NY State Senate Bill 2021-S299A

Senate Bill S299A

2021-2022 Legislative Session

Requires degree-granting institutions of higher education to make certain biennial 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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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 06, 2022	print number 299a
Jan 06, 2022	amend (t) and recommit to higher education
Jan 05, 2022	referred to higher education
Jan 06, 2021	referred to higher education

Bill Amendments

Original

A (Active)

co-Sponsors

2021-S299 - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A3308
Current Committee:: Senate Higher Education
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Add §239-d, Ed L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2019-2020: S8208, A10298
2023-2024: S529, A2177

2021-S299 - Summary

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

2021-S299 - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S299

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 nonprofit, 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:

2020: S.8208 (Thomas)/A.10298 (Epstein) - Referred to Higher Education
Committee.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None noted to the State.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first Of January next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become law. Effective immediately, the addi-
tion, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for
the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to
be made and completed on or before such effective date.

2021-S299 - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    299
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 6, 2021
                                ___________
 
 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;

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD02239-01-1

 S. 299                              2
 
   (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
 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.

co-Sponsors

View additional co-sponsors

2021-S299A (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A3308
Current Committee:: Senate Higher Education
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Add §239-d, Ed L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2019-2020: S8208, A10298
2023-2024: S529, A2177

2021-S299A (ACTIVE) - Summary

2021-S299A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S299A

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 biennial
disclosures

 
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 the education law by adding a new section 239-d requir-
ing all degree-granting institutions to make biennial 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:

2021: S299B/A3308A - referred to higher education

2020: S08208/A10298 - referred to higher education

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None noted to the state.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
The first January 1st after becoming law.

2021-S299A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  299--A
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 6, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sens. THOMAS, BIAGGI, BROOKS, JACKSON, RAMOS -- read twice
   and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee
   on  Higher  Education -- recommitted to the Committee on Higher Educa-
   tion in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged,
   bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended  and  recommitted  to  said
   committee
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the  education law, in relation to requiring degree-
   granting institutions of higher education  to  make  certain  biennial
   disclosures
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section  239-d
 to read as follows:
   §  239-D. BIENNIAL DISCLOSURES. 1. ALL DEGREE-GRANTING INSTITUTIONS OF
 HIGHER EDUCATION OFFERING REGISTERED UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS  SHALL  MAKE
 AND  PUBLISH  A  BIENNIAL  REPORT DISCLOSING THE FOLLOWING, BASED ON THE
 MOST RECENT DATA OR CALCULATIONS AVAILABLE,  AND  BASED  ON  AUDITED  OR
 AGENCY-REVIEWED DATA WHENEVER AVAILABLE:
   (A) 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;
   (B) EXCEPT FOR PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, THE  OWNERSHIP
 OR OWNERSHIP INTEREST AND CONTROL OF SUCH INSTITUTION;
   (C)  WHETHER  THE  INSTITUTION  HAS  THE  AUTHORITY TO CONFER TWO-YEAR
 DEGREES, FOUR-YEAR DEGREES OR BOTH;
   (D) A SCHEDULE OF ALL TUITION,  MANDATORY  FEES  AND  OTHER  MANDATORY
 COSTS  TO ATTEND SUCH INSTITUTION, PER SEMESTER OR, WHEN APPLICABLE, PER
 QUARTER;
   (E) IN THE CASE OF  ANY  DEGREE-GRANTING  PROPRIETARY  INSTITUTION  OF
 HIGHER  EDUCATION, THE GROSS PROFIT OF SUCH INSTITUTION AS STATED IN THE

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD02239-05-1
 S. 299--A                           2
 
 INSTITUTION'S MOST RECENT AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENT SHALL BE  REPORTED
 AS A DOLLAR AMOUNT;
   (F)  THE  AMOUNT OF ANY DIVIDENDS PAID OR DISTRIBUTIONS OF ANY PART OF
 SUCH INSTITUTION'S INCOME OR PROFITS;
   (G) 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
 POSTSECONDARY  EDUCATION  DATA SYSTEM EXCEPT THE AMOUNTS (I) MAY INCLUDE
 EXPENSES FOR COURSE DESIGN AND INSTRUCTOR SUPPORT  RELATED  TO  DISTANCE
 LEARNING,  AND  (II) SHALL EXCLUDE EXPENSES FOR ADVERTISING, RECRUITING,
 ADMISSIONS, AND OTHER ACTIVITIES RELATED TO STUDENTS NOT YET ENROLLED IN
 AN INSTITUTION.  IN THE CASE OF PUBLICLY FUNDED INSTITUTIONS,  REPORTING
 OF SUCH EXPENSES IS REQUIRED WHEN THOSE EXPENSES EXCEED TWO  PERCENT  OF
 THE OPERATING FUNDS DERIVED FROM STATE SOURCES;
   (H) 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 INSTITUTION;
   (I)  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.  IN THE CASE OF PUBLICLY FUNDED INSTITUTIONS,  REPORT-
 ING OF SUCH EXPENSES IS REQUIRED WHEN THOSE EXPENSES EXCEED TWO  PERCENT
 OF THE OPERATING FUNDS DERIVED FROM STATE SOURCES; AND
   (J)  WHEN  SUCH INFORMATION IS PUBLICLY AVAILABLE OR ACCESSIBLE TO THE
 INSTITUTION:
   (I) MEDIAN EARNINGS ONE YEAR AFTER GRADUATING  FROM  SUCH  INSTITUTION
 SEPARATED BY PROGRAM;
   (II)  THE  PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS WHO TAKE OUT FEDERAL LOANS TO ATTEND
 SUCH INSTITUTION;
   (III) THE AVERAGE DOLLAR AMOUNT OF FEDERAL LOANS TAKEN OUT BY STUDENTS
 TO ATTEND SUCH INSTITUTION;
   (IV) THE AVERAGE DOLLAR AMOUNT OF PRIVATE LOANS TAKEN OUT BY  STUDENTS
 TO ATTEND SUCH INSTITUTION;
   (V)  THE AMOUNT IN DOLLARS THAT SUCH INSTITUTION RECEIVES FROM THE NEW
 YORK STATE TUITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM;
   (VI) 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
   (VII)  THE  DEFAULT  RATE AFTER THREE, FIVE, AND TEN YEARS OF STUDENTS
 WHO TOOK OUT A FEDERAL LOAN (OR PRIVATE LOAN,  IF  SUCH  INFORMATION  IS
 ACCESSIBLE TO THE INSTITUTION) TO ATTEND SUCH INSTITUTION.
   2. (A) BIENNIALLY ON OR BEFORE THE FIRST DAY OF JULY, EACH INSTITUTION
 OF  HIGHER  EDUCATION  SHALL  CONSPICUOUSLY  PUBLISH THE REPORT PREPARED
 PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS  SECTION  ON  THE  WEBSITE  OF  SUCH
 INSTITUTION AND SUBMIT THE WEBSITE ADDRESS OF SUCH REPORT TO THE DEPART-
 MENT.
   (B)  THE COMMISSIONER SHALL PUBLISH AND MAINTAIN A LIST OF ALL WEBSITE
 ADDRESSES RECEIVED PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS SUBDIVISION 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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Senate Bill S299A

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Sponsored By

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

Bill Amendments

co-Sponsors

2021-S299 - Details

2021-S299 - Summary

2021-S299 - Sponsor Memo

2021-S299 - Bill Text download pdf

co-Sponsors

2021-S299A (ACTIVE) - Details

2021-S299A (ACTIVE) - Summary

2021-S299A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S299A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments