Accountability

The Higher Education Coordinating Board has emphasized the need for accountability in higher education since its inception in the 1980s. The Board’s first master plan in 1988 called for “system-wide performance evaluation to monitor our investment in higher education.”

In each of the past three biennial operating budgets, the Legislature and governor have directed the board to oversee a performance accountability system for Washington’s public four-year colleges and universities. Institutions prepare biennial plans that will lead to “meaningful and substantial” progress toward long-term performance goals. The board reviews these plans and sets biennial performance targets for each college and university. We then report to the Legislature and Governor on each institution’s progress in meeting these goals and recommend policy improvements.

Board staff are working with representatives from Washington colleges and universities to redesign the state's accountability system.

Board Updates and Action

Accountability Resolution (Jan. 2007)
Accountability Resolution (Dec. 2006)

Proposal for Revisions to Current Accountability Framework (March 2006) PowerPoint Presentation
Accountability Update (December 2005)
Promoting Student Success through Greater Accountability (April 2005)
Promoting Student Success through Greater Accountability (March 2005)
A New Approach to Higher Education Accountability
(March 2004)
Guidelines for 2003-2005 Higher Education Accountability Plans (July 2003)
Guidelines for Higher Education Accountability Plans (September 2001)

Reports

Accountability for Student Success in Washington
Higher Education - Full Report - (January 2007)
The Higher Education Coordinating Board is required by law to establish an accountability monitoring and reporting system, in collaboration with the Office of Financial Management, the four-year institutions and the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges. This report summarizes statewide results achieved in the most recent academic year for which statewide data are available (in most cases, the 2005-06 academic year).

Accountability Summary Report (December 2006)

2003-04 Accountability Report (January 2005)
2003-2005 Higher Education Accountability Plans and Recommendations (December 2003)
Higher Education Accountability Plans Submitted by Institutions (December 2003)
2002 Accountability Update (December 2002)
Higher Education Accountability Plans (October 2001)
Performance Accountability: 1999-2000 Academic Year Review and Recommendations for 2001-2003 (November 2000)
Performance Funding and Accountability: Progress Report and Recommendations (December 1998)

2004 Strategic Master Plan for Higher Education

The statewide plan calls for:

- Developing and implementing an accountability system that measures progress toward statewide higher education goals and promotes student success.

- Developing a data system that tracks the progress of individual students through the higher education system. The state currently lacks such a system, which is vital to identifying barriers to student success and measuring progress toward state goals.

Review 2004 strategic master plan policy initiatives.

Other Resources

Accountability for Better Results: A National Imperative for Higher Education, National Commission on Accountability in Higher Education (March 10, 2005)

For more information, contact:
Chris Thompson, Government & University Relations
Phone: 360.753.7811