BILL REQ. #:  H-4378.1 

Read first time 01/21/08.   Referred to Committee on Higher Education.

     AN ACT Relating to higher education accountability; amending RCW 43.41.400, 28B.76.310, and 28B.76.270; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 101   RCW 43.41.400 and 2007 c 401 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) An education data center shall be established in the office of financial management. The education data center shall jointly, with the legislative ((education [evaluation])) evaluation and accountability program committee, conduct collaborative analyses of early learning, K-12, and higher education programs and education issues across the P-20 system, which includes the department of early learning, the superintendent of public instruction, the professional educator standards board, the state board of education, the state board for community and technical colleges, the workforce training and education coordinating board, the higher education coordinating board, public and private nonprofit four-year institutions of higher education, and the employment security department. The education data center shall conduct collaborative analyses under this section with the legislative evaluation and accountability program committee and provide data electronically to the legislative evaluation and accountability program committee, to the extent permitted by state and federal confidentiality requirements. The education data center shall be considered an authorized representative of the state educational agencies in this section under applicable federal and state statutes for purposes of accessing and compiling student record data for research purposes.
     (2) The education data center shall:
     (a) Coordinate with other state education agencies to compile and analyze education data, including data on student demographics that is disaggregated by distinct ethnic categories within racial subgroups, and complete P-20 research projects;
     (b) Implement a common student identification number used within K-12 and higher education to track outcomes within all of higher education and between K-12 and higher education;
     (c) Collaborate with the legislative evaluation and accountability program committee and the education and fiscal committees of the legislature in identifying the data to be compiled and analyzed to ensure that legislative interests are served;
     (((c))) (d) Track and report enrollment and outcomes either through the public centralized higher education enrollment system or other means that includes, but is not limited to:
     (i) Application acceptance rates;
     (ii) Entrance placement examination scores;
     (iii) Program-specific acceptance rates;
     (iv) Financial aid awards per student including loans;
     (v) Freshman-to-sophomore student retention rates;
     (vi) Four, five, and six-year graduation rates;
     (vii) Average time to degree; and
     (viii) Employment rates in general fields of study;
     (((d))) (e) Assist other state educational agencies' collaborative efforts to develop a long-range enrollment plan for higher education including estimates to meet demographic and workforce needs; and
     (((e))) (f) Provide research that focuses on student transitions within and among the early learning, K-12, and higher education sectors in the P-20 system.
     (3) The department of early learning, superintendent of public instruction, professional educator standards board, state board of education, state board for community and technical colleges, workforce training and education coordinating board, higher education coordinating board, public four-year institutions of higher education, and employment security department shall work with the education data center to develop data-sharing and research agreements, consistent with applicable security and confidentiality requirements, to facilitate the work of the center. Private, nonprofit institutions of higher education that provide programs of education beyond the high school level leading at least to the baccalaureate degree and are accredited by the Northwest association of schools and colleges or their peer accreditation bodies may also develop data-sharing and research agreements with the education data center, consistent with applicable security and confidentiality requirements. The education data center shall make data from collaborative analyses available to the education agencies and institutions that contribute data to the education data center to the extent allowed by federal and state security and confidentiality requirements applicable to the data of each contributing agency or institution.

Sec. 201   RCW 28B.76.310 and 2004 c 275 s 15 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The board, in consultation with the house of representatives and senate committees responsible for higher education, the respective fiscal committees of the house of representatives and senate, the office of financial management, the state board for community and technical colleges, and the state institutions of higher education, shall develop standardized methods and protocols for measuring the direct and indirect undergraduate and graduate educational costs for the state universities, regional universities, and community colleges, including but not limited to ((the costs of instruction, costs to provide degrees in specific fields, and costs for precollege remediation)):
     (a) Cost per enrolled undergraduate and graduate student;
     (b) Cost per undergraduate and graduate degree;
     (c) Cost per degree by field of study;
     (d) Precollege remediation costs;
     (e) All financial aid and institutional aid per student;
     (f) Average faculty, administrator, and classified staff salaries including those funded by state moneys and moneys from other sources;
     (g) Percentage of budget spent on faculty, administration, and staff; and
     (h) Cost per student for support services.
     (2) ((By December 1, 2004, the board must propose a schedule of regular)) Beginning December 1, 2008, and every two years thereafter, the board shall submit cost study reports intended to meet the information needs of the governor's office and the legislature and the requirements of RCW 28B.76.300 ((and submit the proposed schedule)) to the higher education and fiscal committees of the house of representatives and the senate for their review.
     (3) The institutions of higher education shall participate in the development of cost study methods and shall provide all necessary data in a timely fashion consistent with the board's reporting requirements and consistent with the protocols developed.

Sec. 301   RCW 28B.76.270 and 2004 c 275 s 11 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The board shall establish an accountability monitoring and reporting system as part of a continuing effort to make meaningful and substantial progress towards the achievement of long-term performance goals in higher education.
     (2) Based on guidelines prepared by the board, each four-year institution and the state board for community and technical colleges shall submit a biennial plan to achieve measurable and specific improvements each academic year on statewide and institution-specific performance measures. Plans shall be submitted to the board along with the biennial budget requests from the institutions and the state board for community and technical colleges. Performance measures established for the community and technical colleges shall reflect the role and mission of the colleges.
     (3) The board shall approve biennial performance targets for each four-year institution and for the community and technical college system and shall review actual achievements annually. The state board for community and technical colleges shall set biennial performance targets for each college or district, where appropriate.
     (4) The board shall submit a report on progress towards the statewide goals, with recommendations for the ensuing biennium, to the fiscal and higher education committees of the legislature along with the board's biennial budget recommendations.
     (5) The board, in collaboration with the four-year institutions and the state board for community and technical colleges, shall periodically review and update the accountability monitoring and reporting system.
     (6) The board shall develop measurable indicators and benchmarks for its own performance regarding cost, quantity, ((quality,)) and timeliness and including the performance of committees and advisory groups convened under this chapter to accomplish such tasks as improving transfer and articulation, improving articulation with the K-12 education system, measuring educational costs, or developing data protocols. The board shall submit its accountability plan to the legislature concurrently with the biennial report on institution progress.
     (7)(a) The board shall develop a consumer report card that provides data for educational consumers to assess educational quality. The data shall focus on the nature of the learning environment at public institutions of higher education including, but not limited to:
     (i) All data collected under RCW 43.41.400(2)(d);
     (ii) Measures of student and faculty engagement including, but not limited to, percentage of lower division classes taught by full-time faculty, average teaching load by discipline, and class size;
     (iii) Instructor qualifications;
     (iv) Teaching and learning assessment practices;
     (v) Faculty availability and employment status; and
     (vi) Other institutional resources such as research, athletics, and student services available.
     (b) Freshman and seniors attending public baccalaureate degree-granting institutions at least half time shall be assessed on the scores on the collegiate learning assessment or college level examination program tests. Freshman and senior scores shall be included in the report card.
     (c) The consumer report card shall be submitted to the higher education and fiscal committees of the house of representatives and senate, and made available for the public by December 15, 2009, and every two years thereafter.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 401   Part headings and captions used in this act are not any part of the law.