Summary
SB 308 aims to consolidate legislative reports for California Community Colleges (CCC), California State Universities (CSU), and the University of California (UC).
Background
California colleges and universities must submit numerous reports to comply with legislative and budgetary oversight requirements. While these reports promote transparency by tracking funding and student progress, the current system has become overly burdensome. Schools often have to duplicate work by submitting the same data multiple times. Limited staffing and resources further delay other institutional priorities. Additionally, outdated reporting requirements remain in place, adding to the workload without providing meaningful oversight.
For example, Education Code 89295 requires the CSU to annually report on performance metrics. However, this requirement is redundant as the Newsom Compact provides more comprehensive oversight of the same data. Similarly, Education Code 66742 mandates annual transfer statistics reports from higher education institutions, despite the CSU already publishing this information through standard reporting processes. These duplicative requirements highlight the need to streamline reporting to reduce redundancy and improve institutional efficiency.
In 2010, the Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review bill authored AB-1585, which consolidated and eliminated over 1,500 obsolete and duplicative state reporting requirements. This reform also addressed redundant higher education reporting requirements, such as intersegmental facilities and capital outlay planning. By modernizing college reporting—consolidating redundant requirements and removing outdated mandates, administrative burdens are reduced in California’s higher education institutions, allowing them to focus more on education while maintaining transparency and accountability.
Proposal
SB 308 seeks to improve college reporting by streamlining report requirements through consolidation and updated reporting methods to be more efficient. By facilitating these reports, the proposal aims to reduce administrative burdens on institutions and improve efficiency, ensuring that reporting remains relevant and impactful for oversight by state agencies, the legislature, and the public.