UC may be rocked by this cradle - Part 2

In a prior posting, we noted that the state is going ahead with a "cradle-to-career" database/computer system that would include data from UC.* We noted that state entities - including UC - do not have a great record in implementing grand databases and computer systems, e.g., UCPath. Leaks of confidential data have also been an issue.

Now comes word that rather lofty costs are projected. (See below.) And if history is a guide, those costs are likely to be exceeded as problems arise. Escalating costs in one area of the state budget can lead to a squeeze on other areas which the state regards as "discretionary" (such as the UC budget). From EdSource:

One of the few notable areas where Gov. Gavin Newsom departed from his predecessor Gov. Jerry Brown on entering office was his support for establishing a longitudinal data system linking information from preschool into the workplace.

Despite the fact that most other states had created that system in some form, for years Brown resisted entreaties from researchers and advocates to allocate the funds to set one up.

But it was such a high priority for Newsom that, within days of taking office in 2019, he called for it in the second paragraph of his first budget as governor. He designated an initial $10 million for “critical work” to create what he called “the California Cradle-to-Career Data System” in order to “to better track student outcomes and increase the alignment of our educational system to the state’s workforce needs.”

Newsom’s push resulted in 2019 legislation (Senate Bill 75) that kicked off a year of intense planning. It involved nearly 200 data experts and representatives of all key education institutions in the state, and has culminated in a report that will be sent to Newsom this week, after it gets final approval from the work group overseeing the project. Spearheading it is a work group made up of representatives of 16 different institutions and agencies involved with the establishing the data system.**

All the work has been coordinated by WestEd, the consulting firm headquartered in San Francisco.

However, getting the data system off the ground will come with a hefty price tag. According to a draft report that will be finalized at a meeting of the work group today, it will take five years to fully implement the system, at a cost of $15 million to $20 million for the first year alone. The challenge is that the Legislature would have to approve those funds at time when the state is struggling financially, as a result of the pandemic-induced recession. Demands on the state’s general fund will be extreme for discretionary projects like this one.

Among other things, funds will be needed to cover the costs of creating the governing structure, the staff to support it and additional staff costs incurred by the California Department of Education, the Employment Development Department the University of California, the California State University and the community college who will have to provide the data to populate the system...

Source: https://edsource.org/2020/long-sought-after-cradle-to-career-education-data-system-for-california-comes-with-hefty-price-tag/644753

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*https://uclafacultyassociation.blogspot.com/2020/12/uc-may-be-rocked-by-this-cradle.html

**A link in the article indicates that UCOP is involved:

University of California, Office of the President: Chris Furgiuele. Chris Furgiuele is the Director for Institutional Research and Planning (IRAP) at the University of California, Office of the President. IRAP provides evidence-based analyses and reports that inform and shape strategic planning, institutional policy creation and revision, and decision support.

Source: https://cadatasystem.wested.org/group-member-biographies/workgroup