(1) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires, "institution of higher education" or "institution" means the state institutions, as defined in section 23-18-102 (10)(a), the local district colleges, and the area technical colleges. (2) (a) The department shall create and maintain a statewide data system of student success information to enhance data-based decision-making by institutions and the public in order to increase student success using the student success measures determined by the commission. The data system includes institution interfaces described in subsection (3) of this section and a public interface. The data system must have the functionality to be developed into a longitudinal data system over time that connects K-12, postsecondary, and workforce information. (b) (I) The commission shall provide guidance to the department on the information that should be included in the data system to align the data system with the student success measures developed pursuant to section 23-1-140. (II) Each institution shall report postsecondary success information to the department that the department determines necessary for inclusion in the statewide data system. (III) The department shall obtain student workforce data necessary for the data system by the best means possible, including obtaining employment information and earnings from the department of labor and employment, the Colorado workforce development council, or any other initiative or data-sharing platform that allows the department to obtain workforce data. The department of labor and employment, the Colorado workforce development council, and the department of education shall provide to the department the information that the department deems necessary to implement and operate the data system. (c) The department may include in the statewide data system employment and wage outcome data of a workforce development or training program that joins the data system. In order to join the data system, a workforce development or training program must be listed in the eligible training provider lists described in section 8-83-225 (1)(c) or receiving funding under Title I of the federal "Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act", 29 U.S.C. sec. 3101 et seq. The department may provide a user-friendly and accessible option for a program described in this subsection (2)(c) to deliver data to the department. (d) In developing the data system, the department shall collaborate with the Colorado workforce development council, the department of labor and employment, the department of education, and the office of economic development and international trade. The department shall also seek input from each institution of higher education, Colorado employers, Colorado students, and other workforce training providers offering an industry recognized credential. (e) The department may enter into an agreement with a third party to create and maintain the data system and any materials derived from the system. If the department enters into an agreement with a third party, the department shall ensure that both the department and the third party comply with all state and federal laws and regulations concerning the privacy of student information, including the federal "Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974", 20 U.S.C. sec. 1232g, as amended. (3) (a) The department shall work with an institution to include information on an interface that is internal to that institution. Information available on an institution interface may provide student success data that is more timely, more granular, appears in a different format, or includes functionality that is different from information provided on the public interface. (b) If an institution maintains or intends to create its own data system that aligns with the goals of the statewide data system and the department determines that there is sufficient alignment, the department may, with the approval of the commission, allocate money to the institution for the creation, improvement, or maintenance of the institution's data system instead of creating an interface that is internal to that institution. The department shall not allocate to the institution an amount greater than the cost to the department for creating an interface that is internal to the institution. An institution that receives an allocation is not exempt from the requirement to report student educational success information to the department pursuant to subsection (2)(b)(II) of this section. (4) The public interface of the data system includes student success information that is aligned with the student success measures developed pursuant to section 23-1-140. The commission shall determine the specific student success information that must be included in the public interface, including determining how the information is disaggregated by student populations, including populations identified by race, ethnicity, gender, first-generation status, disability, and socioeconomic factors. The public interface must allow a user to conduct an interactive search to view and compare student success information for specific institutions and credential programs so that the user may make informed decisions regarding the economic opportunity and trade-offs of various educational and career training options. The department shall update the data in the public interface as frequently as practicable, but at least annually, to ensure that Colorado students and the public have the most relevant and current information available. (5) (a) The commission shall, in collaboration with the office in the department that is responsible for developing policy to remove equity gaps in postsecondary education in Colorado, use the data included in the institution and statewide data system to examine educational and workforce success disparities among various student populations, including populations identified by race, ethnicity, gender, first-generation status, disability, age, and socioeconomic factors. (b) In order to further the goal of using data to improve institutional decision-making and best practices, the commission shall facilitate information sharing among institutions about practices implemented by an institution based on data learned from the data system. (6) (a) In order to facilitate the collection of student success data and information from institutions of higher education, the department shall update and modernize its data collection systems, including its student-unit record data system. (b) The department, in collecting data from institutions, may use, when possible, open- source data transparency languages that utilize open, interoperable data formats. (7) On or before January 15, 2025, and on or before January 15, 2026, the commission shall submit a report to the house of representatives education committee and senate education committee on the work required and any barriers identified, including recommendations for legislative changes necessary, on the progress of the statewide longitudinal data system created in section 24-37.5-125 (2)(a) that connects K-12, postsecondary education, and workforce information. (8) (a) For the 2022-23 state fiscal year, the general assembly shall appropriate three million dollars from the workers, employers, and workforce centers cash fund created in section 24-75-231 to the department for the purposes of this section. The money appropriated pursuant to this subsection (8) must be from the money in the workers, employers, and workforce centers cash fund that originated from the general fund. Any unexpended or unencumbered money appropriated pursuant to this section remains available for expenditure for the same purpose in the 2023-24 state fiscal year without further appropriation. (b) This subsection (8) is repealed, effective December 31, 2024.
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