BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
AB 2462 (Block) - Academic Credit for Prior Military Experience.
Amended: As Proposed to be AmendedPolicy Vote: Education 8-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: August 16, 2012
Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-Hernandez
SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.
Bill Summary: AB 2462 requires the Chancellor of the California
Community Colleges (CCC) to determine for which courses credit
should be awarded for prior military experience, by July 1,
2015. This bill encourages the CCCs to take specified related
actions.
Fiscal Impact:
Chancellor's office: At a minimum, 1 PY to review all CCC
courses to determine which should be eligible for prior
military service credit. The Chancellor's office estimates
the position, with benefits, to cost approximately $112,000.
CCCs: At a minimum, the CCCs would incur significant
workload to their curriculum committees to coordinate with
the Chancellor's office to review courses. Additionally,
CCCs could incur substantial cost to comply with provisions
which they are encouraged to implement.
Background: Existing law establishes a matriculation process at
CCCs with the purpose of realizing a student's educational
objectives. Matriculation services to be made available by the
colleges include, but are not limited to (a) processing of
admission applications, (b) orientation and pre-orientation
services concerning academic expectations and financial
assistance, and (c) assessment and counseling upon enrollment,
as specified. (Education Code § 78212)
Existing law also requires the California State University (CSU)
and CCC to grant priority registration for enrollment to former
members of the Armed Forces of the United States within two
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years of leaving active military duty. (EC § 66025.8)
The American Council on Education (ACE) is an organization that
has, since 1945, provided a collaborative link between the U. S.
Department of Defense and higher education through the review of
military training and experiences for the award of equivalent
college credits for members of the Armed Forces. It has reviewed
military courses and developed credit recommendations.
Proposed Law: AB 2462 requires the Chancellor of the CCC, by
July 1, 2013, to: a) Determine for which courses credit should
be awarded for prior military experience; and b) use common
course descriptors and pertinent recommendations of the ACE for
purposes of (a).
This bill also encourages community colleges to: a) Recognize
the learning acquired by military personnel during their service
and award credit where appropriate including applying the
Chancellor's Office determinations; b) consider military
education or experience for credit for career technical
education (CTE) instruction; c) develop a way to evaluate
progress to, or completion of, a professional occupational
certificate for persons with military education or experience;
and, d) consider awarding credit by examination process for
experience or instruction gained in a military setting. This
bill also encourages the CCC Academic Senate to develop
recommendations regarding the appropriate use of systems like
the ACE system, that provide guidance for awarding college
credit for academic instruction and experience in a military
setting.
Related Legislation: AB 2534 (Block) requires the CCC
Chancellor's Office to establish a voluntary pilot program to
authorize 3 to 5 campuses to establish and maintain a CTE
program that factors experiential learning for veterans for
career technical education course credit, certificates and
associate degrees. This bill will also be heard in this
Committee on August 6, 2012.
Staff Comments: According to the Chancellor's office, most CCCs
have a policy in place to accept credits using the ACE
guidelines. Generally, CCCs will grant at least elective units
towards the 60 units required for an associate degree. In
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addition, many CCCs clear some general education requirements
using military credit (and some clear some major requirements
for specific majors), either through an evaluation of military
credit based on ACE guidelines or via student petition.
This bill requires the Chancellor's office to determine which
courses credit should be awarded for prior military experience,
among the thousands of courses evaluated by ACE, and to complete
that determination by July 1, 2013. The Chancellor's office has
opined that it would need an additional position to complete the
necessary work, at an estimated annual cost of $112,000. It is
unlikely, however, that such detailed and extensive work could
be completed by one person within six months of this bill taking
effect. The Chancellor's office would require numerous
additional staff who are already familiar with the type of work
required by this bill, in order to review courses and to
coordinate with each CCC curriculum committee to create common
course descriptors as specified. This bill may also require
coordination between the Chancellor's office and CSU, as well as
UC, if the courses in question count toward transfer
requirements.
To the extent that CCCs choose to complete the activities
encouraged by the bill, they will incur local costs. When the
Chancellor's office completes its course review and
classification process, the CCCs will be under pressure to
implement the provisions.
Proposed Author Amendments: Delay implementation to July 1,
2015.