BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 515
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          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
          AB 515 (Brownley)
          As Amended  May 10, 2011
          Majority vote 

           HIGHER EDUCATION    6-1         APPROPRIATIONS      16-1        
           
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Ayes:|Donnelly, Achadjian,      |Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey,          |
          |     |Brownley, Galgiani, Lara, |     |Blumenfield, Bradford,    |
          |     |Miller                    |     |Charles Calderon, Campos, |
          |     |                          |     |Davis, Donnelly, Hall,    |
          |     |                          |     |Hill, Lara, Mitchell,     |
          |     |                          |     |Nielsen, Norby, Solorio,  |
          |     |                          |     |Wagner                    |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |Nays:|Fong                      |Nays:|Gatto                     |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           SUMMARY  :  Authorizes California Community College (CCC) 
          districts to implement extension programs until January 1, 2019. 
           Specifically,  this bill  :

          1)Authorizes the governing board of any CCC district to 
            establish an extension program offering credit courses without 
            the approval of the CCC Board of Governors (BOG).

          2)Requires an extension program to meet several requirements, 
            including being self-supporting, with all costs recovered; 
            conforming with the "50% law" regarding minimum expenses 
            allocated for instruction and the 75/25 split for 
            full-time/part-time faculty instruction; and, being subject to 
            collective bargaining agreements.

          3)Prohibits districts from expending moneys to establish and 
            maintain extension courses.

          4)Prohibits credit extension courses from supplanting courses 
            funded with state apportionments, requiring districts to 
            annually certify compliance with this requirement, and 
            prohibits extension courses from supplanting the use of 
            district facilities that would otherwise be used for 
            apportionment-funded courses.








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          5)Authorizes CCC districts to charge students enrolled in 
            extension classes a fee not to exceed the cost of maintaining 
            those courses.

          6)Requires any district maintaining an extension program to 
            collect and keep records measuring student participation, 
            demographics, and outcomes consistent with measures collected 
            for regular credit programs supported through state 
            apportionment, including an analysis of program effects, if 
            any, on district workload and district financial status.  
            Districts are to submit this information to the CCC 
            Chancellor's Office by October 1 of each year for each 
            participating college.

          7)Requires the Chancellor's Office to submit all the information 
            per 6) to the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) by November 1 
            of each year, and requires the LAO submit a report to the 
            Legislature by January 1, 2015, summarizing this information, 
            assessing the extent to which extension programs are operated 
            in a manner consistent with the provisions of this bill, and 
            suggesting any needed statutory improvements.

           FISCAL EFFECT :  According to the Assembly Appropriations 
          Committee:

          1)Minor absorbable costs to the Chancellor's Office and the LAO 
            for the reporting requirements.

          2)Any costs to CCC districts would be the result of districts 
            electing to offer extension courses and would be covered by 
            fees and other non-state funds.

          3)Potential minor increase in General Fund Cal Grant costs for 
            those likely limited instances where an otherwise qualifying 
            CCC student, by adding an extension course, is able to meet 
            the part-time or full-time minimum unit-load requirement for 
            Cal Grant eligibility and thus receives an award. 

           COMMENTS  :  In recent years, demand for CCC courses has increased 
          as its budget has been reduced.  Consequently, according to CCC 
          Chancellor Jack Scott, approximately 140,000 students have 
          effectively been denied access, over 95% of all classes are at 
          capacity, and an estimated 10,000-15,000 students are on wait 








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          lists for courses.  The $400 million reduction to CCC's 2011-12 
          budget will likely result in more course reductions.  

          The author states that, through extension programs, CCC could 
          expand course offerings to meet local workforce needs, provide 
          additional credit courses to meet student demand, more fully 
          utilize facilities, and provide greater access to CCC courses 
          because they could be offered closer to home and work-at no 
          additional cost to the state.  

          According to the sponsors, Santa Clarita Community College 
          District and Santa Monica Community College District, CCC 
          extension programs would typically operate in tandem with 
          state-funded programs either as separate sections offered during 
          the spring or fall semester or quarter or possibly as separate 
          sessions during winter or summer.  The sponsors also indicate 
          they would offer workforce training and degree programs that are 
          currently available primarily at for-profit institutions at a 
          higher cost than CCCs would charge.

          The University of California and the California State University 
          currently offer extension programs, and CCC extension programs 
          are likely to be rather limited, particularly when compared to a 
          state-supported enrollment exceeding two million students.  

          If the same programs were offered through extension as those 
          offered through the state-supported program, students would 
          likely be eligible for federal aid.  According to the California 
          Student Aid Commission, if the United States Department of 
          Education deems extension courses eligible for federal aid, they 
          would be eligible for Cal Grant awards, as well.  However, 
          extension courses would not be eligible for the BOG Fee Waiver.  


           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Sandra Fried / HIGHER ED. / (916) 
          319-3960 


                                                                FN: 0000479












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