BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 255
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 9, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Das Williams, Chair
AB 255 (Waldron) - As Amended: March 19, 2013
SUBJECT : Public postsecondary education: digital arts pilot
program.
SUMMARY : Establishes a Digital Arts Degree Pilot Program
(DADPP) at the California Community Colleges (CCC) and up to
eight campuses of the California State University (CSU), and
requests the University of California (UC) to establish at up to
two campuses a digital arts degree. Specifically, this bill :
1)Establishes the DADPP for purposes of offering an associate
degree and a baccalaureate degree in digital arts.
2)Requires any number of campuses of the CCC to establish a
DADPP.
3)Requires up to eight CSU campuses to establish a DADPP.
4)Requests the Regents of the UC to establish at up to two UC
campuses a DADPP.
5)Requires that on or before January 1, 2015, representatives
from the CCC Chancellor's Office and the CSU Office of the
Chancellor, collaborate with representatives of the digital
arts design industry and the video game industry in order to
develop a course of study leading to the award of an associate
degree or a baccalaureate degree in digital arts.
6)Requests the Regents of the UC to appoint representatives to
participate in the development of the course of study (as
listed above).
7)Requires the first pilot programs to be established at all
participating CSU and CCC campuses commencing at the start of
the 2015-2016 academic year.
8)Repeals these provisions as of January 1, 2020.
9)Requires CCC districts to be reimbursed for costs if the
Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains
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costs mandated by the state.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown but potentially significant.
COMMENTS : Need for the bill . According to the author, the
video game industry has been expanding rapidly; video games in
2011 drew in $74 billion in revenue and are projected to bring
in $115 billion a year by 2015. The author states that,
"Currently, California employs over 40% of employees in the
national video game industry, but despite being home to such a
large percentage of the video game industry, California only has
two schools on the Princeton Review's list of best schools for
video game design with only one public university on the list."
The author contends there is a disconnection between recent
California college graduates and video game employers searching
for new employees and it is causing businesses to employ
individuals from out of state because California is lacking the
programs and education to suit the industry's needs.
Creation of a new degree . Degree programs are offered as the
result of faculty recommendations and campus consultation. The
determination of degrees offered at the campuses of the three
public segments (UC, CSU and CCC), is an internal process.
Typically, the campuses engage in long-range (several years)
planning each year. Adding degree programs requires justifying
to their boards (Regents, Trustees, and Governors) that there
are: 1) sufficient student demand to maintain enrollment
required to sustain the program; 2) sufficient employer demand;
and 3) sufficient resources (including faculty, staff,
facilities, and equipment) to deliver a quality program.
Digital arts degree programs at the segments .
1)UC . The UC is comprised of 10 campuses; nine offer a
multitude of degree programs that appear to be relevant to
this measure. Additionally, according to the UC Office of the
President, all UC campuses (with the exception of the San
Francisco campus) and some UC extension programs offer digital
arts or digital design courses.
2)CSU . The CSU launched the Entertainment Industry Initiative
(EII) in December 2006 for all 23 of its campuses. According
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to the CSU Office of the Chancellor, the goal of the EII is to
establish more prolific innovation and training structures in
the system for students seeking careers in media industries;
over 12,500 students in the CSU are pursuing degrees in
entertainment arts programs. The EII is designed to prepare
CSU students to serve the artistic, business, social, and
cultural needs of entertainment industries; the EII strives to
achieve curricular and technological goals driven by evolving
industry standards. Additionally, the EII has four major
components:
a) Visiting fellows program where industry professionals
lead workshops and seminars offering students the
opportunity to learn firsthand from prominent leaders in
entertainment.
b) Equipment acquisition where the CSU leverages the buying
power of the campuses to equip students and faculty with
the most current hardware and software that the industry
requires.
c) Internship program where students can take advantage of
meaningful year-round internships that provide relevant and
practical training needed for entertainment industry
careers.
d) Advisory board where the CSU has partnered with highly
knowledgeable and talented entertainment leaders who
provide insight into industry trends and needs related to
career preparation.
With thousands of majors statewide, the CSU is the largest
audio, video, film, and interactive media educational
institution in the nation.
3)CCC . The CCC is comprised of 112 campuses; over half of the
CCC campuses offer courses that appear to be relevant to this
measure. Additionally, according to the CCC Chancellor's
Office, from 2007 - 2012 almost 3,500 associate degrees and
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certificates were awarded to students in the fields of
computer graphics and digital imagery and digital media. Some
campuses of the CCC offer specific associate degrees in
electronic game design; others instruct game design as part of
other digital arts related courses. Data is not available as
to how many aspiring digital arts majors are on a degree track
because the CCC does not require students to declare a major.
Definition of digital arts . It appears that the author's intent
for the measure is to have a focus on video game design within
digital arts; however it is not always obvious that a course
within a digital arts program could lead to a career in game
design, but it is possible. The term digital arts has different
meanings to different faculty of the three segments.
Potentially more courses and degrees related to digital arts
could presently exist at the UC, CSU and CCC as it pertains to
this measure, but without a definition of digital arts, it is
challenging to predict.
Fiscal considerations . The creation of a new degree program,
pilot or otherwise, can be very costly. Funding must be in
place for potentially more full-time and part-time faculty,
staff (administration and support), curriculum development,
facilities (animation labs, testing rooms, etc.), and equipment
(computers, software, game consoles and peripherals, etc.). An
estimated cost analysis for the needs of each participating
campus in the DADPP will potential vary from campus to campus,
but could cost upwards of $1.4 million per campus.
Report on pilot findings . Although the measure incorporates a
sunset, it does not include a reporting mechanism in order to
evaluate the merits of the DADPP.
The committee may want to amend the measure to include a report
to the Legislature on the merits of the DADPP.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
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None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960