),
which was vetoed by the Governor. The Governor's veto message
expressed concern the bill did not provide a "framework for
incentives or consequences that would modify behavior to meet
any policy objectives."