BILL ANALYSIS
AB 440
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 5, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Anthony Portantino, Chair
AB 440 (Beall) - As Amended: April 27, 2009
SUBJECT : California Community Colleges: student transfer.
SUMMARY : Authorizes California Community College (CCC)
districts to grant an associate in arts (AA) degree in transfer
studies to a student who meets specified requirements.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Authorizes CCC districts to grant an AA degree in transfer
studies or an equivalent program to a student who meets the
following requirements:
a) Completes a minimum of 60 units; and,
b) Meets the minimum requirements for transfer to a campus
of the California State University (CSU) or the University
of California (UC).
2)States that a degree granted pursuant to this bill shall
recognize the completion of lower division general education
requirements and does not guarantee admission to any
institution.
EXISTING LAW authorizes CCC to grant an AA and associate in
science (AS) degrees and requires the UC Regents, CSU Trustees
and CCC Board of Governors (BOG) to have as a fundamental policy
the maintenance of a healthy and expanded program to increase
the number of CCC transfer students.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : Background : In February 2008, the CCC BOG adopted
guidelines for associate's degrees that effectively discontinued
the awarding of a "transfer" AA degree, which was earned when a
student had enough credits to transfer to UC or CSU. According
to data provided by supporters, the transfer AA degree had been
offered at CCC campuses since 2001, and its popularity increased
until it had become the most popular AA degree in the CCC
system, awarding 1,071 degrees in Spring 2008. Fourteen CCC
districts offered a transfer AA degree when it was discontinued,
AB 440
Page 2
and an estimated 1,500 students were on the path to receive the
degree.
Purpose of this bill : According to the author, since the
coursework necessary to transfer to a UC or CSU differ from the
classes needed to earn an AA degree, many transfer students
leave the system having completed transfer requirements but do
not have a degree to show for their work. Thus, they are unable
to reap the economic and personal reward associated with an AA
degree. Further, supporters contend that many CCC counselors
did not realize the degree had been discontinued until early
this year and had been putting their students on the path to a
transfer AA degree.
Why was the degree discontinued ? In 2005, the CCC Chancellor's
Office advised the CCC BOG that, in order to be compliant with
the existing California Code of Regulations (Title 5), each AA
or AS degree must include a major of at least 18 semester units
or 27 quarter units of study in a single discipline. This
requirement disallows "majors" and "areas of emphasis" with no
discernible focus or majors constructed of loosely structured
items of interest selected individually by students. For
transfer to CSU, students are generally required to complete 21
semester units of lower division preparation in addition to 39
general education units. Lower division preparation may or may
not meet the major focus or area of emphasis requirements for an
associate degree. When lower division preparation does not meet
the major/area of emphasis requirements, students who complete
the transfer curriculum will not have met the requirements for
an associate degree.
What is the difference between lower division preparation and
major focus ? Major focus units for an associate degree are
defined by CCC faculty and articulated with the four-year
institution, and lower division transfer preparation
requirements are defined by the receiving institution.
Currently, CSU has different lower division requirements by
major and by campus (Lower Division Transfer Pattern). Thus,
according to the CCC Chancellor's Office, for students to earn
an associate degree that makes them competitive for admission as
an upper division student at CSU, each CCC would need to offer
an AA degree in Psychology for CSU Sacramento and a different AA
degree in Psychology for San Diego State, etc.
Economic value of an AA degree : A recent study by the Public
AB 440
Page 3
Policy Institute of California ("California's Future Workforce,"
April 2009), found that workers with an AA degree earn almost $5
more per hour than workers with a high school diploma.
Transfer efforts : In February 2009, the leaders of UC, CSU, and
CCC announced their intention to establish a joint task force to
develop plans to achieve an increase in the numbers of CCC
students who transfer to the state's four-year universities.
Improved CCC transfer, they said, will help reduce the costs of
obtaining a four-year degree for greater numbers of students,
will increase access to four-year institutions for
underrepresented and educationally disadvantaged groups and will
recognize the fact that many students prefer to begin their
college education at an institution close to home.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Community College League
California Postsecondary Education Commission
Campaign for College Opportunity
College OPTIONS
Gay-Straight Alliance Network
Organizacion en California de Lideres Campesinas, Inc.
Public Advocates
San Francisco Education Fund
Stanislaus County Office of Education
Women's Policy Institute
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Sandra Fried / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960