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	Vol.7, No 8, September 13, 1999
	System may track student success By Jason Kosareff Daily Forty-Niner  The state Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would appropriate $424,000 to develop and maintain a comprehensive database designed to track the educational paths of college and university students.  The bill, AB 1570, "will provide data to compare how our systems of higher education are serving students from different geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds," said Antonio Villaraigosa, Assembly speaker and co-author of the bill.  With enactment of the bill, the state would be able to determine how long it takes a student to earn a degree and how many community college students of a particular group transfer to four-year colleges. Also, the database will track students who complete college outreach programs and which students drop out of college.  AB 1570 will expand an existing law requiring the California Postsecondary Education Commission to maintain a comprehensive database.    The bill specifies provisions to protect the privacy of students, including requirement that CPEC comply with specified federal privacy rights, according to the state Senate Rules Committeeís analysis of the bill.    Cal State Long Beach president Robert Maxson agrees with these provisions of the bill. "I am always concerned about studentís privacy," Maxson said. The lack of these privacy provisions caused two similar pieces of legislation to be vetoed. AB 1335 was vetoed in 1997 by then-Gov. Pete Wilson and Gov. Gray Davis rejected similar legislation earlier this year.   The text of the bill states that the CPEC will provide criteria for state support of new and existing programs that will be provided for the increasing amounts of students attending state universities and colleges. "The demand for higher education in California is expected to increase by up to 500,000 students over the next ten years," Villaraigosa said.  "The information we receive through AB 1570 will enable the state to spend its higher educational dollars more effectively," he said. The state does not currently have the ability to do long-term monitoring or analysis of the enrollment patterns of individual students as they progress through postsecondary education, according to the text of the bill.   The information provided by the database will allow the state to review all proposals for changes in eligibility pools for admission to public institutions. CPEC will make recommendations based on the data to the Legislature, the governor and the state university and college systems.  "This measure is an important step toward providing the accountability the California voters expect from their colleges and universities and will also help us make better decisions about higher education," he said. The bill is back in the Assembly for a vote on the changes made in the Senate.		Arrest warrant out for professor Prominent teacher return Big concert, food chains proposed Race sparks policy System may track student success U.S. -World police Binge drinking still on campus; won't change A night in the life of a CSULB student bartenders Surprise band delights Movie does not have 'Best Laid Plans' OtherStarPeople put together solid first effort Soccer short again Water polo team almost pulls shocker against USC 49ers closer to win record Davis has come long way in NFL Fall 99 ISSUES DAILY 49ER HOMEPAGE
Forty-Niner Publications, Department of Journalism, California State University, Long Beach ©1999 All rights reserved.