BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 944
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 23, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Das Williams, Chair
AB 944 (Nestande) - As Introduced: February 22, 2013
SUBJECT : Distance learning.
SUMMARY : Requires the Trustees of the California State
University (CSU) and the Board of Governors of the California
Community Colleges (CCC) and requests the Regents of the
University of California (UC), to report to the Legislature, by
January 1, 2016, and every two years thereafter, on workload and
key performance data on distance learning courses.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Defines "distance learning course" for purposes of data
collection and reporting by the CCC, CSU, and UC, to mean a
course conducted with a majority of the instructional content
delivered when faculty and students are in different locations
and instruction is delivered through the use of technology.
2)Requires CSU and CCC, and requests the UC, by January 1, 2016,
and every two years thereafter, to report to the Legislature
on workload and key performance data on distance learning
including the number of students enrolled at each campus
categorized by the type of delivery method for the distance
learning course, completion rates for distance learning
courses, and program completion rates for degree programs that
include exclusively distance learning courses. Requires the
data to be made available by student demographics such as age,
gender, and ethnicity.
3)Repeals the provisions of this measure on January 1, 2020.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the California Distance Learning Policy, which
sets forth the guiding goal and principles for the utilization
of technology in California postsecondary education (Education
Code � 66940).
2)Establishes, until January 1, 2014, the California Virtual
Campus, under the stewardship of the CCC Board of Governors
and pursuant to annual Budget Act funding to, among other
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things enhance the awareness of, and access to, highly
engaging online courses of study, increase access to next
generation Internet services, 21st century workforce
development programs, and e-government services for students
and staff served or employed by education entities and
students served primarily online through partnerships with
public libraries and community-based organizations (EC �
78910.10).
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Background . According to the Legislative Analyst's
Office (LAO) 2013-2014 Analysis of the Higher Education Budget,
distance learning offers numerous benefits. These include
providing greater access to educational and training
opportunities due to increased scheduling flexibility, as well
as allowing campuses to serve more students without needing
additional physical infrastructure.
According to the, LAO there is no common definition of distance
learning among California's public postsecondary institutions,
making it impossible for the Legislature and segments to measure
workload and track enrollment trends.
Governor Brown has encouraged state colleges and universities to
expand their online offerings. The 2013-2014 budget allocates
$16.9 million to CCC and $10 million to both the CSU and UC
systems for online education. All 112 campuses of the CCCs
offer online education, and the California Virtual Campus
provides course information and class schedules for all CCCs.
CSU Online, an initiative focusing on helping students finish
course work to obtain degrees, was launched in January 2013.
The UC system launched UC Online last year, which offers courses
to non-UC and UC students for credit.
Purpose of this bill : According to the author, without a common
definition of distance learning among California's public
postsecondary institutions, it is basically impossible to
measure workload and track enrollment trends. This will become
increasingly problematic because alternative instruction methods
including an online component, such as massive open online
courses and flipped classrooms, are becoming more common.
Although research suggests that students who complete online
courses learn as much as those taking traditional face-to-face
courses, the author contends that students tend to drop online
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courses at higher rates than traditional courses. The author
states, "Given the 'no strings attached' funding for online
courses in the Governor's budget, it is important to verify that
these courses are accessible to all higher education students,
that students successfully complete such programs, and that new
and emerging online instruction methods facilitate learning."
This measure seeks to ensure distance learning programs provide
access to all students.
Other measures to address online education . There are several
online education related measures pending Legislative action
this session:
1)AB 386 (Levine), which will be taken up today in the committee
hearing, would require that by the beginning of the 2015-16
academic year, students enrolled at the CSU be provided an
opportunity to enroll in online courses available at other CSU
campuses, would authorize any CSU student enrolled at a CSU
campus to enroll in an online course provided by another CSU
campus, and would require the CSU Trustees, on or before
January 1, 2015, to establish an easily accessible online
database of online courses available at the CSU.
2)AB 387 (Levine), which will be taken up today in the committee
hearing, would require the CSU to have a uniform definition of
online education, beginning January 1, 2017; would require the
CSU Trustees to report performance data about online education
to the Legislature every two years until 2021; would require,
in the development of new programs and instruction at each CSU
campus, that not less than 10% of new course offerings be
online courses; and, would require the CSU Trustees, on or
before January 1, 2015, to report to the Legislature on the
feasibility of developing an accelerated bachelor's degree
completion program consisting of online courses, aimed at
students who started college, but never obtained a degree.
3)AB 895 (Rendon), which will be taken up today in the committee
hearing, would establish the California Postsecondary Online
Education Task Force to evaluate and collect data on the
current status of postsecondary online education.
4)SB 520 (Steinberg), which will be taken up on April 24, 2013,
in the Senate Education Committee, would, among other things,
create the California Online Student Access Platform under the
joint administration of the UC President, the Chancellor of
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the CSU, and the CCC Chancellor, with the academic senates of
the respective segments, and would require the platform to
provide an efficient statewide mechanism for online course
providers to offer transferable courses for credit and to
create a pool of these online courses.
5)SB 547 (Block), which will be taken up on April 24, 2013, in
the Senate Education Committee, would, among other things,
require the academic senates of the UC, the CSU, and the CCC
to jointly develop and identify online courses that would be
made available to students of each of the three segments for
enrollment by the fall of 2014.
Prior legislation . AB 626 (Blumenfield, 2011), which remained
in this committee, would have established a definition for
"distance learning." AB 851 (Nestande, 2011), which was similar
in nature to this bill, failed passage in the Senate
Appropriations Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Coachella Valley Economic Partnership
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960