BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1440| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: SB 1440 Author: Padilla (D) Amended: 4/28/10 Vote: 21 SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 8-0, 4/21/10 AYES: Romero, Huff, Alquist, Hancock, Liu, Price, Simitian, Wyland NO VOTE RECORDED: Maldonado SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 10-0, 5/27/10 AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Corbett, Denham, Leno, Price, Walters, Wolk, Wyland, Yee NO VOTE RECORDED: Cox SUBJECT : Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill (1) establishes the Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act and requires a community college district to grant an associate degree that deems the student eligible for transfer into the California State University, subject to specified requirements, (2) requires the CSU to guarantee admission with junior status to California Community College students meeting those requirements, and (3) imposes specified restrictions on CSU course requirements for these "transfer" students. ANALYSIS : CONTINUED SB 1440 Page 2 Existing Law 1.Requires the segments of higher education to develop an intersegmental common core curriculum in general education for the purpose of transfer. This common core curriculum is known as the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC). Any student who completes the IGETC course pattern is deemed to have completed the lower division coursework required for transfer to the University of California or the California State University (CSU). 2.Requests the University of California (UC) to identify commonalities and differences in similar majors across all UC campus and provide California Community College (CCC) students with the information in at least the top 20 majors. 3.Requires the Chancellor of CSU, in consultation with the Academic Senate of the CSU, to establish specified components necessary for a clear degree path for transfer students, including specification of a systemwide lower division transfer curriculum for each high-demand baccalaureate major. 4.Requires the CSU Chancellor's Office to implement articulated nursing degree transfer pathways for Associates Degrees in Nursing (AND) students a CCCs seeking Bachelor's Degree in Nursing (BSN) at CUS prior to the 2012-13 academic year. 5.Requires the governing board of each public postsecondary education segment to be accountable for the development and implementation of formal systemwide articulation agreements and transfer agreement programs, including those for general education or a transfer core curriculum, and other appropriate procedures to support and enhance the transfer function. This bill establishes the Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act. Specifically, this bill: 1.Requires, commencing with the fall term of the 2011-12 SB 1440 Page 3 academic year, a community college district to grant an associate degree to a student in his/her field of study that deems the student eligible for transfer into a CSU baccalaureate program. 2.Requires a granting of this degree when a student: A. Completes 60 semester or 90 quarter units eligible for transfer to the CSU and that includes the CSU General Education Breadth program for IGETC, and a minimum of 18 semester or 27 quarter units in a major area of emphasis as determined by the district. B. Obtains a minimum grade point average of 2.0. 3.Prohibits a community college district from imposing ay additional requirements for a student to be eligible for the associate degree and subsequent admission to the CSU. 4.Prohibits (a) the provisions of this bill from precluding students assessed at below collegiate level from acquiring remedial noncollegiate level coursework in preparation for obtaining the associate degree, and (b) remedial noncollegiate level coursework from being counted as part of the transferable units. 5.Requires the CSU to guarantee admission with junior status to any community college student who meets the CCC requirements for transfer as established by this bill. 6.Prohibits the CSU from guaranteeing these transfer students admission for specific majors or campuses. 7.Requires the CSU to grant these transfer students priority admission to a program or major similar to their CCC major or area of emphasis. 8.Authorizes the CSU to require these transfer students to take additional courses so long as the student is not required to take any more than 60 additional semester units or 90 quarter units at the CSU for majors requiring 120 semester units or 180 quarter units. SB 1440 Page 4 9.Exempts high unit majors upon agreement by the Chancellors of the CSU and the CCC and their respective academic senates. 10.Prohibits the CSU from requiring these transfer students to repeat courses similar to those taken and counted towards their associate degree. 11.Requires the Legislative Analyst's Office to review and report to the Legislature, within four years of implementation, on the following: A. The outcomes of implementation of this bill, including, but not limited to: (1) Transfer rates. (2) The average amount of time and units it takes a student to earn an associate degree pursuant to this bill and a subsequent baccalaureate degree. (3) Student progression and completion rates. (4) Other relevant indicators of student success. B. Recommendations for statutory changes necessary to facilitate the goal of a clear and transparent transfer process. Comments Need for the Bill . According to a recent report by the Institute for Higher Education Leadership & Policy, Crafting a Student-Centered Transfer Process in California: Lessons from Other States , the decentralized, segmental structure of California higher education and the tradition of local faculty autonomy have resulted in campus to campus rather than systemwide course transferability agreements. The report noted that, in spite of existing and ongoing efforts to improve the process, transfer rates remain low, students continue to take more units than are needed at SB 1440 Page 5 both the community college and university level, and there is a lack of consistency in lower-division major prerequisites and general education patterns. Additionally, the potential cost-efficiencies of completing lower division courses in the lower-cost community college system are lost when students transfer without completing a transfer curriculum. Degree in Statute ? Typically, degree content and approval is governed by the Academic Senates. This bill statutorily prescribes the content of a community college degree that meets transfer eligibility requirements. Placing degree content in statute inhibits the flexibility to modify these requirements, as well as establish a precedent for superseding the traditional role of faculty in this regard. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: Fiscal Impact (in thousands) Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund Enrollment cost Unknown, dependent upon student General pressure response SUPPORT : (Verified 5/28/10) Campaign for College Opportunity (co-source) California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office (co-source) California State University (co-source) Student Senate for California Community Colleges (co-source) California Student Senate Association (co-source) Advancement Project Alliance for a Better Community Bakersfield College California Business for Education Excellence California Business Roundtable SB 1440 Page 6 California Catholic Conference California Chamber of Commerce California Communities United Institute California Postsecondary Education Commission California State Student Association California Teachers Association Californians for Justice Cerritos Community College District Chaffey Community College District Office Citrus College Coastline Community College College of Marin College of the Canyons College of the Desert College of the Sequoias College OPTIONS College Summit Community Coalition Community College League of California Compton Community College District Contra Costa Community College District EdVoice Education Trust West Families in Schools Gay-Straight Alliance Network Girls, Inc. of Orange County Glendale Community College Glendora Chamber of Commerce Governmental Solutions Group, LLC Green Dot Public Schools Greenlining Institute Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District Hispanas Organizing for Political Equality Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities Hispanic Scholarship Fund -- Northwest Imperial Valley Community College District Justice Matters Institute K-16 Bridge Program Kern Community College District Latin Business Association Latino Coalition for a Healthy California Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce Los Angeles Mission College Los Angeles Pierce College SB 1440 Page 7 Los Angeles Unified School District Los Angeles Unified School District - Huntington Park College Ready Academy High School Los Medanos College MiraCosta Community College Mt. San Antonio College North Bay Leadership Council Orange County Business Council Organization en California de Lideres Campesinas Organization for Farmworker Women Leaders Parents Investing for a Quality Education - San Diego Pasadena City College Policylink Progressive Christians Uniting Project Grad Los Angeles Public Advocate, Inc. Rio Hondo College San Bernardino Community College District San Diego Community College District San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation San Francisco Chamber of Commerce School Services of California, Inc. Snowline Joint Unified School District - Serrano High School SoCal College Access Network Southern California College Access Network Southwestern College Stanislaus County Office of Education The Advancement Project The Greenlining Institute The Institute for College Access and Success The Women's Foundation of California University of Southern California, Center for Enrollment Research, Policy and Practice West Valley Mission Community College District Yosemite Community College district Yuba Community College District ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, "The coursework necessary to transfer to the CSU or the University of California can vary widely from campus to campus. Students seeking to transfer are frustrated and discouraged by conflicting and duplicative requirements. Students planning on applying to several CSU campuses for SB 1440 Page 8 the same major may need to have completed different prerequisites to attend each institution. Many students are unable to effectively qualify for more than one transfer option. Existing law does not require alignment between the CCC and universities. The resulting confusion surrounding transfer requirements delays degree attainment, increases costs, and reduces access for additional students seeking admission." The California Postsecondary Education Commission, in support, states "The transfer degree authorized in SB 1440 will yield long-term benefits to the state by providing students with a more streamlined path to their degree. Each additional unnecessary course a student takes adds costs to for both the state and students and this bill provides a more cost-effective system of student transfer." CPM:cm 5/28/10 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END ****