BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  SB 1440|
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                                 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





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           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  







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             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.  







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           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  







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          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







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          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







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          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  







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          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

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