Amended in Senate June 5, 2014

Amended in Senate April 28, 2014

Amended in Assembly March 12, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 46

Introduced by Assembly Member Pan

December 19, 2012

An act to add Section begin delete 10828 end delete begin insert 89227 end insert to the begin delete Public Contract end delete begin insert Education end insert Code, relating to public postsecondary education.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 46, as amended, Pan. California State begin delete University: contractors end delete begin insert University: online education end insert .

Existing law establishes the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Under existing law, the California State University comprises 25 institutions of higher education throughout the state. begin delete Existing law imposes various requirements with respect to contracting by the California State University. end delete

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This bill would require that contracts entered into by the California State University on or after January 1, 2015, for the purpose of developing educational programs comply with all of the following: that any data collected, pursuant to the contract, by the contractor relating to a student or a faculty member, including data relating to the student’s or faculty member’s use of university resources, be provided to the university in both electronic and paper formats; that any service or instruction provided, pursuant to the contract, by a nonstate agency contractor to a student or faculty member conform to pertinent federal statutes and regulations relating to student and faculty data; that any contract entered into with a nonstate agency acknowledge that other contracts entered into by the university may determine the rights to that intellectual property; and that any service or instruction provided, pursuant to a contract entered into by a nonstate agency subcontractor with a nonstate agency contractor, conform to these policies.

end delete begin insert

Existing law requires the trustees to establish a series of uniform definitions for online education for the California State University on or before January 1, 2015, as specified. Existing law also requires the trustees to report performance data about online education to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2017, and every 2 years until 2021, and requires the trustees to report the performance data to the Legislative Analyst on or before January 1, 2017. Existing law further requires the Legislative Analyst to submit to the Legislature, on or before October 1, 2017, a status update regarding the university’s implementation of these provisions and an assessment of the extent to which the university’s online programs are operating in a manner consistent with legislative intent and statutory requirements.

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This bill would require the trustees to make available to the Academic Senate of the California State University specified information relating to all matriculated students of the California State University who are enrolled in online courses, irrespective of whether the courses or programs in which they are enrolled are provided by faculty of the California State University or by another entity. The bill would require this information to be provided in compliance with all relevant state and federal provisions of law safeguarding the privacy of the students involved.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

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begin insert Section 89227 is added to the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert , end insert immediately following Section 89226 begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

begin insert 89227. end insert   

(a) For purposes of providing a high-quality
educational program and correlating student success, or a lack
of student success, with resource use, demographic data,
preparation, and mode of instruction, especially with respect to
online education, the trustees shall make the information specified
in subdivision (b) available, both on paper and in electronic form,
while complying with all relevant state and federal provisions of
law safeguarding the privacy of the students involved, to the
Academic Senate of the California State University upon its
request.

(b) The information provided under this section shall relate to
all matriculated students of the California State University enrolled
in online courses, irrespective of whether the courses or programs
in which they are enrolled are provided by faculty of the California
State University or by another entity:

(1) The number of students enrolled in online courses.

(2) With respect to each major course of study, the course
completion rates for online courses and for courses other than
online courses.

(3) The grades earned by each student enrolled in an online
course.

(4) The course completion rates for students who are enrolled
in online courses.

(5) Any data relating to a student’s or faculty member’s use of
university resources in connection with online coursework,
including, but not necessarily limited to, the use of computer
terminals and other electronic equipment, library materials, or
staff support time. This data shall include any available information
about the average amount of time it takes a student to complete
an online assignment.

(6) Any available demographic data relating to students enrolled
in online courses, including, but not necessarily limited to, the
ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and gender of those students, and
the cumulative grade-point averages of those students
disaggregated by those demographic categories.

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SECTION 1.  

Section 10828 is added to the Public Contract
Code, to read:

10828.  

(a) A contract entered into by the university on or after
January 1, 2015, for the purpose of developing educational
programs shall comply with all of the following requirements:

(1) Any data collected, pursuant to the contract, by the contractor
relating to a student or a faculty member, including data relating
to the student’s or faculty member’s use of university resources,
shall be provided to the university in both electronic and paper
formats.

(2) Any service or instruction provided, pursuant to the contract,
by a nonstate agency contractor to a student or faculty member
shall conform to pertinent federal statutes and regulations relating
to student and faculty data. The language of the contract pursuant
to which the service or instruction referenced in this paragraph is
provided shall explicitly authorize the provision of this service or
instruction to students or faculty.

(3) Any contract entered into with a nonstate entity shall
acknowledge that other contracts entered into by the university
may determine the rights to that intellectual property.

(b) Any service or instruction provided, pursuant to a contract
entered into by a nonstate agency subcontractor with a nonstate
agency contractor, shall conform to, and incorporate relevant
policies required by, subdivision (a).

(c) As used in this section, “university” means the California
State University.

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