BILL NUMBER: AB 1455 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 22, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Hill
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
An act to add Article 3 (commencing with Section 78040) to Chapter
1 of Part 48 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code,
relating to community colleges.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1455, as amended, Hill. Community colleges: baccalaureate
degrees: pilot program.
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges under
the administration of the Board of Governors of the California
Community Colleges. Existing law authorizes the establishment of
community college districts under the administration of community
college district governing boards, and authorizes these districts to
provide instruction at community college campuses throughout the
state.
Under existing law, the primary mission of the California
Community Colleges is to offer academic and vocational instruction at
the lower division level. Existing law prohibits the California
Community Colleges from offering instruction beyond the 2nd year of
college.
This bill would require the Board of Governors of the
California Community Colleges authorize the San Mateo
County Community College District to establish a pilot program
to allow selected community college districts that meet
specified qualifications, as provided, to offer a
baccalaureate degree. The bill would, among other things,
require that the baccalaureate degree program be accredited by the
Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
The bill would require the University of California and
the California State University to be offered a right of first
refusal to offer the baccalaureate degree on the community college
campus before a community college district would be authorized to
participate in the program. The bill would require that the
program expire 6 years after the initial offering of a baccalaureate
degree unless extended by law. The bill would require the
California Community Colleges, the Department of Finance, and the
Legislative Analyst's Office to evaluate the program and report to
the Legislature and Governor by January 1, 2016.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes
no . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) Since its adoption in 1960, the Master Plan for Higher
Education has served the state exceedingly well, allowing California
to create the largest and most distinguished higher education system
in the nation. A key component of the Master Plan for Higher
Education is the differentiation of mission and function among the
three systems of higher education in the state: the University of
California, the California State University, and the California
Community Colleges.
(2) Until recently, this differentiation of function has allowed
California to provide universal access to postsecondary education
while preserving quality.
(3) Due to current economic realities and a high unemployment rate
in the state, tens of thousands of unemployed or underemployed
Californians are entering or returning to college to improve job
skills or to train for new careers.
(4) Because of enrollment caps imposed by the University of
California and the California State University, thousands of
qualified students have been denied access to a public institution of
higher education where they could pursue a baccalaureate degree.
(5) In the rapidly emerging "knowledge economy" of California, it
is more important than ever before that California have a
well-educated populace in order for the state to remain competitive
nationally and internationally. Several recent studies have concluded
that a college degree is now required for most of the highest paying
occupations and that, in many areas of the economy, the
baccalaureate degree is replacing the associate degree as the entry
level credential for 21st century jobs.
(6) Community college students who want to transfer to public
four-year institutions face a number of challenges: universities have
instituted enrollment caps that limit the number of transfer
students they will accept; students are place bound and do not have
the time or money to travel to four-year colleges; students are
accepted, but do not get the financial aid packages that make
enrollment possible; a number of four-year programs are impacted and
students are denied admission or placed on a wait list; each
four-year college or university has different entrance requirements
that limit student options for transfer if they are not accepted into
their first choice university.
(b) Because of these factors, the State of California is hereby
making an exception to the differentiation of function in
baccalaureate education that assigns sole authority among the
California public higher education segments to the University of
California and the California State University for awarding
baccalaureate degrees. This exception to the Master Plan for Higher
Education recognizes the urgency of meeting critical education and
workforce demand needs and the distinctive strengths and respective
missions of the California Community Colleges, the California State
University, and the University of California.
SEC. 2. Article 3 (commencing with Section 78040) is added to
Chapter 1 of Part 48 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code,
to read:
Article 3. Baccalaureate Degree Pilot Program
78040. Notwithstanding Section 66010.4, the Board of
Governors of the California Community Colleges shall
San Mateo County Community College District may , subject to
Section 78042, establish a pilot program to offer baccalaureate
degrees at community colleges that meet the
eligibility requirements contained in Section 78041.
78041. (a) To be eligible for selection in the pilot program, a
community college district shall meet all of the following criteria:
(1) The community college campus shall be accredited by the
Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
(2) The boundaries of the community college district shall be
coterminous with the boundaries of the county in which the campus
offering the baccalaureate degree is located.
(3) The district shall be coterminous with a county that has no
campus of the University of California or the California State
University within its boundaries.
(4) The district shall present evidence to the board of a
successful working relationship with either the University of
California or the California State University through either a
university center in the district, a jointly administered program
already in existence, or the shared use of facilities.
78041. (a) A baccalaureate degree program offered
pursuant to Section 78040 shall be accredited by the Western
Association of Schools and Colleges.
(b) The baccalaureate degree may be offered in different fields of
study at the discretion of the board, subject to
the following requirements:
(1) The district has identified and documented unmet workforce
needs in the subject area of the degree to be offered.
(2) The degree program shall not, as determined by the
district board, unnecessarily duplicate similar programs
offered by nearby public educational institutions.
(3) The community college district shall demonstrate to
the satisfaction of the board that it district
has the expertise, resources, and interest to offer a quality
baccalaureate degree in the chosen field of study.
(c) The community college districts participating in the
pilot program district may charge a fee for
courses in the baccalaureate program that is greater than that
charged for courses at the associate degree level; however, the fee
charged may not be greater than that charged by the California State
University for similar baccalaureate programs.
78042. Before a community college district participating in the
pilot program may offer a baccalaureate degree, a right of first
refusal shall be offered to the University of California first, and
to the California State University second, to offer the baccalaureate
degree program on the community college campus. A community college
district may not participate in the pilot program unless the
University of California and the California State University decline
to exercise their respective rights of first refusal. If the right of
first refusal is exercised, the baccalaureate degree shall be
offered by the university on the community college campus in a manner
that is mutually agreeable to both the community college district
and to the public university.
78043. The pilot program provided for in this article shall
expire six years after the initial offering of a baccalaureate
degree, unless otherwise extended by law. The California
Community Colleges, the Department of Finance, and the Legislative
Analyst's Office shall jointly conduct an evaluation of the degree
programs implemented pursuant to this article. The results of the
evaluation shall be reported, in writing, to the Legislature and
Governor, on or before January 1, 2016. unless
otherwise extended by law.