BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2247
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 7, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 2247 (Williams) - As Amended: April 24, 2014
Policy Committee: Higher
EducationVote:12-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill requires all campuses of every public and private
postsecondary education institution in California that receives
state or federal financial aid funding to make available on the
institution's website the following accreditation documents: the
institution's self-study report, the accreditation team's final
report, and the accreditation agency's final action letter.
FISCAL EFFECT
Any costs to the University of California, the California State
University, and the California Community Colleges to post these
documents would be minor and absorbable. Almost all campuses of
the three segments already do so.
COMMENTS
1) Background . Accreditation is a voluntary,
non-governmental peer review process used to determine
academic quality. Accrediting agencies are private
organizations that establish operating standards for
educational or professional institutions and programs,
determine the extent to which the standards are met, and
publicly announce their findings.
Both accredited and unaccredited education and training
programs are allowed to operate in California. However, only
accredited institutions are authorized to participate in
federal and state financial aid programs and private
accredited institutions are provided a streamlined pathway to
approval by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education
AB 2247
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(BPPE).
2) Accreditation Documents . This bill would require the
following documents to be posted on each accredited
institution's website:
a) Institutional Self-Study Report . At the outset of the
initial and renewal accreditation process, faculty, staff,
administrators, and students review the entire institution
and document its strengths and weaknesses. The written
report is submitted to the accrediting agency visiting team
for review prior to their site visit.
b) Visiting Team Report . Visiting teams are generally
composed of faculty and administrators from the accrediting
agency's member schools. Service is voluntary and done with
the understanding that by helping another school in the
accreditation process, such service will be reciprocated
for the individual's own school. After the institutional
review and site visit, a visiting team report is generated
and provided to the accrediting commissioners to assist in
the commission's decision to provide, continue, sanction or
discontinue an institution's accreditation.
c) Accrediting Agency Final Action Letter . Action letters
are provided to an institution from the accrediting agency
memorializing the agency's decision/action regarding the
institution's accreditation status.
3) Purpose . According to the author, California relies
heavily on accrediting agencies to ensure that colleges and
universities are providing quality educational programs for
students. By obtaining accreditation, private (including
for-profit) institutions are guaranteed the ability to
operate in California, and both public and private
institutions are provided access to billions of dollars in
state and federal financial aid funding. The state's
ability to monitor the work of accrediting agencies
themselves is virtually nonexistent. Given that accredited
institutions are able to access billions of dollars in
state and federal financial aid, this bill seeks to ensure
a basic level of transparency in the accreditation process
by providing public access to the substance of
accreditation reviews.
AB 2247
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4) Opposition . The University of Phoenix (UOPX) argues the
bill fits a one-size-fits all approach, based on the
standards of the Western Association of Schools and
Colleges (WASC), regardless of whether an institution is
accredited by WASC, another regional accreditor, or a
national accreditor. UOPX is opposed to posting self-study
and team visiting reports, especially those written with
the expectation of privacy.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081