Public Higher Education Data Transparency Act

Summary

The purpose of this act is to increase the data transparency of state school admissions by requiring the disaggregation of a range of data points and outcome measures.

Public Higher Education Data Transparency Act

Section 1. Title
This legislation may be cited as the “Public Higher Education Data Transparency Act.”

Section 2. Definitions

1. “Governing board” is any board that has fiduciary responsibility of a postsecondary institution.

2. “Postsecondary institution” is a two-year or four-year degree-granting educational institution, or a technical-degree granting institution, that receives some or all of its funding through public appropriations.

3. “Accountability report” is a mandatory report produced on an annual basis with the intent to
increase accountability and transparency.

Section 3. Main Provisions

1. Postsecondary institutions shall be required to submit an annual accountability report to the [STATE COORDINATING BOARD], and in a prominent consumer-friendly location on its website, in a common format, containing the following information:

1. Institutional profile, including but not limited to:

1. Institutional purpose and mission.

2. Total number of degree programs, disaggregated by program level, i.e., bachelor, non-doctoral graduate, and doctoral.

3. Total number of faculty, disaggregated by tenured / tenure-track, non-tenure track (adjunct) faculty, and graduate student instructors.

4. Carnegie Classification.

2. Student profile, disaggregated by student socioeconomic factors including, but not limited to race/ethnicity, gender, income level, age, and first-generation status:

1. Total full-time equivalent student enrollment, undergraduate and graduate.

2. Incoming student average grade point average and average scores on admission exams (e.g., ACT, SAT, or other relevant scores, as applicable), if required for admission.

3. First- to second-year retention rates for first-time, full-time freshmen.

4. Four-year graduation rates and transfer-out rates for first-time, full-time freshmen.

5. Average scores of graduating seniors on graduate school admission tests including but not limited to the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE), Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), Law School Admission Test (LSAT), and other professional licensure examinations.

6. Full-time employment rates and median wages earned one year and five years after graduation.

7. If administered by the institution, freshman and senior scores on an externally validated, nationally-normed instruments of value-added assessment, such as the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA), ETS Proficiency Profile, or the Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency (CAAP).

3. Other institutional measures:

1. Required tuition and fees for first-time, full-time freshmen.

2. Average classroom and laboratory utilization rates, disaggregated by hour and day of week, and by month of year.

3. Percentage of enrollment capacity met of courses, of which a majority portion is delivered online.

4. Total expenditues per FTE student, disaggregated by functional expense category, e.g., instruction, research, academic support, student services, institutional support, and auxiliary expense.

2. Any public disclosure made under the requirements of this policy shall not include any
information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual’s identity either directly or indirectly through linkages with other information, such as names, social security numbers, and student identification numbers.