BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION Senator Isadore Hall, III Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Bill No: AB 1837 Hearing Date: 6/28/2016 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Author: |Low | |-----------+-----------------------------------------------------| |Version: |3/17/2016 Amended | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------ |Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes | ------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Consultant:|Felipe Lopez | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUBJECT: Postsecondary education: Office of Higher Education Performance and Accountability DIGEST: This bill establishes the Office of Higher Education Performance and Accountability (OHEPA) as the statewide postsecondary coordination and planning agency, outlines its responsibilities, functions and authorities, and establishes an advisory board to the office to examine and make recommendations regarding its functions and operations, and to review and comment on OHEPA's recommendations to the Governor and Legislature. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1)Establishes the University of California (UC), under the administration of the Regents of the University of California, the California State University (CSU), under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, the California Community Colleges (CCC), under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, independent institutions of higher education, and private postsecondary educational institutions as the segments of postsecondary education in this state. 2)States that the intent of the Legislature that budget and policy decisions regarding postsecondary education generally AB 1837 (Low) Page 2 of ? adhere to three specified goals and that appropriate metrics be identified, defined, and formally adopted to monitor progress toward the achievement of the goals. 3)Establishes the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) as the statewide postsecondary education coordinating and planning agency, and provides for its functions and responsibilities. 4)Provides for the composition of the CPEC's membership. The annual Budget Acts from the 2011-12 fiscal year to the 2015-16 fiscal year, inclusive, have provided no funding for CPEC. This bill: 1)Establishes OHEPA as the statewide postsecondary education coordination and planning agency and places OHEPA under the direct control of an Executive Director who shall be appointed by the Governor and subject to Senate confirmation. 2) Provides that the Executive Director is responsible for all duties, powers, and responsibilities vested in OHEPA, including contracting for relevant professional or consultant services. 3)Requires the Executive Director to appoint any staff positions authorized by the Governor. 4)Establishes an Advisory Board to OHEPA for the purpose of examining and making recommendations to OHEPA regarding the functions and operations of OHEPA and reviewing and commenting on any recommendations made by OHEPA to the Governor and Legislature. 5)Requires the advisory board to consist of the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Education and the Chairperson of the Assembly Committee on Higher Education, who serve as ex officio members and six public members with experience in postsecondary education, appointed to terms of four years as follows: a) Three members of the advisory board appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules. b) Three members of the advisory appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly. AB 1837 (Low) Page 3 of ? 6)Requires OHEPA to actively seek input from, and consult with, the advisory board regarding functions, operations, and recommendations of OHEPA, and provide the advisory board with sufficient time to review and comment. 7)Requires the advisory board to meet at least quarterly, and requires the advisory board to appoint one of its members to represent the board for purposes of communicating with the Legislature. 8)Specifies that the advisory board is responsible for developing an independent annual report on the condition of higher education in California and issuing an annual review of the performance of the Executive Director of OHEPA. 9)Requires members of the advisory board to serve without compensation, but shall receive reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred in connection with the performance of their duties as board members. 10) Requires OHEPA to consult with higher education segments and stakeholders, as appropriate, in the conduct of its duties and responsibilities. 11) Declares that OHEPA exists for the purpose of advising the Governor, the Legislature and other appropriate government officials and institutions of postsecondary education and specifies that OHEPA has the following functions and responsibilities: a) Requires, through its use of information and its analytic capacity, that it inform the identification and period revision of state goals and priorities for higher education consistent with the existing goals and metrics outlined in Statute by SB 195 (Liu, Chapter 367, Statutes of 2013) and in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 Budget Acts, and that it biennially evaluate both statewide and institutional performance in relation to these goals and priorities. b) Requires that it review and make recommendations regarding cross segmental and interagency initiatives and programs in areas that may include, but are not necessarily limited to, efficiencies in instructional delivery, financial aid, transfer, and workforce AB 1837 (Low) Page 4 of ? coordination. c) Requires that it advise the Legislature and the Governor regarding the need for, and the location of, new institutions and campuses of public higher education. d) Requires that it review proposals by the public segments, as specified, and make recommendations regarding those proposals to the Legislature and the Governor. e) Requires that it act as the clearinghouse for postsecondary education information and as a primary source of information for the Legislature, the Governor, and other agencies. f) Requires that it develop and maintain a comprehensive database that ensures data compatibility, supports longitudinal studies, is compatible with K-12 data systems, provides Internet access to data for the sectors of higher education in order to support statewide, segmental and individual campus educational research needs. g) Requires that it review all proposals for changes in eligibility pools for admission to public institutions and segments of postsecondary education and that it periodically conduct eligibility studies. h) Requires that it manage data systems and maintain programmatic, policy, and fiscal expertise to receive and aggregate information reported by the institutions of higher education in this state. 12) Authorizes OHEPA to require governing boards and the institutions of public postsecondary education to submit data to OHEPA on plans, programs, costs, student selection and retention, enrollments, and other specified information, and requires OHEPA to furnish information concerning these matters to the Legislature and Governor as requested by them. 13) Requires OHEPA to annually report to the Legislature and the Governor regarding its progress in achieving the aforementioned objectives and responsibilities by December 31st of each year. 14) Requires the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) to review and report to the Legislature regarding performance of the OHEPA in fulfilling its functions and responsibilities by January 1, 2020. AB 1837 (Low) Page 5 of ? 15) Sunsets these provisions on January 1, 2021. Background Purpose of the bill. According to the author, "the state's approach to higher education must become more comprehensive if it is to ensure state-level workforce needs and priorities are being met. Numerous reports, including legislative reviews of the Master Plan and more recent reports from higher education experts, have called for California to establish a central higher education body. This central body is an important element of the state's ability to honor its promise of affordable, high quality postsecondary education for all high school graduates and adults. Without such an entity, California cannot systematically plan to address the current and future needs of all its students and overall economy. " The author further states that, "AB 1837 represents the next necessary step in establishing greater clarity and accountability for our higher education system's performance in meeting the state wide goals outlined in the Master Plan of equity, access, and success, alignment with workforce needs, and the effective and efficient use of resources." California Postsecondary Education Commission. The 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education recognized that critical to the success of the State's tripartite system of public higher education was a central body responsible for coordination and planning for higher education. Specifically, the Master Plan articulated basic state policies on higher education, such as assigning missions to the different higher education segments, specifying eligibility targets and expressing the state's intent that higher education remain accessible, affordable, high quality and accountable. In addition, the Master plan created the CPEC as an oversight body tasked with providing fiscal and policy recommendations to the Governor and Legislature, monitoring and coordinating public institutions, and ensuring comprehensive statewide planning for higher education and effective use of resources. In the 2011-12 Budget Act, Governor Brown vetoed funding for CPEC citing the agency's ineffectiveness in higher education oversight. However, in his veto message, the Governor acknowledged the need for coordinating and guiding state higher education policy and requested that stakeholders explore ways AB 1837 (Low) Page 6 of ? these functions could be fulfilled. This bill proposes an alternative. Improving Higher Education Oversight. In a January 2012 report by the LAO titled, "Improving Higher Education Oversight," the LAO raised concerns that in the wake of CPEC's closure, the future of higher education oversight was unclear. The LAO stated that while the public segments had stepped in to assume some roles previously performed by the CPEC, they expressed concerns about how institutional and public interests would be balanced. The LAO also noted that while CPEC's performance had been problematic, several important functions performed by CPEC had been lost. Among other things, the LAO recommended the Legislature re-establish an independent oversight body and increase the body's independence from the public higher education segments, assign the body with limited and clear responsibilities, and develop a more unified governing board appointment process. Prior/Related Legislation SB 195 (Liu, Chapter 367, Statutes of 2013) established legislative intent that budget and policy decisions regarding postsecondary education generally adheres to the goals of improving student access and success, better aligning degrees and credentials with the state's economic, workforce, and civic needs, and ensuring the effective and efficient use of resources. SB 42 (Liu, 2015) would have recast the CPEC as the California Commission on Higher Education Performance and Accountability, modified the make-up of the prior commission, reduced and clarified the Commission's functions and responsibilities, deleted a number of obsolete reporting requirements, and make a number of conforming and technical changes. (Vetoed by Governor Brown) AB 1348 (John A. Perez, 2014) would have established the California Higher Education Authority, its governing board and its responsibilities, as specified, phased-in over a three-year period. (Held in the Senate Appropriations Suspense File) SB 1022 (Huff, Chapter 394, Statutes of 2014) required CSU, and AB 1837 (Low) Page 7 of ? requested the UC, to post annual updated labor market data regarding their graduates on their Internet Web sites. SB 1196 (Liu, 2014) would have established a process for setting postsecondary educational attainment goals and would have required that these goals guide the development of plans by the CCC, the CSU, and the UC for making progress towards the state's goals. (Held in the Assembly Appropriations Suspense File) AB 2190 (John A. Perez, 2012) would have established a new state oversight and coordinating body for higher education. (Held in the Assembly Appropriations Suspense File) FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes SUPPORT: Campaign for College Opportunity California Competes California Faculty Association OPPOSITION: None received ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the Campaign for College Opportunity, "in 2014, we released a policy brief showing how states across the nation have faced and overcome some of the same challenges of college access, affordability, and completion that are before California's higher education systems. All six states shared some common factors that made major higher education reforms and innovation possible, including a central authority or agency responsible for higher education and a clear vision and plan with goals for higher education. AB 1837 fills a critical void in statewide higher education planning by establishing an independent body to steward a public agenda for higher education and that can ensure implementation efforts to help achieve state goals." AB 1837 (Low) Page 8 of ?