BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1103
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Date of Hearing: June 19, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Marty Block, Chair
SB 1103 (Wright) - As Amended: April 24, 2012
SENATE VOTE : 37-0
SUBJECT : Postsecondary education: Cal Grant Program.
SUMMARY : Requires the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC)
to post the following on its Internet website:
1)Information submitted annually by institutions participating
in the Cal Grant program, pursuant to existing law, beginning
the year after CSAC receives the reports, to be made available
in a searchable database, and,
2)Other information and links useful to students and parents,
including, but not limited to, local occupational profiles
available through the Employment Development Department's
labor Market Information Data Library.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Cal Grant program under the administration of
CSAC and establishes eligibility requirements for students
attending qualifying institutions. (Education Code � 69430 et
seq.)
2)Requires, beginning in 2012, institutions participating in the
Cal Grant Program to submit to CSAC annual enrollment,
persistence, and graduation data for all students, including
Cal Grant recipients, and requires institution to also provide
job placement rate and salary and wage information for
occupational and career programs as specified. (EC � 44932.2)
3)Provides that a "qualifying institution" for purposes of
participation in the Cal Grant Program must be one of the
following (EC � 69432.7):
a) A California private or independent postsecondary
educational institution that participates in the Pell Grant
program and at least two of the following:
SB 1103
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i) Federal Work-Study
ii) Perkins Loan Program
iii) Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Program
b) A nonprofit institution headquartered and operating in
California that:
i) Certifies to CSAC that 10% of its operating budget,
as demonstrated in an audited financial statement, is
expended for institutionally funded student financial aid
in the form of grants;
ii) Demonstrates the capacity to administer the funds;
iii) Is accredited by the Western Association of Schools
and Colleges or is regionally accredited and was deemed
qualified to participate in the Cal Grant Program by CSAC
for the 2000-01 academic year; and,
iv) Meets any other state-required criteria adopted by
regulation by CSAC in consultation with the Department of
Finance.
c) Any California public postsecondary educational
institution.
FISCAL EFFECT : The Senate Appropriations Committee determined
that there was either no cost to the state or minimal costs,
pursuant to Rule 28.8.
COMMENTS : Background . The Education Trailer Bill (SB 70,
Chapter 7, Statutes of 2011) that was approved in March 2011,
requires each Cal Grant participating institution to provide
CSAC with the following information in order to participate in
the Cal Grant program:
1)Enrollment, persistence, and graduation data for all students;
and,
2)Job placement rate and salary data and wage information for
each program that is either (1) designed or advertised to lead
to a particular type of job or (2) advertised or promoted with
any claim regarding job placement.
SB 1103
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This bill would require CSAC to make this information publicly
available on its Web site along with other information and links
that may be useful to students, such as labor market information
through the state's Employment Development Department.
Need for this bill . According to the author, college is a
significant investment for students and their families. While
there are many Web sites that provide information about college
programs and costs, there are few sites that easily enable
students to compare programs and schools to help them make
informed choices about their investment. Since the majority of
college students participate in some type of financial aid
program, and since each year approximately 250,000 students set
up a Web Grant account where they can access information about
and manage their Cal Grants, the CSAC Web site is a logical
place to house information that would enable students and
parents to do a side-by-side comparison of institutions or
compare similar programs at different institutions.
Timing . According to CSAC, it is currently developing the
regulations to implement SB 70, which should be finalized by
this September. CSAC anticipates collecting the first
institutional reports by the end of December, thus enabling CSAC
to post the data in 2013.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Manufacturers and Technology Association
California Student Aid Commission
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Sandra Fried / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960