FINAL BILL REPORT

2SHB 1946

C 407 L 09

Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description: Regarding higher education online technology.

Sponsors: House Committee on Education Appropriations (originally sponsored by Representatives Carlyle, Anderson, Wallace, Angel, White, Schmick, Hasegawa, Goodman, Sullivan, Haigh, Hudgins, Kenney and Maxwell).

House Committee on Higher Education

House Committee on Education Appropriations

Senate Committee on Higher Education & Workforce Development

Senate Committee on Ways & Means

Background:

Technology Transformation Taskforce in the Community and Technical Colleges.

Beginning in 2006, the Technology Transformation Taskforce (Taskforce) of the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) conducted an 18-month analysis to identify ways to improve education through the effective use of technology. The Taskforce conducted extensive surveys, focus groups, and interviews with students, faculty, staff, and education and information technology experts and educators from across the country and around the world. It also analyzed the community and technical college system’s successes and mistakes in the deployment of information technology during the past 25 years.

The Taskforce issued a report in 2008 that dealt with three major areas of technology deployment: student learning, student services, and administration. In all three areas, the Taskforce found a need for greater uniformity across the 34 community and technical colleges in the system and within the broader P-20 education system. This report also recommended a shift from locally developed software and hosting services.

Information Technology Terms.

Open textbook (and other course material): An open textbook is an openly licensed textbook offered online by its author(s). The open license sets open textbooks apart from traditional textbooks by allowing users to read online, download, or print the book at no cost. For a textbook to be considered open, it must be licensed in a way that grants a baseline set of rights to users that are less restrictive than its standard copyright. A license or list of permissions must be clearly stated by the author. Open textbooks are increasingly seen as a potential solution to some of the challenges with the traditional textbook publishing model.

Hosted application: A hosted application, also known as Internet-based application, web-based application, online application, or Application Service Provider (ASP) is a software application where the software resides on servers that are accessed through the Internet instead of the more traditional software that is installed on either a local server or on individual computers.

Web conferencing service: A web conferencing service is a service that allows users to share documents, make presentations, demonstrate products and services, and communicate as if they were 'face-to-face' with people at almost any location via a personal computer using an Internet connection.

Summary:

Common Learning Technologies.

All institutions of higher education are encouraged to use common online learning technologies, including those currently managed by the SBCTC. Institutions that decide to migrate to the common system may begin doing so immediately. For those institutions that opt in, the SBCTC will adjust current licenses to accommodate the additional schools and convene a workgroup to determine a shared fee structure.

Technology Workgroup.

The Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) must convene a workgroup to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and quality of education relative to the use of technology. The group must include: representatives from each of the public baccalaureate institutions, and six community or technical colleges; and two faculty members from four-year institutions, two faculty members from community and technical colleges, with at least one of the faculty members from each sector selected by statewide bargaining representatives; and one representative each from the HECB, the SBCTC, the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board, the Department of Information Services, and the Council of Presidents.

The group must take the following actions in developing the plan:

• Investigate efforts in other states regarding online learning technologies, personalized online student services, integrated administrative tools, shared library resources, methods for sharing digital content, methods for pooling and sharing enrollments in online classes, and methods for ensuring quality of online programs and classes.

• Develop a process and timeline for implementing the recommendations of the various investigations.

• Focus on statewide capability and standards to create effective use of common resources.

• Identify the metrics that can be used to gauge success.

• Conduct a comprehensive audit of existing Information Technology resources currently being used at all public institutions of higher education including employees, infrastructure, and licenses. Failure of an institution to participate must be noted in the workgroup's plan.

• Subject to appropriations for this purpose, the HECB must contract with an independent consultant to review the findings of the audit.

• Recommend strategies to reduce duplication, increase quality, and increase student access.

• Recommend governance and funding models as well as accountability measures.

• Provide a preliminary report to the Legislature by December 1, 2009, and a final report by December 1, 2010.

The act is null and void if it is not funded in the state operating budget.

Votes on Final Passage: