NY State Senate Bill 2019-S8208

Senate Bill S8208

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Requires degree-granting institutions of higher education to make certain annual disclosures

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Higher Education Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Apr 17, 2020	referred to higher education

2019-S8208 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A10298
Current Committee:: Senate Higher Education
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §305, Ed L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S299, A3308
2023-2024: S529, A2177

2019-S8208 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires degree-granting institutions of higher education to make certain annual disclosures and to conspicuously publish the report on the website of such institution and submit the URL of such report to the department.

2019-S8208 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S8208

SPONSOR: THOMAS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to requiring degree-
granting institutions of higher education to make certain annual disclo-
sures

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To empower students and college guidance counselors with data to help
them make informed choices.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section 305 of the education law by adding a new subdi-
vision 59 directing the Commissioner of Education to develop regulations
requiring all degree-granting institutions to make annual disclosures to
be made publicly available online that include information such as cost
of attendance, institutional spending on instruction, academic support

and student services, marketing expenditures, median earnings of
students after attendance, facts about debt incurred by students to
attend including, average amount of debt, loan type and progress made
repaying such debt.

Section 2 provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Students considering pursuing their higher education in New York have
over 300 colleges and universities from which to choose, including
public, private non-profit, and for-profit institutions, all of which
can offer students different educational experiences. Students, parents,
and guidance counselors have access to a significant and diffuse amount
of information about colleges from a mix of public and private sources,
including the College Scorecard, rankings aggregators such as U.S. News
and World Report, and institutions themselves.

This bill would create a centralized online repository of information
maintained by the New York State Education Department to help students
make informed decisions about where to attend college in the state by
providing them with data on the cost of attendance, how schools spend
their tuition dollars, debt students may reasonably expect to incur, and
other students' employment outcomes after attending the school.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

Unknown.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
The first of January next succeeding the date on which it shall have
become a law.

2019-S8208 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8208
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              April 17, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  THOMAS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education
 
 AN ACT to amend the education law,  in  relation  to  requiring  degree-
   granting  institutions  of  higher  education  to  make certain annual
   disclosures
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 305 of the education law is amended by adding a new
 subdivision 59 to read as follows:
   59. A. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL PROMULGATE RULES AND REGULATIONS REQUIR-
 ING ALL DEGREE-GRANTING INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION OFFERING REGIS-
 TERED  UNDERGRADUATE  PROGRAMS  TO  MAKE  AND  PUBLISH  AN ANNUAL REPORT
 DISCLOSING THE FOLLOWING, BASED ON THE MOST RECENT DATA OR  CALCULATIONS
 AVAILABLE,  AND BASED ON AUDITED OR AGENCY-REVIEWED DATA WHENEVER AVAIL-
 ABLE:
   (I) WHETHER SUCH INSTITUTION IS A DEGREE-GRANTING PROPRIETARY INSTITU-
 TION OF HIGHER EDUCATION, A NON-PROFIT INSTITUTION OF  HIGHER  EDUCATION
 OR A PUBLIC INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION;
   (II) EXCEPT FOR PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, THE OWNERSHIP
 OR OWNERSHIP INTEREST AND CONTROL OF SUCH INSTITUTION;
   (III)  WHETHER  THE  INSTITUTION  HAS THE AUTHORITY TO CONFER TWO-YEAR
 DEGREES, FOUR-YEAR DEGREES OR BOTH;
   (IV) A SCHEDULE OF ALL TUITION, MANDATORY  FEES  AND  OTHER  MANDATORY
 COSTS  TO ATTEND SUCH INSTITUTION, PER SEMESTER OR, WHEN APPLICABLE, PER
 QUARTER;
   (V) IN THE CASE OF  ANY  DEGREE-GRANTING  PROPRIETARY  INSTITUTION  OF
 HIGHER  EDUCATION, THE GROSS PROFIT OF SUCH INSTITUTION AS STATED IN THE
 INSTITUTION'S MOST RECENT AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENT SHALL BE  REPORTED
 AS A DOLLAR AMOUNT;
   (VI)  THE AMOUNT OF ANY DIVIDENDS PAID OR DISTRIBUTIONS OF ANY PART OF
 SUCH INSTITUTION'S INCOME OR PROFITS;
   (VII) THE AMOUNT OF SPENDING ON INSTRUCTION, POST-ENROLLMENT  ACADEMIC
 SUPPORT,  AND  POST-ENROLLMENT  STUDENT  SERVICES DETERMINED IN A MANNER
 CONSISTENT WITH THE SPENDING CATEGORIES USED BY THE  FEDERAL  INTEGRATED
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD14016-04-0

 S. 8208                             2
 
 POSTSECONDARY  EDUCATION  DATA SYSTEM EXCEPT THE AMOUNTS (A) MAY INCLUDE
 EXPENSES FOR COURSE DESIGN AND INSTRUCTOR SUPPORT  RELATED  TO  DISTANCE
 LEARNING,  AND  (B)  SHALL EXCLUDE EXPENSES FOR ADVERTISING, RECRUITING,
 ADMISSIONS, AND OTHER ACTIVITIES RELATED TO STUDENTS NOT YET ENROLLED IN
 AN INSTITUTION;
   (VIII)  EXECUTIVE  COMPENSATION OF SUCH INSTITUTION, INCLUDING, IN THE
 CASE  OF  PROPRIETARY  INSTITUTIONS,   DIVIDENDS,   DISTRIBUTIONS,   AND
 INCREASES  IN  THE  VALUE  OF  OWNERSHIP  INTERESTS, EXPRESSED BOTH AS A
 DOLLAR AMOUNT AND AS A PERCENTAGE OF THE OVERALL BUDGET OF SUCH INSTITU-
 TION;
   (IX) MARKETING AND RECRUITMENT EXPENDITURES AS STATED  IN  THE  INSTI-
 TUTION'S  MOST  RECENTLY  AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENT SHALL BE EXPRESSED
 BOTH AS A DOLLAR AMOUNT AND AS A PERCENTAGE OF  THE  OVERALL  BUDGET  OF
 SUCH INSTITUTION; AND
   (X) WHEN SUCH INFORMATION IS PUBLICLY AVAILABLE OR KNOWN (OR SHOULD BE
 KNOWN) TO THE INSTITUTION:
   (A)  MEDIAN  EARNINGS  ONE YEAR AFTER GRADUATING FROM SUCH INSTITUTION
 SEPARATED BY PROGRAM;
   (B) THE PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS WHO TAKE OUT FEDERAL  LOANS  TO  ATTEND
 SUCH INSTITUTION;
   (C)  THE  AVERAGE DOLLAR AMOUNT OF FEDERAL LOANS TAKEN OUT BY STUDENTS
 TO ATTEND SUCH INSTITUTION;
   (D) THE AVERAGE DOLLAR AMOUNT OF PRIVATE LOANS TAKEN OUT  BY  STUDENTS
 TO ATTEND SUCH INSTITUTION;
   (E)  THE AMOUNT IN DOLLARS THAT SUCH INSTITUTION RECEIVES FROM THE NEW
 YORK STATE TUITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM;
   (F) THE PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS WHO TOOK OUT A FEDERAL LOAN  TO  ATTEND
 SUCH INSTITUTION WHO HAVE REPAID AT LEAST ONE DOLLAR OF THE PRINCIPAL OF
 SUCH LOAN WITHIN FIVE YEARS OF LEAVING SUCH INSTITUTION; AND
   (G)  THE DEFAULT RATE AFTER THREE, FIVE, AND TEN YEARS OF STUDENTS WHO
 TOOK OUT A FEDERAL LOAN (OR PRIVATE LOAN, IF SUCH INFORMATION IS  KNOWN)
 TO ATTEND SUCH INSTITUTION.
   B.  (I)  ANNUALLY  ON OR BEFORE JULY FIRST, EACH INSTITUTION OF HIGHER
 EDUCATION SHALL CONSPICUOUSLY PUBLISH THE REPORT  PREPARED  PURSUANT  TO
 PARAGRAPH  A  OF THIS SUBDIVISION ON THE WEBSITE OF SUCH INSTITUTION AND
 SUBMIT THE URL OF SUCH REPORT TO THE DEPARTMENT.
   (II) THE COMMISSIONER SHALL PUBLISH AND MAINTAIN A LIST  OF  ALL  URLS
 RECEIVED  PURSUANT  TO SUBPARAGRAPH (I) OF THIS PARAGRAPH ON THE WEBSITE
 OF THE DEPARTMENT.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next  succeed-
 ing the date on which it shall have become a law. Effective immediately,
 the  addition,  amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation neces-
 sary for the implementation of  this  act  on  its  effective  date  are
 authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.

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