BILL REQ. #: S-4516.1
State of Washington | 58th Legislature | 2004 Regular Session |
READ FIRST TIME 02/03/04.
AN ACT Relating to performance contracts with institutions of higher education; adding a new chapter to Title 28B RCW; and providing an expiration date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 (1) The legislature finds that the higher
education system in Washington state has historically provided
opportunities for advanced study for thousands of residents, produced
high quality scholars and graduates, and facilitated world class
research and innovation. But the new global economy demands even more
from our colleges and universities in terms of highly trained and
skilled workers and research to fuel future economic growth.
(2) The legislature further finds that, since 1997, public
institutions of higher education have developed and maintained a system
of performance measures to monitor progress in improving graduation
efficiency, faculty productivity, student achievement of degrees and
certifications, and other topics. However, the current performance
measurement system is too limited in scope and scale. Only a few
measures reflect the unique role and mission of an institution. There
is little dialog between state policymakers and institution leaders
regarding the challenges facing our colleges and universities and the
outcomes expected by the public and the state.
(3) The legislature further finds that procedures for operating
budgets, enrollment management, and strategic planning for higher
education are not adequately coordinated. The state and institutions
must jointly discuss and establish clear priorities and acknowledge
potential trade-offs of funding decisions.
(4) Therefore, the legislature intends to explore a new
relationship between the state and public institutions of higher
education that includes dialog and negotiation over goals, priorities,
performance, and resources, and also includes explicit commitments made
by each party aimed at achieving agreed-upon outcomes. The mechanism
to implement this relationship is a performance contract, to be
initiated on a pilot basis with selected institutions beginning in
2004.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 As used in this chapter, a performance
contract:
(1) Is an agreement reached between the governor and the governing
board of an institution of higher education or in the case of two-year
colleges the state board for community and technical colleges as
provided in section 3 of this act and approved by the legislature as
provided in section 6 of this act;
(2) Addresses statewide goals and priorities of the legislature;
(3) Addresses resident undergraduate enrollment levels;
(4) Contains goals and commitments from both the institution and
the state;
(5) Includes quantifiable performance measures and benchmarks; and
(6) Reflects the unique role and mission of the institution within
the state's higher education system.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3 (1) The governor's office with assistance
from the higher education coordinating board shall enter into
negotiations with the governing boards of one state research university
and one state regional university, as defined in RCW 28B.10.016, to
create a performance contract on a pilot basis with each institution.
(2) The governor's office with assistance from the higher education
coordinating board shall enter into negotiations with the state board
for community and technical colleges to create performance contracts on
a pilot basis with two state community and technical colleges, as
defined in RCW 28B.10.016.
(3) The term of a performance contract negotiated under this
section is six years, beginning with the 2005-06 academic year and
ending with the 2010-11 academic year.
(4) Institutions of higher education shall be required to provide
to the office of financial management, the legislature, the state board
for community and technical colleges, and the higher education
coordinating board the data necessary to implement, monitor, and
evaluate performance contracts.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4 (1) Performance contracts shall contain:
(a) Indicators that measure outcomes concerning cost, price,
quality, and timeliness of student progress toward degrees and
certifications;
(b) Indicators that measure the efficiency and effectiveness of
institutional processes; and
(c) Strategies, actions, and results committed to by the
institution in order to achieve statewide goals.
(2) The governor and institutional negotiating teams shall identify
indicators and levels of performance that are clearly linked to the
role, mission, and strategic plan of the institution.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5 (1) Performance contracts shall include
grants to the institution, under the terms of the contract, of
flexibility or waivers from state controls or regulations.
(2) The higher education coordinating board and institutional
negotiating teams shall identify areas where statutory change is
necessary to grant an institution flexibility or waivers of state
regulations. The governor shall submit legislation necessary to
implement a performance contract to the higher education committees of
the senate and house of representatives for the 2005 legislative
session.
(3) A performance contract may be entered into by a partnership
between community colleges and regional universities.
(4) The following areas may not be included in a performance
contract:
(a) Flexibility or waivers of requirements in a collective
bargaining agreement negotiated under chapter 41.56, 41.59, 41.76, or
41.80 RCW;
(b) Flexibility or waivers of administrative rules or processes
governed by chapter 41.56, 41.59, 41.76, or 41.80 RCW; and
(c) The rules, processes, duties, rights, and responsibilities of
the faculty as contained in the faculty codes of the four-year public
institutions.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6 (1) The governor shall submit the completed
performance contracts to the legislature by December 1, 2004.
Following public hearings, the legislature shall have the opportunity,
by concurrent resolution, to approve or reject each performance
contract as a whole.
(2) The chairs of the senate and the house higher education
committees shall appoint a subcommittee to review the performance
contracts prior to the 2005 session.
(3) If the legislature rejects a submission, the performance
contract shall be returned to the parties for renegotiation.
(4) All cost items contained within a performance contract shall be
subject to legislative appropriation.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7 (1) Beginning September 2005, the higher
education coordinating board shall provide semi-annual progress reports
to the higher education committees of the senate and house of
representatives on implementation of the performance contracts and any
short-term outcomes. The overall purpose of the progress reports is to
focus attention on key measures of institution performance and gain an
improved understanding of the causes of success or lack of success in
making progress in achieving the goals in the contract.
(2) The Washington state institute for public policy shall conduct
an evaluation of the pilot performance contracts and make
recommendations regarding change, continuation, or expansion of the
contract process to include additional colleges and universities. The
evaluation shall be submitted to the governor and higher education
committees of the senate and house of representatives by January 15,
2008.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8 Sections 1 through 7 of this act constitute
a new chapter in Title
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9 This act expires July 1, 2011.