Postsecondary Commission

“The board may establish and elect from among the directors such committees as they may from time to time determine necessary or advisable, and may delegate to any such committee such powers and duties thereto as the board may deem advisable, except the following powers and duties and any others that may not be delegated under applicable law: (a) changing the number of directors; (b) electing or removing directors, officers or the chair or vice chair or filling vacancies in any of those positions; (c) amending the corporation's articles of organization or these bylaws; (d) changing the corporation's principal office; (e) authorizing a sale, lease, exchange, or other disposition of all or substantially all of the corporation's assets; (f) authorizing a merger or consolidation of the corporation; (g) initiating a bankruptcy proceeding; or (h) authorizing dissolution of the corporation. The board may also appoint persons other than directors as non-voting members of such committees. The board may establish advisory committees that do not have authority to act on behalf of the corporation; persons other than directors may be appointed as voting members of such advisory committees. Each committee shall keep a record of its actions and proceedings, and report its actions, if any, to the board at the next meeting of the board after such actions are taken. At any meeting of a committee a quorum for the transaction of all business properly before the meeting shall consist of a majority of the elected, voting members of such committee. Except as the board may otherwise determine, any committee may make rules for the conduct of its business, but unless otherwise provided by the board or by such rules, its business shall be conducted so far as possible in the same manner as is provided by these bylaws for the conduct of business by the board.”

“After psc staff and the psc president have reviewed and approved the full 990, psc provides a copy of the unfiled 990 to its full board. The chair of the board then reviews and approves the filing.”

“All directors, officers, employees, and consultants review and sign the conflict of interest policy and disclosure on an annual basis. If the commission determines that a conflict of interest exists, appropriate action will be taken to address and manage the conflict of interest. If the commission determines the individual failed to disclose an actual or potential conflict of interest, it shall take appropriate corrective or disciplinary action, as outlined in the policy.”

“Compensation for the president is determined by benchmarking within the sector - both higher education and nonprofit - and is based on the employee's knowledge, skills and experience. Review of related organizations' compensation as captured in their 990s is also used for comparison purposes. Compensation is reviewed periodically but no more frequently than annually. Compensation for other officers is set by a combination of review of similar roles in similar markets (using indeed, glassdoor, linkedin), as well as looking at employees' prior roles and current market value for their talent. The process described here was last completed in 2024.”

“UPON REQUEST.”

“Psc's whistleblower policy encourages employees to come forward with complaints, reports or inquiries about illegal practices or improper conduct by psc itself, by its leadership, or by others on its behalf. The policy permits confidential and anonymous reporting and outlines where and how to report. The policy also protects an individual from retaliation for reporting. All employees are trained on this policy and are provided access to it in the employee handbook.”

“Psc's document retention and destruction policy provides guidelines for the retention and destruction of documents received or created by psc. The policy is designed to promote compliance with federal and state laws and regulations. All documents that fall under this policy are securely stored in psc's cloud-based filing system.”

“The postsecondary commission is an accreditor of institutions of higher education that provide strong economic outcomes to their students. Psc is seeking federal recognition from the us department of education to be a title iv gatekeeping, institutional accreditor.”

“In 2024, the postsecondary commission undertook programmatic work in three areas: accreditation-field work, accreditation-model and petition development, and research and evaluation. In the prior year, psc's field work with institutions seeking accreditation as well as the work on developing its accreditation model were combined into one program area called accreditation. In 2024, we separated those bodies of work into two - accreditation-field work and accreditation-model and petition development. Research and evaluation, in 2024, included new work for psc - partnering with states to evaluate the economic returns of programs and degrees across their institutions. Specific accomplishments for each of these programs follow.”

“Accreditation-field work - this body of work encompasses direct partnerships with institutions and the application of psc's accreditation model. In 2024, psc onboarded two institutional partners to complete psc's accreditation process. As part of that work, psc hosted three institutional workshops and an estimated 50+ consultation meetings between psc staff and institutional representatives. Staff created or modified an estimated 100+ institution-specific documents to facilitate the institutions through the application process and to prepare for or implement the self-study process (a key component of accreditation). Accreditation-model and petition development - building on its work in 2023 to develop and release its initial accreditation standards, policies, and procedures, psc continued to create new materials that expand its accreditation model. The organization released for public comment and considered feedback on its accreditation standards once in 2024. To support its accreditation field work, staff created 30+ new materials (e.g., templates, worksheets), which are now in use with institutions. Psc also reviewed its policies and procedures and made updates to ~60% of these materials to refine its approach. Psc's board reviewed and approved the changes to standards, policies and procedures. Finally, psc began to assemble its petition for recognition for the u.s. Department of education. Research and evaluation - in 2024, psc launched a new body of work called research and evaluation. In partnership with state agencies, psc studies the economic returns generated by institutions and their programs. In close partnership with researchers and economists at mathematica, psc launched its first pilot study in texas to study outcomes of the state's public institutions. As part of this study, psc is evaluating thousands of cohorts of students within various institutional, programmatic, and demographic groups dating back to 2008. Psc intends to release the findings from this study in late 2024 and explore opportunities to conduct studies in other states in 2025.”

“Consulting: program service expenses 352,264. Management and general expenses 3,136. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 355,400.”

“There was no change from the prior year.”