SENATE BILL REPORT

SB 5295

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Background: In 2011 under E2SHB 1795, the Legislature created an accountability monitoring and reporting system for four-year institutions of higher education to measure progress toward the achievement of long-term performance goals in higher education. The four-year institutions must report each December 1 on performance data that aligns with the National Governor's Association's Complete to Compete metrics with additions that include the following: graduate and professional degrees; science, technology, engineering, and mathematics participation; student debt load; and disaggregation of measures based on various student demographics, including socio-economic status and income level, among others. This information must be displayed on the Office of Financial Management (OFM) website, in a uniform dashboard format.

OFM was directed to have the dashboard available by December 1, 2011, and must update it annually every December. The information must be viewable by race and ethnicity, gender, state and country of origin, age, and socioeconomic status to the maximum extent possible. The information can be tailored to meet the needs of various audiences such as students and researchers. Currently, the metrics available are organized into three categories: student enrollment; student progress; and degrees and graduates.

Summary of Bill: The Legislature finds that the data available on the statewide public four-year institution of higher education dashboard is useful to prospective students and their families when making decisions about which schools to apply to and attend. Therefore the Legislature intends to include data about branch campuses as well as main campuses on the dashboard.

In conjunction with OFM, all branch campuses must display required data on the dashboard by December 1, 2015.

When data suppression is necessary to protect student privacy, the Education Data and Research Center must avoid redacting data to the maximum extent possible, using alternatives such as combining data groupings or using the percentage of students in place of a specific number of students.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony: PRO: OFM's dashboard is very helpful and well done. We do not want to draw attention to individuals if the demographics are too small. However, as we look at campuses the numbers are growing with respect to race and gender. The information could be helpful to prospective students who are trying to decide where to apply. University of Washington (UW)-Bothell is the fastest growing student body in the state.

OTHER: Branch campuses have not always been admitting freshman and sophomores so you may see big shifts in percentages. Data from campuses will look very different from each other. Transfer of students from one Washington State University (WSU) campus to another should not count against students in terms of performance metrics and we appreciate that language in the bill addresses this.