NY State Senate Bill 2023-S8118

Current 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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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2024	referred to higher education

2023-S8118 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A9363
Current Committee:: Senate Higher Education
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Add Title 7 Art 129-C §6450, Ed L

2023-S8118 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires colleges and universities to report to the commissioner of education certain information relating to admission plans including early action, early decision and general admission.

2023-S8118 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S8118

SPONSOR: GOUNARDES
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to early decision admis-
sions data for higher education institutions

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To require colleges who use early decision admissions to report on the
impact of such admissions

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of this bill adds a new article 129-c to the Education Law
to require higher education institutions which offer early decision
admissions to report on:

- Deadlines by which prospective students must apply early decision,
early action, and/or general admissions to the college, and when they
can generally expect to hear back

-The overall acceptance rate for first-year students vs. students admit-
ted early decision, early action, or general admissions, including total
number of applications received - The number of first-year students
admitted under each type of admissions plan and percentage that they
make up of the first-year class

- The racial and/or ethnic identity of prospective vs. accepted
students, and which type of admissions plan they were accepted under

- How many first-year students received federal Pell grants, disaggre-
gated by type of admissions plan

- Total and average amounts of financial aid disbursed to students in
each type of admissions plan

- Whether full financial need is met for students applying early deci-
sion

- The median and average income of first-year students, disaggregated by
type of admissions plan

- What type of high school first-year students attended, and whether it
is in state, out-of-state, or abroad, disaggregated by type of admis-
sions plan

- A detailed description of a prospective student's commitment to the
institution upon applying early decision, and what consequences they may
face if they change their mind after being admitted

The report shall be published online on the New York State Education
Department's, which regulates colleges through its Office of College and
University Evaluation, website. The website shall allow a user to view
the data for each college included in the report via a dropdown menu.

Institutions who willfully fail to comply with the provisions of this
act shall be subject to a civil penalty worth 10% of state aid, which
takes different forms depending on if the institution is private or
public.

Section two sets the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Many colleges take advantage of early decision (ED) admissions policies,
which allow prospective students to apply in November of their senior
year and receive an expedited decision in exchange for committing to
attend an institution if accepted, in order to secure a significant
portion of an upcoming class before the application for general admis-
sions opens. This can help a college budget to meet financial need, as
they will know how much aid they've already dispensed vs. what they need
to reserve for the rest of the class, as well as what an incoming class
is likely to look like and thus how to select the rest of the applicants
to ensure a diverse range of backgrounds and interests. Many colleges
argue that they partner with pipeline programs to use early decision to
target underrepresented students, who may not otherwise apply, to build
a diverse class early on. ED also allows colleges to lock in institu-
tional priorities, such as athletes or legacies, at an earlier stage and
lowers their overall admission rate. Early decision is distinct from
early action admissions, which allow students to apply early but do not
require them to commit to attend if accepted.

Despite these advantages, early decision has one glaring flaw: it
requires students to commit to attending before they can compare finan-
cial packages in the spring and thus overwhelmingly benefits students
from wealthy backgrounds. Providing a significant admissions advantage,
with some studies showing that applying ED is worth an extra 100 points
on the SAT, at the most elite colleges up to 50% of an incoming class is
admitted early decision. At Brown and Duke University, applying ED makes
an applicant four times more likely to be admitted than if they were to
apply regular decision. At Dartmouth College and Columbia University, an
applicant is three times more likely.

A closer look at who exactly benefits from ED, meanwhile, reveals a
portrait of stark class and income disparity. Almost a third of students
from independent high schools applied ED, more than 3.5 times the
percentage of public school students. International applicants are
almost three times more likely to apply ED than US residents, and appli-
cants from the country's wealthiest ZIP codes are twice as likely to
apply ED than other applicants. One study found that the single strong-
est predictor of whether a not a student was likely to apply ED was
whether they had hired a college admissions consultant, and the share of
Black students who apply ED is almost half of those in the regular
admissions pool. While some schools commit to meeting the full financial
need of the ED applicants they accept, most do not. And while colleges
will claim that students can back out of an ED offer and incur no finan-
cial penalty, the fact remains that the majority of students and parents
are largely unaware of this exception - and the schools, for obvious
reasons, are loath to advertise it.

This bill requires all colleges in New York who use early decision
admissions to report on how much of their class they are filling from
the ED vs. regular admissions pool, acceptance rates for ED vs.  regular
admissions, the aggregate Pell status and median incomes of ED vs.
general admissions students, and average financial aid disbursed for
both pools. While the US Department of Education has the ability to
collect and disaggregate admissions data such as this across a range of
categories, it does not currently do so. And while the Common Data Set
survey, meanwhile, which is an attempt by the College Board, Peterson's,
and the U.S. News & World Report to get colleges to report on a wealth
of admissions information, contains a category on early decisions,
several notable institutions leave it conspicuously blank.

In a world in which selective colleges fill more than half their first-
year classes by early January, the average student may have virtually no
shot at being admitted to some of our state's most celebrated insti-
tutions. A snapshot into exactly which types of students are applying ED
and how colleges use it to shape their classes will be an invaluable
tool for policymakers and the public.  It will spur important debates
about who benefits from the status quo, who is left behind, and how we
can design a better system to uplift all students in the college admis-
sions process.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

None

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

TBD

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law and shall apply to academic years commencing on and after
such date.

2023-S8118 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8118
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 8, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sen. GOUNARDES -- 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 early decision admis-
   sions data for higher education institutions
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section  1.  Title  7  of the education law is amended by adding a new
 article 129-C to read as follows:
                               ARTICLE 129-C
     EARLY DECISION ADMISSIONS DATA FOR HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
 
 SECTION 6450. EARLY DECISION ADMISSIONS DATA FOR HIGHER EDUCATION INSTI-
                  TUTIONS.
   § 6450. EARLY DECISION ADMISSIONS DATA  FOR  HIGHER  EDUCATION  INSTI-
 TUTIONS.  1.  DEFINITIONS.  AS USED IN THIS SECTION, THE FOLLOWING TERMS
 SHALL HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
   (A) "ACCEPTANCE RATE" SHALL MEAN THE PERCENTAGE OF APPLICANTS A HIGHER
 EDUCATION INSTITUTION ACCEPTS, COMPUTED BY DIVIDING THE ACCEPTED  NUMBER
 OF  APPLICANTS  BY  THE  TOTAL NUMBER OF APPLICANTS AND MULTIPLYING SUCH
 QUOTIENT BY ONE HUNDRED.
   (B) "ACADEMIC YEAR" SHALL BE AS DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION FIVE OF SECTION
 SIX HUNDRED FIFTY-ONE OF THIS CHAPTER.
   (C) "DROP-DOWN MENU" SHALL REFER TO A GRAPHICAL CONTROL  ELEMENT  THAT
 ALLOWS A USER OF A WEBSITE TO CHOOSE ONE VALUE FROM A LIST.
   (D) "EARLY ACTION" SHALL MEAN AN ADMISSIONS PLAN THAT ALLOWS A STUDENT
 TO  APPLY  AT  AN EARLIER STAGE OF THE ADMISSIONS PROCESS AND RECEIVE AN
 EXPEDITED ADMISSIONS DECISION BUT  DOES  NOT  REQUIRE  SUCH  STUDENT  TO
 COMMIT  TO  ATTEND  SUCH INSTITUTION UPON RECEIVING A DECISION OF ADMIT-
 TANCE.
   (E) "EARLY DECISION" SHALL MEAN  AN  ADMISSIONS  PLAN  THAT  ALLOWS  A
 STUDENT  TO  APPLY  AT  AN  EARLIER  STAGE  OF THE ADMISSION PROCESS AND
 RECEIVE AN EXPEDITED ADMISSIONS DECISION THAT REQUIRES SUCH  STUDENT  TO
 COMMIT  TO  ATTEND A HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION SHOULD SUCH STUDENT BE
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD13406-07-4

 S. 8118                             2
 
 ADMITTED AND TO WITHDRAW ALL OTHER APPLICATIONS TO OTHER  HIGHER  EDUCA-
 TION INSTITUTIONS. EARLY DECISION SHALL NOT INCLUDE EARLY ACTION.
   (F)  "ESTIMATED  COST  OF ATTENDANCE" SHALL MEAN THE TOTAL AMOUNT, NOT
 INCLUDING GRANTS AND SCHOLARSHIPS, THAT IT  COSTS  TO  ATTEND  A  HIGHER
 EDUCATION  INSTITUTION, WHICH MAY INCLUDE, AMONG OTHER EXPENSES, TUITION
 AND FEES, HOUSING AND MEALS, ALLOWANCES FOR BOOKS, SUPPLIES, AND  TRANS-
 PORTATION, AND DEPENDENT CARE.
   (G)  "FEDERAL  PELL  GRANT"  SHALL  REFER  TO  THE GRANTS DISBURSED TO
 STUDENTS PURSUANT TO 20 U.S.C. § 1070.
   (H) "FULL FINANCIAL NEED" SHALL MEAN THAT THE AID A  STUDENT  RECEIVES
 FROM THE HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION FULLY COVERS THE ESTIMATED COST OF
 ATTENDANCE.
   (I)  "GENERAL  ADMISSION"  SHALL  MEAN  AN  ADMISSIONS  PLAN FOR WHICH
 STUDENTS DO NOT APPLY AT AN EARLIER STAGE OF THE ADMISSIONS PROCESS  AND
 RECEIVE  AN  EXPEDITED  ADMISSIONS DECISION. GENERAL ADMISSION SHALL NOT
 INCLUDE EARLY ACTION.
   (J) "HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION" SHALL MEAN ANY  FOUR-YEAR  INSTITU-
 TION  GIVEN  THE  POWER TO CONFER UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES IN THIS STATE BY
 THE BOARD OF REGENTS AS PROVIDED IN SECTION TWO HUNDRED EIGHTEEN OF THIS
 CHAPTER BUT SHALL NOT INCLUDE INSTITUTIONS OFFERING CAREER EDUCATION, AS
 DEFINED IN SUBDIVISION TWENTY-FOUR  OF  SECTION  TWO  OF  THIS  CHAPTER,
 PROFESSIONAL  AND/OR  TECHNICAL  SCHOOLS,  OR EDUCATIONAL WORK CONNECTED
 WITH LIBRARIES, MUSEUMS, UNIVERSITY AND  EDUCATIONAL  EXTENSION  COURSES
 AND SIMILAR AGENCIES.
   (K)  "INCOME"  SHALL REFER TO THE ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME USED TO DETER-
 MINE THE AMOUNT OF FEDERAL PELL GRANT PAID BY THE SECRETARY OF EDUCATION
 UNDER 20 U.S.C. § 1070A OR OTHERWISE REPORTED TO  THE  HIGHER  EDUCATION
 INSTITUTION.
   (L)  "INDEPENDENT"  SHALL REFER TO A HIGH SCHOOL THAT DOES NOT RECEIVE
 PUBLIC FUNDING AND IS GOVERNED BY A BOARD OF GOVERNORS OR TRUSTEES.
   (M) "PRIVATE" SHALL REFER TO A  HIGH  SCHOOL  THAT  DOES  NOT  RECEIVE
 PUBLIC FUNDING.
   (N)  "TYPE  OF  ADMISSION  PLAN"  SHALL REFER TO EARLY DECISION, EARLY
 ACTION, AND GENERAL ADMISSION.
   2. REQUIREMENT FOR DATA REPORTING. ALL HIGHER  EDUCATION  INSTITUTIONS
 IN  THIS  STATE WHO EMPLOY EARLY DECISION ADMISSIONS SHALL REPORT TO THE
 COMMISSIONER, ON OR BEFORE THE FIRST OF JULY OF EACH YEAR, THE FOLLOWING
 DATA:
   (A) THE DEADLINES BY WHICH PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS MUST APPLY  FOR  EARLY
 DECISION, EARLY ACTION, AND/OR GENERAL ADMISSION AT THE INSTITUTION;
   (B)  THE  TIMELINES  WHEN EARLY DECISION, EARLY ACTION, AND/OR GENERAL
 ADMISSION PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS CAN GENERALLY EXPECT TO RECEIVE AN ADMIS-
 SIONS DECISION FROM THE INSTITUTION;
   (C) THE OVERALL ACCEPTANCE RATE FOR FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS IN  THE  PRIOR
 ACADEMIC YEAR, INCLUDING TOTAL NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS RECEIVED;
   (D)  THE ACCEPTANCE RATE FOR EARLY DECISION, EARLY ACTION, AND GENERAL
 ADMISSIONS FOR FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS IN THE PRIOR ACADEMIC YEAR, INCLUDING
 TOTAL NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS RECEIVED FOR EACH TYPE OF  ADMISSIONS  PLAN
 AND  DISAGGREGATED BY TYPE OF ADMISSION PLAN SUCH STUDENTS WERE ACCEPTED
 UNDER;
   (E) THE NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF FIRST-YEAR  STUDENTS  ADMITTED  EARLY
 DECISION,    EARLY  ACTION, AND GENERAL ADMISSIONS IN THE PRIOR ACADEMIC
 YEAR, DISAGGREGATED  BY  TYPE  OF  ADMISSION  PLAN  SUCH  STUDENTS  WERE
 ACCEPTED UNDER;
 S. 8118                             3
 
   (F)  THE RACIAL AND/OR ETHNIC IDENTITY OF ALL PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS WHO
 APPLIED FOR THE FIRST-YEAR CLASS OF THE PRIOR ACADEMIC YEAR, AS REPORTED
 BY SUCH STUDENTS;
   (G)  THE  RACIAL  AND/OR ETHNIC IDENTITY OF ALL FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS OF
 THE PRIOR ACADEMIC YEAR, AS REPORTED BY SUCH STUDENTS, WHO WERE ACCEPTED
 UNDER AN EARLY DECISION, EARLY ACTION, OR GENERAL  ADMISSIONS  PLAN,  BY
 NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE, AND DISAGGREGATED BY TYPE OF ADMISSIONS PLAN SUCH
 STUDENTS WERE ACCEPTED UNDER;
   (H)  HOW  MANY  FIRST-YEAR  STUDENTS, BY NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE, OF THE
 PRIOR ACADEMIC YEAR RECEIVED FEDERAL PELL GRANTS, DISAGGREGATED BY  TYPE
 OF ADMISSION PLAN SUCH STUDENTS WERE ACCEPTED UNDER;
   (I)  THE AMOUNT OF FINANCIAL AID DISBURSED FOR THE FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS
 OF THE PRIOR ACADEMIC YEAR, DISAGGREGATED BY TYPE OF ADMISSION PLAN SUCH
 STUDENTS WERE ACCEPTED UNDER;
   (J) AVERAGE FINANCIAL AID DISBURSED FOR THE FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS OF THE
 PRIOR ACADEMIC YEAR,  DISAGGREGATED  BY  TYPE  OF  ADMISSION  PLAN  SUCH
 STUDENTS WERE ACCEPTED UNDER;
   (K) WHETHER FULL FINANCIAL NEED WAS MET FOR FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS OF THE
 PRIOR ACADEMIC YEAR ADMITTED EARLY DECISION;
   (L)  THE MEDIAN AND AVERAGE INCOME OF FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS OF THE PRIOR
 ACADEMIC YEAR, DISAGGREGATED BY TYPE OF  ADMISSION  PLAN  SUCH  STUDENTS
 WERE ACCEPTED UNDER;
   (M)  HOW  MANY  FIRST-YEAR  STUDENTS, BY NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE, OF THE
 PRIOR ACADEMIC YEAR ATTENDED A PUBLIC, CHARTER, PRIVATE, OR  INDEPENDENT
 HIGH  SCHOOL,  OR  WERE HOMESCHOOLED, DISAGGREGATED BY TYPE OF ADMISSION
 PLAN SUCH STUDENTS WERE ACCEPTED UNDER;
   (N) HOW MANY FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS, BY NUMBER  AND  PERCENTAGE,  OF  THE
 PRIOR  ACADEMIC  YEAR ATTENDED HIGH SCHOOL IN THIS STATE, ANOTHER STATE,
 DISTRICT, OR TERRITORY OF THE UNITED STATES, OR ANOTHER  NATION,  DISAG-
 GREGATED  BY  TYPE  OF ADMISSION PLAN SUCH STUDENTS WERE ACCEPTED UNDER;
 AND
   (O) A DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PROSPECTIVE  STUDENT'S  COMMITMENT  TO
 THE INSTITUTION UPON APPLYING EARLY DECISION, INCLUDING POTENTIAL CONSE-
 QUENCES,  IF  ANY,  IF SUCH STUDENT RESCINDS UPON A COMMITMENT TO ATTEND
 SUCH INSTITUTION AFTER RECEIVING A DECISION OF ADMITTANCE.
   3. REQUIREMENT FOR DATA PUBLISHING. (A) THE COMMISSIONER SHALL, ON  OR
 BEFORE  THE  FIRST  OF SEPTEMBER OF EACH YEAR, PUBLISH THE DATA REQUIRED
 UNDER SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION IN A CLEAR AND PROMINENT  LOCATION
 ON THE DEPARTMENT'S WEBSITE.
   (B) THE COMMISSIONER SHALL ENSURE THAT A USER OF SUCH WEBSITE IS EASI-
 LY  ABLE  TO ACCESS THE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS DATA DESCRIBED IN SUBDIVISION
 TWO OF THIS SECTION FOR EACH HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION WHICH  REPORTS
 SUCH DATA VIA A DROP-DOWN MENU ON SUCH WEBSITE.
   4.  PENALTIES.  (A)  ANY  HIGHER  EDUCATION  INSTITUTION DEEMED BY THE
 COMMISSIONER TO WILLFULLY VIOLATE THE PROVISIONS OF THIS  SECTION  SHALL
 BE SUBJECT TO A CIVIL PENALTY EQUIVALENT TO TEN PERCENT OF STATE AID, AS
 PROVIDED  IN  SECTION  SIX THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE OF THIS TITLE
 FOR SENIOR COLLEGES OF THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, ARTICLE EIGHT OF
 THIS TITLE FOR THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, AND SECTION  SIX  THOU-
 SAND FOUR HUNDRED ONE OF THIS TITLE FOR CERTAIN INDEPENDENT INSTITUTIONS
 OF HIGHER EDUCATION, RECEIVED IN THE PRIOR FISCAL YEAR.
   (B)  THE  COMMISSIONER  SHALL  MAINTAIN  THE  DISCRETION TO PROVIDE AN
 OPPORTUNITY FOR A HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION TO CURE  A  VIOLATION  OF
 THIS SECTION BEFORE LEVYING THE FINES DESCRIBED IN PARAGRAPH (A) OF THIS
 SUBDIVISION.
 S. 8118                             4
 
   §  2.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
 have become a law and shall apply to academic years  commencing  on  and
 after  such  date. Effective immediately, the addition, 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.

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Senate Bill S8118

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Higher Education Committee

2023-S8118 (ACTIVE) - Details

2023-S8118 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S8118 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S8118 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S8118

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Andrew Gounardes

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Higher Education Committee

2023-S8118 (ACTIVE) - Details

2023-S8118 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S8118 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S8118 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments