Washington State

House of Representatives

Office of Program Research

BILL

ANALYSIS

Higher Education Committee

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.

Brief Summary of Bill

Requires the branch campuses of the four-year institutions to display data on the Statewide Public Four-Year Dashboard website within the Office of Financial Management.
Requires the Education Research and Data Center to avoid publishing data to the maximum extent possible and to use alternatives when it is necessary to suppress data to protect student privacy.

Background:

Office of Financial Management and the Education Research and Data Center.

The Office of Financial Management (OFM) provides fiscal services, information, and policy support for the Governor, Legislature, and state agencies. The OFM also conducts research and manages statewide data, including data related to higher education. In 2007 the Legislature created an education data center, known as the Education Research and Data Center (ERDC), within the OFM to work on conducting collaborative analyses of early learning, K-12, and higher education. In 2011 the Legislature required the four-year institutions to begin reporting annually on specific performance data to the ERDC and for the data to be displayed on the OFM's website in a uniform dashboard format. This became the Statewide Public Four-Year Dashboard (Dashboard).

Statewide Public Four-Year Dashboard.

The six public four-year institutions of higher education in the state are required to submit data for a number of accountability measures to the OFM by December 1 each year. Data required to be submitted includes enrollment information, the number and types of degrees awarded, graduation rates, transfer rates, time and credits to degree, credit accumulation, retention rates, student debt load, market penetration, and much more.

Data suppression refers to methods and restrictions used to limit the disclosure of personally identifiable information.

Summary of Bill:

The branch campuses of the four-year institutions of higher education must also display data on the OFM's Dashboard website by December 1, 2015. The branch campus will not be considered separate from the main campus for the purpose of performance goals in higher education.

When it is necessary to use data suppression to protect student privacy, the ERDC must avoid redacting data to the maximum extent possible by using alternatives, such as combining data groupings or using the percentage of students in place of the specific number of students.