PRINTER'S NO. 981
No. 846 Session of 2003
INTRODUCED BY HERMAN, BROWNE, CREIGHTON, FLEAGLE, R. MILLER, BISHOP, ARGALL, BARRAR, DALEY, DeLUCA, DeWEESE, FREEMAN, GEIST, GERGELY, GINGRICH, HALUSKA, HENNESSEY, HORSEY, JAMES, LEWIS, MELIO, RAYMOND, REICHLEY, SATHER, SEMMEL, SOLOBAY, STERN, E. Z. TAYLOR, TIGUE, TURZAI, WASHINGTON AND YOUNGBLOOD, MARCH 11, 2003
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, MARCH 11, 2003
AN ACT 1 Requiring institutions of higher education to report graduation 2 statistics; conferring powers and imposing duties on the 3 Department of Education; and imposing penalties. 4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 5 hereby enacts as follows: 6 Section 1. Short title. 7 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Higher 8 Education Graduation Statistics Reporting Act. 9 Section 2. Definitions. 10 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall 11 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the 12 context clearly indicates otherwise: 13 "Agency." The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance 14 Agency. 15 "Cohort." A group of full-time baccalaureate degree-seeking 16 students who enter an institution during the fall term of a
1 given year. 2 "Department." The Department of Education of the 3 Commonwealth. 4 "Graduation rate." The quotient, expressed as a percentage, 5 obtained by dividing the total number of students who completed 6 their degree within the normal time to completion by the sum of 7 the total number of students who were seeking a bachelor's or 8 equivalent degree upon entry and were expected to graduate 9 within the normal time to completion minus the total number of 10 students who: 11 (1) Transferred to other degree-granting institutions. 12 (2) Left school to serve with a foreign aid service of 13 the Federal Government. 14 (3) Became deceased or disabled. 15 (4) Left school to serve on an official church mission. 16 (5) Left school to serve in the armed forces of the 17 United States. 18 "Institution." Any college or university authorized to grant 19 baccalaureate degrees in this Commonwealth which receives a 20 direct State appropriation or an indirect appropriation through 21 the Department of Education or the Pennsylvania Higher Education 22 Assistance Agency. 23 "Normal time to completion." The amount of time necessary 24 for a full-time student to complete all the requirements for a 25 baccalaureate degree according to the institution's catalog. 26 "Pennsylvania resident graduation rate." The quotient, 27 expressed as a percentage, obtained by dividing the number of 28 resident students who complete their degree within the normal 29 time to completion by the sum of the number of resident students 30 who were seeking a bachelor's or equivalent degree upon entry 20030H0846B0981 - 2 -
1 and were expected to graduate within the normal time to 2 completion minus the number of resident students who: 3 (1) Transferred to other degree-granting institutions. 4 (2) Left school to serve with a foreign aid service of 5 the Federal Government. 6 (3) Became deceased or disabled. 7 (4) Left school to serve on an official church mission. 8 (5) Left school to serve in the armed forces of the 9 United States. 10 "Resident student." A student whose permanent address at the 11 time of application to an institution is within this 12 Commonwealth. 13 "Secretary." The Secretary of Education of the Commonwealth. 14 Section 3. Reporting requirements. 15 (a) General rule.--On an annual basis, no later than August 16 31, institutions shall report the following information to the 17 department: 18 (1) The total number of students and resident students 19 who will graduate within the normal time to completion. 20 (2) The total number of students and resident students 21 who were seeking a bachelor's or equivalent degree upon entry 22 and were expected to graduate within the normal time to 23 completion. 24 (3) The total number of students and resident students 25 who entered as freshmen and transferred to other degree- 26 granting institutions. 27 (4) The total number of students and resident students 28 who left school to serve with a foreign aid service of the 29 Federal Government. 30 (5) The total number of students and resident students 20030H0846B0981 - 3 -
1 who became deceased or disabled. 2 (6) The total number of students and resident students 3 who left school to serve on an official church mission. 4 (7) The total number of students and resident students 5 who left school to serve in the armed forces of the United 6 States. 7 (8) The total number of students and resident students 8 who graduated up to one year beyond the normal time to 9 completion. 10 (9) The total number of students and resident students 11 who graduated from one to two years beyond the normal time to 12 completion. 13 (10) The total number of students and resident students 14 who graduated from two to three years beyond the normal time 15 to completion. 16 (b) Basis of information.--The information reported must be 17 based on the cohort of students whose normal time to completion 18 would result after the conclusion of an institution's spring 19 term. 20 Section 4. Penalties for failure to report. 21 The secretary may withhold appropriations to any institution 22 that fails to comply with the reporting provisions contained in 23 section 3 and direct the agency to withhold funds. The agency 24 shall be bound by the secretary's determination. 25 Section 5. Duties of department. 26 On an annual basis, no later than May 31, the department 27 shall establish a form for institutions to report the 28 information required under section 3 and forward the form to the 29 institutions, via mail or electronically. 30 Section 6. Report. 20030H0846B0981 - 4 -
1 On an annual basis, no later than November 31, the secretary 2 shall submit a report to the General Assembly detailing the 3 information collected under section 3 and the graduation rate 4 and the Pennsylvania resident graduation rate at each 5 institution. 6 Section 7. Regulations. 7 The department may promulgate rules and regulations to 8 administer and enforce this act. 9 Section 8. Effective date. 10 This act shall take effect immediately. A7L24DMS/20030H0846B0981 - 5 -