BILL ANALYSIS
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1440|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1440
Author: Padilla (D)
Amended: 8/20/10
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
SENATE FLOOR : 35-0, 6/1/10
AYES: Aanestad, Alquist, Ashburn, Calderon, Cedillo,
Cogdill, Corbett, Correa, Cox, Denham, DeSaulnier,
Ducheny, Dutton, Florez, Hancock, Harman, Hollingsworth,
Huff, Kehoe, Leno, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod,
Padilla, Pavley, Price, Romero, Runner, Simitian,
Steinberg, Strickland, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Oropeza, Walters, Wiggins, Vacancy,
Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 8/23/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act
SOURCE : Campaign for College Opportunity
California Community Colleges Chancellors
CONTINUED
SB 1440
Page
2
Office
California State University
Student Senate for California Community
Colleges
California Student Senate Association
DIGEST : This bill establishes the Student Transfer
Achievement Reform Act.
Assembly Amendments (1) delete the requirement that the
community college district grant an associate degree for
transfer to a student, (2) requires a student that receives
an associate degree for transfer to be deemed eligible for
transfer into a CSU baccalaureate program, (3) conditions a
community college district's receipt of state apportionment
funds on its development of granting associate degrees for
transfer, and (4) made minor, technical changes.
ANALYSIS :
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
CONTINUED
SB 1440
Page
3
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
academic year, a student that receives an associate
degree for transfer to be deemed eligible for transfer
in to a CSU baccalaureate degree when the student meets
specified requirements.
2.Conditions a community colleges district's receipt of
state apportionment funds on its development and
granting of associate degrees for transfers, unless each
of the state's community college districts waives
reimbursement for specified state-mandated costs of
implementing this bill in accordance with a prescribed
procedure.
3.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.
4.Prohibits a community college district or campus from
CONTINUED
SB 1440
Page
4
imposing any additional requirements for a student to be
eligible for the associate degree for transfer and
subsequent admission to CSU as outlined in the bill.
5.Encourages community college districts to consider the
local articulation agreements and other work between
respective faculties development of the associate degree
for transfer and to facilitate the acceptance of units
earned at other community college districts toward the
associate degree for transfer.
6.Provides that this bill does not preclude students who
assess at below collegiate levels from acquiring
remedial noncollegiate level coursework in preparing for
obtaining the transfer degree, but that remedial
coursework shall not be counted toward transferable
units.
7.Requires CSU to guarantee admission with junior status
to any CCC student who obtains a transfer degree, but
provides that students are not guaranteed admission for
specific majors or campuses. Provides that CSU shall
grant a student priority admission to their local CSU
campus and to a program or major that is similar to his
or her CCC major.
8.Provides that a student admitted under the transfer
degree program shall receive priority over all other
community college transfer students, excluding community
college students who have entered into a transfer
agreement between a community college and the CSU prior
to the fall term of the 2011-12 academic year.
9.Provides that CSU may require transfer degree students
to take additional courses so long as the student is not
required to take any more than an additional 60 semester
or 90 quarter units at CSU for majors requiring 120
semester units or 180 quarter units. Exempts high unit
majors from this provision, upon agreement by the
Chancellors of CSU and CCC and their respective academic
senates. Prohibits CSU from requiring transfer degree
students to repeat courses comparable to those taken at
CCC that counted toward the transfer degree.
CONTINUED
SB 1440
Page
5
10.Prohibits CCC transfer units from being applicable to
CSU upper division requirements unless agreed upon by
the local Academic Senates of the CSU and UC and the
transferred units do not exceed the required 60 semester
units or 90 quarter units required under this bill.
11.Requires the Legislative Analyst's Office to review and
report to the Assembly Higher Education Committee, the
Senate Education Committee, and the respective education
finance budget subcommittees of the Assembly and the
Senate during the spring 2012 budget committee hearings
on the implementation of this bill and, within four
years of implementation, on outcomes in transfer rates,
time to degree, completion rates, and other relevant
indicators of student success, as ell as any
recommendations for statutory changes necessary to
achieve a clear and transparent transfer process.
12.Provides legislative intent that the requirements placed
on CCC districts pursuant to this bill shall be carried
out in the normal course of program development and
approval, course scheduling, and degree issuance and
shall not represent any new activities or a higher level
of service on the part of CCC districts.
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
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.
CONTINUED
SB 1440
Page
6
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 8/24/10)
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)
A Place Called Home
Advancement Project
Bakersfield College
Bay Area Council
California Business for Education Excellence
California Business Roundtable
California Catholic Conference
California Chamber of Commerce
California Communities United Institute
California Postsecondary Education Commission
California State University, Monterey Bay
Californians for Justice
CONTINUED
SB 1440
Page
7
Central City Neighborhood Partners
Cerritos Community College District
Citrus College
City of Bell Gardens
Coastline Community College
College of Marin
College of the Canyons
College of the Desert
College of the Sequoias
College OPTIONS
College Summit
Community Coalition
Compton Community College District
Contra Costa Community College District
Ed Voice
Education Trust West
Faculty Association of California Community Colleges
Families in Schools
Gay-Straight Alliance Network
Girls, Inc. of Orange County
Glendale Community College
Glendora Chamber of Commerce
Governmental Solutions Group, LLC
GreenDot Public Schools
Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District
Hispanas Organizing for Political Equality
Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities
Hispanic Scholarship Fund
Imperial Valley Community College District
InnerCity Struggle
Justice Matters
K-16 Bridge Program
Kern Community College District
Latin Business Association
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
Los Angeles Mission College
Los Angeles Unified School District
MiraCosta Community College
Mt. San Antonio College
California State National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People
National Council of La Raza
North Bay Leadership Council
CONTINUED
SB 1440
Page
8
Orange County Business Council
Organization of Farmworker Women Leaders
Parents Investing for a Quality Education Statewide
Pasadena City College
Pierce College
PolicyLink
Progressive Christians Uniting
Project Grad
Public Advocates
Rio Hondo College
San Bernardino Community College District
San Diego Community College District
San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation
San Francisco Chamber of Commerce
Southern California College Access Network
Southwestern College
Stanislaus County Office of Education
SunGard Higher Education
The Greenlining Institute
The Institute for College Access and Success
The Women's Foundation of California
University of California
University of Southern California, Center for Enrollment
Research, Policy and Practice
West Valley Mission Community College District
Yosemite Community College District
Youth Policy Institute
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
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."
CONTINUED
SB 1440
Page
9
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."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller,
Gaines, Galgiani, Gatto, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey,
Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries,
Jones, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza,
Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, Norby,
V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana,
Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland,
Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines,
Yamada, John A. Perez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bass, Evans, Furutani, Garrick, Knight,
Vacancy, Vacancy
CPM:cm 8/24/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****
CONTINUED