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An Act Regarding Retention and Graduation Rates for Maine's Colleges and Universities
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  20-A MRSA §10011  is enacted to read:
§ 10011. Retention and graduation rates
 
1.  Definitions.     As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.
 
A.  "Graduation rate" means the percentage of students who enrolled at the start of a postsecondary educational or degree program, completed the program and graduated in a number of years specified in subsection 2, paragraphs B and C.
 
B.  "Postsecondary institution" means an educational institution that offers an accredited postsecondary educational or degree program. "Postsecondary institution" includes an institution that offers an accredited postsecondary educational or degree program on the Internet.
 
C.  "Retention rate" means the percentage of students who enrolled at the start of a postsecondary educational or degree program and, not having completed the program at the end of a school year, continue enrollment in that program at the start of the next school year.
 
2.  Retention and graduation rates.     A postsecondary institution that receives either state or federal funding shall report annually to the department:
 
A.  The retention rate for the previous year for each educational or degree program offered by the institution;
 
B.  For a postsecondary institution that offers an associate's degree program or other 2-year program, the graduation rates for students who require 2 years, 3 years or 4 years to complete that program; and
 
C.  For a postsecondary institution that offers a bachelor's degree or other 4-year degree program, the graduation rates for students who require 4 years, 5 years or 6 years to complete that program.
 
3.  Report.     The department shall report the information received under subsection 2 annually to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education and cultural affairs and publish the report on the department's publicly accessible website.
 
4.  Rules.     The department may adopt rules to carry out the purposes of this section. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules under Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
 
SUMMARY
This bill requires all postsecondary institutions in the State, including institutions offering accredited postsecondary educational and degree programs on the Internet, to report annually to the Department of Education the retention rates of the students for each degree program and the graduation rates for students who complete 2-year or associate's degree programs in 2, 3 or 4 years and for students who complete 4-year or bachelor's degree programs in 4, 5 or 6 years. This bill requires the Department of Education to report this information annually to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education and cultural affairs and publish the report on the department's publicly accessible website.