Bill Summary for Bill Number SB12-164

Date: 04/30/2012

Final
BILL SUMMARY for SB12-164

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Votes: View-->	Action Taken:
Refer Senate Bill 12-164 to the House Committee on	PASS

01:33 PM -- Senate Bill 12-164

Representative Massey, Chair, called the meeting to order and handed it over to Representative Beezley, Vice-Chair, so that Representative Massey could present his bill.

Representative Massey and Representative Todd, co-prime sponsors of Senate Bill 12-164, presented the bill. The bill modifies and clarifies the way that the state regulates private institutions of higher education (private colleges), including for-profit proprietary schools, non-profit schools, career and technical colleges, and seminaries and religious training institutions. The bill substitutes the term "religious training institutions" for "bible colleges" where the latter occurs in statute.

The bill clarifies that private colleges that enroll the majority of their students in baccalaureate or postgraduate degree programs are to be regulated by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE) and the Department of Higher Education (DHE). Private colleges that enroll the majority of students at the certificate or associate level are regulated by the Division of Private Occupational Schools (DPOS) within the DHE. Senate Bill 12-164 primarily affects the oversight of private colleges offering baccalaureate and postgraduate degrees.

The CCHE is required to establish by rule an application process for private colleges to seek authorization to operate in the state, and the procedures to be used for approving, renewing, and revoking this authorization. The CCHE must establish appropriate fees for private colleges to pay, designed to cover the direct and indirect costs of regulating the schools. Prior to establishing the fee or increasing the amount of an existing fee, the CCHE must give notice to private colleges and hold a public hearing. The CCHE will also adopt policies to require private colleges to submit student enrollment, financial aid, and degree completion data to the DHE, when requested.

The DHE is required to administer the provisions of the bill and the policies adopted by the CCHE. The department's duties include making recommendations concerning private college authorization, operating an appeals process, maintaining a list of private colleges, and establishing a process for accepting, reviewing, investigating, and acting on complaints. If a private college ceases operation in the state, it must deposit a copy of all educational records with the DHE. If warranted, the CCHE may seek a court order authorizing the DHE to seize and take possession of these records. The DHE must permanently retain any student transcripts contained in the private college's records. Other documents must be maintained for ten years.

The CCHE is required to evaluate the financial integrity of private colleges using specified criteria. If a private college cannot demonstrate financial integrity, the school is required to file and maintain a surety bond approved by the CCHE. These schools must be covered by surety to remain legally authorized to operate in the state. If a private college violates the provision of the act or ceases operations, students, parents, or legal guardians may file a claim with the CCHE for loss of tuition or fees. If approved, the petitioner may be refunded from the surety, or receive an alternative educational arrangement via the CCHE and another state or authorized private institution. Private institutions that currently participate in the College Opportunity Fund (COF), or otherwise meet specified criteria, are exempt from this provision.

Finally, the bill changes the length of term of members appointed to the Private Occupational School Policy Advisory Committee. For students attending an institution operating under the DPOS, the bill requires that students first exhaust all complaint and appeals processes available at the private occupational school before bringing the issue to the division for resolution.

Representative Massey stated that the bill will bring clarity to the reporting requirements of private, postsecondary institutions in Colorado and that the bill is not at the expense of these institutions. He added that the bill was a collaborative effort between DHE and the proprietary schools. Representative Todd referred to Attachments A and B, which were provided by DHE. She distributed Attachment C, which is a listing of the schools that are regulated by the DPOS.

The following persons testified:

01:38 PM -- Dr. Matt Gianneschi, Deputy Executive Director at DHE, testified in support of the bill. Dr. Gianneschi described the need for the legislation and walked the committee through the bill's big-picture concepts. He said that DHE currently has incomplete data for proprietary institutions and that reported attendance rates may be off by as much as one-third of the total population attending college in the state. He said that DHE wants to provide more comprehensive and accurate information. He discussed the fee structure for the handling and administration of this information. He discussed transcripts, stating that currently DHE cannot provide transcripts to students on behalf of proprietary institutions; the bill makes DHE the custodian of records and transcripts for those institutions that cease to operate in the state. He discussed renewals, accreditation, and financial integrity as they relate to private postsecondary institutions. Finally, he discussed the surety bond requirement of the bill and the process for refunding any unearned, prepaid tuition to the student if the school were to close unexpectedly.

Dr. Gianneschi responded to committee questions.

01:52 PM -- Norm Blome, representing Alta Colleges, Inc., testified in support of the bill. He thanked DHE for the open and collaborative process in creating the legislation. He added that the bill is a strong, regulatory bill.

01:53 PM -- Edie Busam, representing Independent Higher Education of Colorado, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Busam thanked DHE for their work. She stated that Regis University is especially in favor of the ability to enter into reciprocal agreements with other states. She added that the reporting process has been reduced to a minimum, but still allows DHE to review those colleges that it deems necessary to review.

01:56 PM -- Greg Dorman, Legislative Liaison for the Colorado Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, testified in support of the bill. Mr. Dorman stated that about 25,000 students in Colorado are veterans and are using their G.I. Bill stipends to fund their education, and that about 8,200 of those veterans will benefit from the provisions of the bill. He added that the bill brings into line certain protections that veterans need as they further their education.

Mr. Dorman responded to questions from the committee.

01:58 PM -- Bridget Lovett, representing the University of Phoenix, testified in support of the bill. Ms. Lovett thanked DHE for engaging them in the process. She stated that the bill is not overly burdensome and that many of the provisions of the bill are already required in other states in which the university operates; the university operates in 42 states. She added that the bill contains reasonable requirements.


BILL:	SB12-164
TIME:	02:02:00 PM
MOVED:	Massey
MOTION:	Refer Senate Bill 12-164 to the House Committee on Finance. The motion passed on a roll call vote of 13-0.
SECONDED:	Todd
		VOTE
	Hamner	Yes
	Holbert	Yes
	Joshi	Yes
	Kerr A.	Yes
	Murray	Yes
	Peniston	Yes
	Ramirez	Yes
	Schafer S.	Yes
	Solano	Yes
	Summers	Yes
	Todd	Yes
	Beezley	Yes
	Massey	Yes

Final YES: 13 NO: 0 EXC: 0 ABS: 0 FINAL ACTION: PASS