66551.
(a) The board of directors shall be authorized to enter into agreements with any public or private agency, officer, person, institution, corporation, association, or foundation for the performance of acts or for the furnishing of services, facilities, materials, goods, supplies, or equipment.(b) The authority shall have all of the following responsibilities:
(1) Developing, presenting, and monitoring postsecondary education goals for the state, including, but not necessarily limited to, monitoring and reporting on the progress of the postsecondary segments toward their long-term goals.
(2) Measuring, and reporting about, how efficiently and effectively the postsecondary education segments are serving the state’s needs.
(3) Making recommendations about how to improve the performance of the postsecondary education segments.
(4) Pursuing an integrated approach to the state’s overall postsecondary education policy by including private postsecondary education within its jurisdiction.
(5) Exercising an oversight and advisory role in postsecondary education capital outlay decisions.
(6) Developing information in order to assist state and local policymakers and consumers in making cost-effective investments in postsecondary education and training to meet the long-term goal of a strong state economy and vibrant communities.
(7) Developing and recommending strategic finance policy to the Governor and the Legislature on topics including, but not necessarily limited to, the allocation of state appropriations among the postsecondary education segments, student fee policy, and student financial aid.
(8) Developing and presenting basic policy parameters for capacity development or realignment, including, but not necessarily limited to, expansion or realignment of enrollment capacity among or within the postsecondary education segments, to meet the state’s higher education goals.
(9) Reviewing, and making recommendations to the Governor and the Legislature relating to, major capacity decisions, such as changes in mission or the establishment of new campuses or centers, that are to be financed with state appropriations or state-approved student fees.
(10) (A) Acting as a clearinghouse for postsecondary education information and as a primary source of information for the Legislature, the Governor, and other agencies, and developing and maintaining a comprehensive database that does all of the following:
(i) Ensures comparability of data from diverse sources.
(ii) Supports longitudinal studies of individual students as they progress through the state’s postsecondary educational institutions, based upon the authority’s existing student database through the use of a unique student identifier.
(iii) Is compatible with the California School Information System and the student information systems developed and maintained by the public segments of higher education, as appropriate.
(iv) Provides Internet access to data, as appropriate, to the sectors of higher education.
(v) Provides each of the postsecondary educational segments access to the data made available to the authority for purposes of the database, in order to support, most efficiently and effectively, statewide, segmental, and individual campus educational research information needs.
(B) The authority, in implementing paragraph (1), shall comply with the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1232g) relating to the disclosure of personally identifiable information concerning students.
(C) The authority may not make available any personally identifiable information received from a postsecondary educational institution concerning students for any regulatory purpose unless the institution has authorized the authority to provide that information on behalf of the institution.
(D) The authority shall provide 30-day notification to the chairpersons of the appropriate legislative policy and budget committees of the Legislature, to the Director of Finance, and to the Governor before making any significant changes to the student information contained in the database.