Committee Report | March 2011

Report of

REGENTS ACCES COMMITTEE

To

The Board of Regents

March 8, 2011

Your ACCES Committee held its scheduled meeting on March 7, 2011.  All members were present, with the exception of Chancellor Emeritus Bennett, who was excused.  Additional members of the Board attending where: Chancellor Tisch, Regent Phillips, Regent Tallon and Regent Dawson.

MATTERS NOT REQUIRING BOARD ACTION

The Committee was informed about Section 100.8 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education allowing school districts to award local high school equivalency diplomas based upon experimental programs approved by the Commissioner.  The Board of Regents amended Section 100.8 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education in January 2008 to extend the authority of school boards to issue local high school equivalency diplomas based upon experimental programs from January 31, 2008 to June 30, 2011.  The proposed amendment would extend, through June 30, 2012, the existing regulation.  The extension will allow the continuance in New York State of the National External Diploma Program (NEDP), which is a complete assessment program that allows adults over age 21 to demonstrate and document the outcomes and transferable skills for which a high school diploma is awarded.  This one year extension is recommended to ensure that all current NEDP students in the approximately 20 program sites across the state are provided with an opportunity to complete their programs and earn a local high school equivalency diploma. The Committee agreed to present this as an emergency action at the May, 2011 meeting. (ACCES (D) 1)

The Committee was informed on the status of Bureau of Proprietary School Supervision (BPSS).  BPSS is responsible for overseeing New York State’s 497 licensed non-degree granting proprietary schools attended by an estimated 200,000 students annually.  BPSS’ oversight focuses on prevention and protection – licensing up front and protection of students’ financial interest in the event of substandard conditions or school closure subsequent to license approval.  To increase effectiveness and leverage resources, BPSS has established relationships with several professional partners.  BPSS is successfully changing its focus from regulation to technical assistance.  The results can be seen in the decrease in schools closing, from 26 in 2006 to 13 in 2010 and the decline in the number of students accessing the Tuition Reimbursement Account (TRA), from 93 in 2006 to 16 in 2010.  Most recently, SED submitted a BPSS proposal to the Legislature that will enhance oversight capacity and better protect students.

This concludes our report.