BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 388
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 23, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Das Williams, Chair
AB 388 (Chesbro) - As Amended: March 19, 2013
SUBJECT : Community colleges: Seymour-Campbell Student Success
Act of 2012.
SUMMARY : Defines "career advancement" for purposes of the
Seymour-Campbell Student Success Act of 2012 as including, but
not limited to, professional development, development of job
skills, development of language skills, and job services for
individuals with developmental disabilities.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Student Success Task Force (SSTF) . Numerous recent
studies have noted that a significant percentage of students who
are able to enroll in CCC courses do not complete in a timely
fashion. These poor student success rates led to the enactment
of SB 1143 of 2010, requiring the CCC Board of Governors (BOG)
to convene a task force of stakeholders to make recommendations
to the Legislature to improve CCC student success. The SSTF was
comprised of 20 individuals (CCC chief executive officers,
faculty, students, researchers, staff and external stake
holders) who spent a year researching, studying and debating the
best methods to improve student outcomes at the CCC. This
effort resulted in 22 specific recommendations, adopted
unanimously by the CCC BOG in January 2012, and the report was
presented to the Legislature at a joint informational hearing of
the Assembly Higher Education Committee and the Senate Education
Committee in February 2012.
Central to these recommendations was the need to improve how
CCCs assists students, early in their academic careers, to
identify an educational goal and develop an education plan to
achieve that goal. The recommendations touch on nearly every
aspect of how the colleges operate, but most of them trace back
to this core element. These recommendations have been
implemented through regulatory changes, system-wide
administrative policies, local best practices, and legislation.
Two key elements are priority registration and the Student
Success and Support Program.
AB 388
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Student who identify an educational goal and develop an
education plan receive support through the Student Success and
Support Program (SB 1456, Lowenthal, Chapter 624, Statutes of
2012), which provides improved support to students through
counseling, advisement, orientation, assessment, and education
planning. SB 1456 focused these student support services on
entering students' transition into college to provide a
foundation for students' completion of their educational goals
with a priority toward serving students who enroll to earn
degrees, career technical certificate, transfer preparation, or
career advancement. Students who develop an educational plan
also receive priority enrollment for classes. The education
plan required for new students can be a short-term plan if the
student is not clear about his or her educational goal and/or
course of study, or if the student has a short-term goal.
Need for this bill . According to the author, "The enactment of
this bill would define what services are allowed under the
definition of a "career advancement" educational plan in order
to allow students with a specific intent allowed under the
definition of enrolling in a California Community College."
Definition is broad and unclear . It is unclear on what this
definition is based. Its breadth and lack of clarity appears to
dilute the intent and effectiveness of the SSTF by limiting CCCs
ability to incentivize student behaviors that lead to
completion.
Is this premature ? SB 1456 has been in effect for less than
four months, and the Committee has not been provided with
evidence of a problem. Should the Student Success and Support
Program be implemented and its effectiveness evaluated before
altering its provisions?
Prior legislation . SB 1456 (Lowenthal), Chapter 624, Statutes
of 2012, implemented the SSTF recommendations revising student
support services and BOG fee waiver eligibility. AB 1741 (Fong)
of 2012, which died in the Senate Education Committee, would
have required the BOG to develop a plan to support the goals of
SB 1456 and the following priorities: increasing the ratio of
counselors to students; increasing funding for categorical
programs that provide student support services; increasing the
percentage of hours of credit instruction that are taught by
full-time instructors consistent with existing law that sets a
goal of 75:25 full-time to part-time faculty; and expanding
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part-time faculty office hours consistent with student needs.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Sandra Fried / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960