Amended in Assembly January 9, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 330

Introduced by Assembly Member Chau

February 13, 2013

An act to amend Sections 69433.2 begin delete and 94910 end delete begin insert , 94910, and 94929.5 end insert of the Education Code, relating to student financial aid.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 330, as amended, Chau. Student financial aid: disclosures.

begin delete

Existing

end delete

begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert Existing end insert law establishes the Cal Grant Program under the administration of the Student Aid Commission, and establishes eligibility requirements for awards under the program for participating students attending qualifying institutions. As a condition for participation in the program, existing law requires each Cal Grant participating institution to annually report specified information to the commission, which the commission is required to provide on its Internet Web site in a searchable database.

This bill would include begin delete the institution’s net price calculator end delete begin insert license examination passage rates, the institution’s latest 3-year cohort default rate, the institution’s percentage of undergraduate student borrowers, end insert and begin delete the average end delete begin insert certain other end insert student loan debt begin delete of end delete begin insert information concerning end insert graduates of the institution in the information that a participating institution is required to report and the commission is required to provide on its Internet Web site. begin delete The bill would also require the commission to include a glossary explaining the meanings of various financial aid terms on its Internet Web site. end delete

begin delete

Existing

end delete

begin insert (2) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert Existing end insert law, the California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009, begin insert which is repealed pursuant to its own provisions on January 1, 2015, end insert provides, among other things, for student protections and regulatory oversight of private postsecondary schools in the state. The act is enforced by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education within the Department of Consumer Affairs. The act exempts specified institutions from all, or a portion of, its provisions. The act requires an institution to provide a prospective student prior to enrollment with a School Performance Fact Sheet, which is required to contain specified information relating to the educational program.

This bill would require the School Performance Fact Sheet to also include begin delete the institution’s net price calculator and the average end delete begin insert certain end insert student loan debt begin delete of end delete begin insert information concerning end insert graduates of the institution begin delete if the institution receives specified federal funding end delete begin insert who have entered into student loans, end insert begin insert as specified, while attending the institution end insert .

begin insert

These provisions concerning the School Performance Fact Sheet would become operative only if an act that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2015, delays or eliminates the January 1, 2015, repeal date of the California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009.

end insert

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

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

SECTION 1.  

Section 69433.2 of the Education Code is
amended to read:

69433.2.  

(a) As a condition for its voluntary participation in
the Cal Grant Program, each Cal Grant participating institution
shall begin delete , beginning in 2012, end delete annually report to the commission, and
as further specified in the institutional participation agreement, all
of the following for its undergraduate programs:

(1) Enrollment, persistence, and graduation data for all students,
including aggregate information on Cal Grant recipients.

(2) The job placement rate and salary and wage information for
each program that is either designed or advertised to lead to a
particular type of job or advertised or promoted with a claim
regarding job placement.

begin delete

(3) The institution’s net price calculator required pursuant to
Section 1015a(h)(3) of Title 20 of the United States Code.

end delete begin insert

(3) License examination passage rates, as required pursuant to
subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (l) of Section
69432.7.

end insert begin insert

(4) The institution’s latest three-year cohort default rate, as
required pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of
subdivision (l) of Section 69432.7.

end insert begin insert

(5) The institution’s percentage of undergraduate student
borrowers as reported pursuant to subparagraph (H) of paragraph
(3) of subdivision (l) of Section 69432.7.

end insert begin delete

(4) The average student

end delete

begin insert (6) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert (A) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert Student end insert loan debt begin delete of end delete begin insert information concerning end insert graduates
of the institution begin insert , as calculated pursuant to subdivision (c) end insert .

begin insert

(B) The University of California and the California State
University may comply with this paragraph by including student
loan debt information, as calculated pursuant to subdivision (c),
in their respective annual financial aid reports, as completed
pursuant to Section 66021.1, and providing a copy of the report
to the commission.

end insert

(b) Commencing the year after the commission begins to receive
reports pursuant to subdivision (a), the commission shall provide
begin delete all end delete begin insert both end insert of the following on its Internet Web site:

(1) The information submitted by a Cal Grant participating
institution pursuant to subdivision (a), which shall be made
available in a searchable database.

begin delete

(2) A glossary explaining the meanings of various financial aid
terms, including, but not limited to, all of the following:

end delete begin delete

(A) Private student loan.

end delete begin delete

(B) Federal direct loan.

end delete begin delete

(C) Grant.

end delete begin delete

(D) Scholarship.

end delete begin delete

(3)

end delete

begin insert (2) end insert  Other information and links that are useful to students and
parents who are in the process of selecting a college or university.
This information may include, but not be limited to, local
occupational profiles available through the Employment
Development Department’s Labor Market Information Data
Library.

begin insert

(c) Student loan debt information concerning graduates of a
Cal Grant participating institution shall be calculated and reported
as follows:

end insert begin insert

(1) The institution shall calculate the number of students who
started as first-time postsecondary students at the institution, and
who received a certificate, associate’s degree, or bachelor’s degree
during that academic year.

end insert begin insert

(2) (A) The institution shall calculate the number and
percentage of the students identified pursuant to paragraph (1)
who borrowed at any time while enrolled at the institution through
any student loan program, including, but not necessarily limited
to, institutional loans, state loans, federal Perkins loans, federal
Stafford subsidized and unsubsidized loans, and private loans that
were certified by the institution, including both federal direct
student loans and federal family education loans.

end insert begin insert

(B) The institution shall calculate the total principal borrowed
in those loans described in subparagraph (A).

end insert begin insert

(3) (A) The institution shall calculate the number and
percentage of the students identified pursuant to paragraph (1)
who borrowed at any time while enrolled at the institution through
a federal student loan program, including, but not necessarily
limited to, federal Perkins loans, federal Stafford subsidized and
unsubsidized loans, federal direct student loans, and federal family
education loans, but excluding institutional loans, state loans, and
private loans.

end insert begin insert

(B) The institution shall calculate the total principal borrowed
in those loans described in subparagraph (A).

end insert begin insert

(4) The institution shall report both of the following to the
commission:

end insert begin insert

(A) The percentages calculated pursuant to paragraphs (2) and
(3).

end insert begin insert

(B) The average certificate- or degree-seeking student
cumulative principal borrowed by those students counted pursuant
to paragraphs (2) and (3), calculated by dividing the sum identified
in subparagraph (B) of each of those paragraphs by the number
of students receiving the loans described in the respective
paragraphs. The institution shall report average loan debt
information for certificate, associate’s degree, and bachelor’s
degree programs separately.

end insert begin insert

(5) For purposes of this subdivision, “loans” shall include
cosigned loans that financed a student’s own enrollment or
attendance, but shall not include parental loans.

end insert

SEC. 2.  

Section 94910 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

94910.  

Prior to enrollment, an institution shall provide a
prospective student with a School Performance Fact Sheet
containing, at a minimum, the following begin delete information, end delete begin insert information end insert
as it relates to the educational program:

(a) Completion rates, as calculated pursuant to Article 16
(commencing with Section 94928).

(b) Placement rates for each educational program, as calculated
pursuant to Article 16 (commencing with Section 94928), if the
educational program is designed to lead to, or the institution makes
any express or implied claim related to preparing students for, a
recognized career, occupation, vocation, job, or job title.

(c) License examination passage rates for programs leading to
employment for which passage of a state licensing examination is
required, as calculated pursuant to Article 16 (commencing with
Section 94928).

(d) Salary or wage information, as calculated pursuant to Article
16 (commencing with Section 94928).

begin delete

(e) The institution’s net price calculator if the institution is
required to provide one pursuant to Section 1015a(h)(3) of Title
20 of the United States Code.

end delete begin delete

(f) The average student loan debt of graduates of the institution,
if the institution receives funding pursuant to Title IV of the federal
Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1070
et seq.).

end delete begin delete

(g)

end delete

begin insert (e) end insert  If a program is too new to provide data for any of the
categories listed in this subdivision, the institution shall state on
its fact sheet: “This program is new. Therefore, the number of
students who graduate, the number of students who are placed, or
the starting salary you can earn after finishing the educational
program are unknown at this time. Information regarding general
salary and placement statistics may be available from government
sources or from the institution, but is not equivalent to actual
performance data.”

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(h)

end delete

begin insert (f) end insert  All of the following:

(1) A description of the manner in which the figures described
in subdivisions (a) to begin delete (f) end delete begin insert (d) end insert , inclusive, are calculated or a statement
informing the reader of where he or she may obtain a description
of the manner in which the figures described in subdivisions (a)
to begin delete (f) end delete begin insert (d) end insert , inclusive, are calculated.

(2) A statement informing the reader of where he or she may
obtain from the institution a list of the employment positions
determined to be within the field for which a student received
education and training for the calculation of job placement rates
as required by subdivision (b).

(3) A statement informing the reader of where he or she may
obtain from the institution a list of the objective sources of
information used to substantiate the salary disclosure as required
by subdivision (d).

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(i)

end delete

begin insert (g) end insert  The following statements:

(1) “This fact sheet is filed with the Bureau for Private
Postsecondary Education. Regardless of any information you may
have relating to completion rates, placement rates, starting salaries,
or license exam passage rates, this fact sheet contains the
information as calculated pursuant to state law.”

(2) “Any questions a student may have regarding this fact sheet
that have not been satisfactorily answered by the institution may
be directed to the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education at
(address), Sacramento, CA (ZIP Code), (Internet Web site address),
(telephone and fax numbers).”

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(j)

end delete

begin insert (h) end insert  If the institution participates in federal financial aid
programs, the most recent three-year cohort default rate reported
by the United States Department of Education for the begin delete institution
and end delete begin insert institution, end insert the percentage of enrolled students receiving federal
student loans begin insert , and the average student loan debt of graduates of
the institution calculated pursuant to Article 16 (commencing with
Section 94928) end insert .

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 94929.5 of the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert is amended to
read: end insert

94929.5.  

(a) An institution shall annually report to the bureau,
as part of the annual report, and shall publish in its School
Performance Fact Sheet, all of the following:

(1) The job placement rate, calculated by dividing the number
of graduates employed in the field by the number of graduates
available for employment for each program that is either (1)
designed, or advertised, to lead to a particular career, or (2)
advertised or promoted with any claim regarding job placement.

(2) The license examination passage rates for the immediately
preceding two years for programs leading to employment for which
passage of a state licensing examination is required, calculated by
dividing the number of graduates who pass the examination by the
number of graduates who take the licensing examination the first
time that the examination is available after completion of the
educational program. The institution shall use state agency
licensing data to calculate license examination passage rates. If
those data are unavailable, the institution shall calculate the license
examination passage rate in a manner consistent with regulations
adopted by the bureau.

(3) Salary and wage information, consisting of the total number
of graduates employed in the field and the annual wages or salaries
of those graduates stated in increments of five thousand dollars
($5,000).

(4)  begin insert (A) end insert begin insert   end insert If applicable, the most recent official three-year cohort
default rate reported by the United States Department of Education
for the begin delete institution and end delete begin insert institution, end insert the percentage of enrolled
students receiving federal student loans begin insert , and the average student
loan debt of graduates of the institution end insert .

begin insert

(B) The student loan debt information concerning graduates of
the institution shall be calculated and reported as follows:

end insert begin insert

(i) The institution shall calculate the number of students
receiving student loans who started as first-time postsecondary
students at the institution, and who received a certificate,
associate’s degree, or bachelor’s degree during that academic
year.

end insert begin insert

(ii) (I) The institution shall calculate the number and percentage
of the students identified pursuant to clause (i) who borrowed at
any time while enrolled at the institution through any student loan
program, including, but not necessarily limited to, institutional
loans, state loans, federal Perkins loans, federal Stafford subsidized
and unsubsidized loans, and private loans that were certified or
known by the institution, including both federal direct student
loans and federal family education loans.

end insert begin insert

(II) The institution shall calculate the total principal borrowed
in those loans described in subclause (I).

end insert begin insert

(iii) (I) The institution shall calculate the number and
percentage of the students identified pursuant to clause (i) who
borrowed at any time while enrolled at the institution through a
federal student loan program, including, but not necessarily limited
to, federal Perkins loans, federal Stafford subsidized and
unsubsidized loans, federal direct student loans, and federal family
education loans, but excluding institutional loans, state loans, and
private loans.

end insert begin insert

(II) The institution shall calculate the total principal borrowed
in those loans described in subclause (I).

end insert begin insert

(iv) The institution shall report to the bureau and on the School
Performance Fact Sheet both of the following:

end insert begin insert

(I) The percentages calculated pursuant to clauses (ii) and (iii).

end insert begin insert

(II) The average per-undergraduate cumulative principal
borrowed by those students counted pursuant to clauses (ii) and
(iii), calculated by dividing the sum identified in subclause (II) of
each of those clauses by the number of students receiving the loans
described in the respective clause. The institution shall report
average loan debt information for certificate, associate degree,
and baccalaureate degree programs separately.

end insert begin insert

(v) For purposes of this paragraph, “loans” shall include
cosigned loans that financed the student’s own enrollment or
attendance, but shall not include parental loans.

end insert

(b) Nothing in this section shall limit the bureau’s authority to
collect information from an institution to comply with this section
and ensure, by regulation and other lawful means, that the
information required by this section, and the manner in which it
is collected and reported, is all of the following:

(1) Useful to students.

(2) Useful to policymakers.

(3) Based upon the most credible and verifiable data available.

(4) Does not impose undue compliance burdens on an institution.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 4. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Sections 2 and 3 of this act shall become operative
only if an act that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2015,
amends or repeals Section 94950 of the Education Code to delay
or eliminate the January 1, 2015, repeal date of the California
Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009 (Chapter 8
(commencing with Section 94800) of Part 59 of Division 10 of
Title 3 of the Education Code). end insert