BILL REQ. #:  H-5439.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/12/08.   

     AN ACT Relating to the acquisition and dissemination of data regarding institutions of higher education; amending RCW 28B.76.290 and 28B.76.020; adding a new section to chapter 28B.76 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 28B.76.290 and 1993 c 77 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     The board shall coordinate educational activities among all segments of higher education taking into account the educational programs, facilities, and other resources of both public and independent two and four-year colleges and universities. The four-year institutions and the state board for community and technical colleges shall coordinate information and activities with the board. The board shall have the following additional responsibilities:
     (1) Promote interinstitutional cooperation;
     (2) Establish minimum admission standards for four-year institutions, including a requirement that coursework in American sign language or an American Indian language shall satisfy any requirement for instruction in a language other than English that the board or the institutions may establish as a general undergraduate admissions requirement;
     (3) Establish transfer policies;
     (4) Adopt rules implementing statutory residency requirements;
     (5) Develop and administer reciprocity agreements with bordering states and the province of British Columbia;
     (6) Review and recommend compensation practices and levels for administrative employees, exempt under chapter 28B.16 RCW, and faculty using comparative data from peer institutions;
     (7) Monitor higher education activities for compliance with all relevant state policies for higher education;
     (8) Arbitrate disputes between and among four-year institutions or between and among four-year institutions and community colleges at the request of one or more of the institutions involved, or at the request of the governor, or from a resolution adopted by the legislature. The decision of the board shall be binding on the participants in the dispute;
     (9) Establish and implement a state system for collecting, analyzing, and distributing information;
     (10) In partnership with the education data center and the state board for community and technical colleges, by December 1, 2008, display the following measures in the dashboard template format, as developed in this section, on the education data center's web site. To the extent possible, all measures in this subsection (10) shall be able to be viewed by race and ethnicity, gender, state and county of origin, and age:
     (a) Student enrollment that may include measures such as state and county of residence, student level, and full or part-time;
     (b) Total degrees and certificates awarded;
     (c) Financial aid awards for each institution that may include measures such as funding source, for example, state or federal, and program, such as opportunity grant, state need grant, or Pell grant;
     (d) Remedial education courses attempted and completed;
     (e) English as a second language (ESL) courses attempted and completed; and
     (f) High school dual credit programs;
     (11) In partnership with the education data center, jointly convene a work group that includes representatives from the public institutions of higher education, the state board for community and technical colleges, the workforce training education and coordinating board, the council of presidents, the government management accountability and performance program, the higher education policy committees of the legislature, and the employment security department, to develop the following:
     (a) A uniform dashboard template, to be displayed on the web site of the education data center, that organizes and presents data including, but not limited to, measures identified in this subsection (11) and subsection (10) of this section. The template may be tailored in visual presentation to meet the needs of specific constituent groups, for example students, researchers and analysts, or the general public. The template must be completed, populated with data, and displayed on the education data center's home page by December 1, 2008;
     (b) By June 1, 2009, a common set of workforce measures;
     (c) By June 1, 2009, a common set of data definitions shared among institutions of higher education for the following measures:
     (i) Transfer rate;
     (ii) Admission rate that may include measures such as admission for running start students and for transfer students;
     (iii) Retention rate;
     (iv) Measures of faculty engagement;
     (v) Student survey data, that may include an inventory of the types of surveys administered; and
     (vi) Financial cost measures including cost of attendance and cost of instruction; and
     (d) By July 1, 2009, an updated dashboard template that includes and is populated with the measures developed in this section;
     (12) Annually report total enrollment numbers for all postsecondary institutions, to the extent that the numbers are reported to the board by the institutions;
     (13) Recommend to the governor and the legislature ways to remove any economic incentives to use off-campus program funds for on-campus activities; and
     (((11))) (14) Make recommendations to increase minority participation, and monitor and report on the progress of minority participation in higher education.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 28B.76 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Annually, on a schedule to be determined jointly by the board, the state board for community and technical colleges, and the education data center, each institution of higher education shall complete and update the data displayed on the dashboard template developed under RCW 28B.76.290.
     (2) Each institution of higher education, as defined in RCW 28B.10.016, shall prominently post on its home page a uniform, visible link to the education data center's home page in order to facilitate access to the dashboards of the other institutions of higher education.
     (3) The board shall prominently post on its home page a uniform, visible link to the education data center's home page to facilitate access to the dashboards of all institutions of higher education.

Sec. 3   RCW 28B.76.020 and 1985 c 370 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     ((For the purposes of)) The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter((:)) unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Board" means the higher education coordinating board((; and)).
     (2) "Dashboard" means a visual display of information consolidated and arranged on a computer screen in an easy to read fashion so that the information can be seen at a glance.
     (3) "Four-year institutions" means the University of Washington, Washington State University, Central Washington University, Eastern Washington University, Western Washington University, and The Evergreen State College.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   If specific funding for the purposes of this act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not provided by June 30, 2008, in the omnibus appropriations act, this act is null and void.