Washington State
House of Representatives
Office of Program Research		 BILL
ANALYSIS
Higher Education Committee

HB 2591

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.

Brief Description: Regarding the acquisition and dissemination of data pertaining to institutions of higher education.

Sponsors: Representatives Wallace, Sells and Jarrett.

Brief Summary of Bill
  • Requires the Higher Education and Coordinating Board (HECB) and the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC), together with all of the public institutions of higher education, to create, post, and update an informational "dashboard" which organizes and presents specified information in a manner which is easily accessible to the public.

Hearing Date: 1/17/08

Staff: Cece Clynch (786-7195).

Background:

Public institutions of higher education are required by various state and federal laws to publish and report particular information. For instance, under the state work study program, the institutions report annually to the HECB according to requirements adopted by the HECB. Institutions are required to report periodically to the Legislature regarding the costs and benefits of tuition waivers. The federal Student Right-To-Know and Campus Security Act require institutions to disseminate information related to financial assistance as well as criminal activity on campus.

There is no requirement that disparate information such as enrollment figures, transfer rates, number of degrees awarded, student/faculty ratios be gathered and presented in a uniform format which is easily accessible to the public, can be seen at a glance, and allows comparisons between institutions to be easily made.

Summary of Bill:

This bill requires the HECB, in conjunction with the SBCTC and the public two-year and four-year institutions of higher education, to develop a uniform dashboard template to be used by all of these institutions to display information regarding performance data such as admission and retention rates, enrollment figures, degrees awarded, financial aid, student to faculty ratios, and the like.

A specific definition of the term "dashboard" is set forth in this bill, as follows:

Each institution is required to annually update the information on its dashboard. The bill also requires creation and use of a uniform homepage link from the homepage of each institution to its own dashboard as well as to the HECB homepage. The HECB, in turn, is to prominently post on its homepage a uniform homepage link to the dashboards of all of these institutions.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Requested on January 14, 2008.

Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.