Amended in Assembly April 2, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 955


Introduced by Assembly Member Williams

February 22, 2013


An act to add Article 2.3 (commencing with Section 78230) to Chapter 2 of Part 48 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code, relating to community colleges.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 955, as amended, Williams. Community colleges: intersession extension programs.

Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Under existing law, community college districts are established throughout the state and authorized to maintain campuses and provide instruction to students.

This bill would authorize the governing board ofbegin delete anyend deletebegin insert aend insert community college districtbegin insert, meeting specified requirements,end insert tobegin insert establish andend insert maintainbegin insert, without the approval of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges,end insert an extension programbegin delete offering credit coursesend deletebegin insert meeting specified characteristicsend insert during summer and winter intersessions. The bill wouldbegin delete provide that an extension program established under the bill may include any courses that are part of a course of study leading to a certificate, degree, or transfer to an institution that awards baccalaureate degreesend deletebegin insert prohibit the governing board of a community college district to expend moneys from the General Fund to establish and maintain the extension program. The bill would require a community college district maintaining the extension program to make every effort to encourage broad participation in the program and support access for students eligible for Board of Governors fee waivers. The bill would require a community college district that establishes and maintains the extension program to collect and keep specified records related to the program and to submit, by October 1 of each year, to the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges information contained in those records. The bill would require the chancellor, by November 1 of each year, to submit to the Legislative Analyst’s Office the information submitted by the community college districts. The bill would require the Legislative Analyst, by January 1, 2017, to submit to the Legislature a written report that includes a summary of the information provided, an assessment of the operation of the extension programs, and suggestions for improvementsend insert.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: begin deleteno end deletebegin insertyesend insert. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1begin insert

begin insertSECTION 1.end insert  

end insert

begin insertThe Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:end insert

begin insert

3(a) California’s economy increasingly demands highly educated
4workers, yet the supply of college graduates will not keep up with
5demand. In 2010, President Obama recognized this crisis by calling
6on the nation’s community colleges to produce an additional five
7million graduates by 2020.

end insert
begin insert

8(b) The Public Policy Institute of California has warned that
9by 2025, California will need an additional one million workers
10with a baccalaureate degree to meet the state’s workforce needs.

end insert
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11(c) The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that
12occupations that require an associated degree will grow by 19
13percent through 2018, and persons with two-year degrees are 30
14percent more likely to be employed and earn higher wages than
15those with only high school diplomas.

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16(d) The California Community Colleges are uniquely positioned
17to provide a higher education for millions of Californians and are
18critical to the state’s ability to meet its workforce needs.

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19(e) The California Community Colleges are experiencing record
20demand for access to classes and programs that provide students
P3    1with the skills and education they need to enter the workforce and
2prepare for the jobs of the future. However, funding for the
3California Community Colleges has been cut by more than $800
4million since 2008, affecting student access and completion.

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5(f) According to the Public Policy Institute of California, these
6budget cuts have resulted in almost 100,000 fewer course offerings,
7the loss of access for 600,000 students, course waiting lists for
8500,000 students, and the reduction of summer intersession course
9offerings, which may slow the completion rates for some students,
10as well as reduce the earnings for some faculty and staff.

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11(g) The lack of community college course offerings has led many
12students to enroll in for-profit institutions, which are more
13expensive than community colleges.

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14(h) The lack of courses during summer intersessions has had a
15serious impact on veterans who must be enrolled in courses to
16access housing benefits to which they are entitled through the
17Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008 (Public
18Law 110-252), otherwise known as Post-9/11 GI Bill.

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19(i) Reduced access to summer intersessions also affects students
20who wish to make progress toward their goals during the summer,
21particularly those students who need only a course or two to
22complete their goals but have been crowded out of those courses
23during the regular academic session.

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24(j) Extension of programs in summer and winter intersessions
25will give students an opportunity to take the courses they are not
26able to enroll in during the state-supported regular session to
27accelerate the completion of their goals, whether transfer, degree,
28or certificate.

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29(k) By providing additional opportunities for students to
30complete high-demand courses, spaces should be freed up in the
31state-supported courses offered during the regular session,
32increasing all students’ ability to complete their education in a
33timely manner.

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34(l) Participating community college districts should make every
35effort to ensure the ability of low-income students to enroll in
36extension courses by facilitating their participation in financial
37aid programs and accessing the American Opportunity Tax Credit,
38which refunds up to $2,500 in educational costs for eligible
39students.

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P4    1(m) Extension programs should be subject to community college
2district collective bargaining agreements, as well as all state laws
3and regulations governing courses offered for credit.

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4(n) To meet the needs of Californians and California’s economy,
5we should recognize that the California Community Colleges are
6uniquely able to offer high-quality programs at the lowest cost
7possible to all Californians, and that the California Community
8Colleges should be given the flexibility to meet California’s
9educational needs in the face of significant budget reductions.

end insert
10

begin deleteSECTION 1.end delete
11begin insertSEC. 2.end insert  

Article 2.3 (commencing with Section 78230) is added
12 to Chapter 2 of Part 48 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education
13Code
, to read:

14 

15Article 2.3.  Intersession Extension Programs
16

 

17

78230.  

begin insert(a)end insertbegin insertend insert The governing board ofbegin delete anyend deletebegin insert aend insert community college
18district maybegin insert, without the approval of the Board of Governors of
19the California Community Colleges, establish andend insert
maintain an
20extension program offering credit courses during summer and
21winter intersessions.begin delete An extension program established under this
22article may include any courses that are part of a course of study
23leading to a certificate, degree, or transfer to an institution that
24awards baccalaureate degrees.end delete

begin insert

25(b) An extension program established pursuant to this section
26shall have all of following characteristics:

end insert
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27(1) The program shall be self-supporting and all costs associated
28with the program shall be recovered.

end insert
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29(2) Program enrollment shall be open to the public.

end insert
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30(3) The program shall be developed in conformance with this
31code and Division 6 (commencing with Section 50001) of Title 5
32of the California Code of Regulations related to community college
33credit courses.

end insert
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34(4) The program shall be subject to community college district
35collective bargaining agreements.

end insert
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36(5) The program shall apply to all courses leading to
37certificates, degrees, or transfer preparation.

end insert
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38(c) A community college district offering extension courses
39under a program established and maintained under this section
40shall have served a number of students equal to, or beyond, its
P5    1funding limit for the two immediately prior academic years, as
2provided in the annual Budget Act and as reported by the Office
3of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges.

end insert
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4(d) The governing board of a community college district shall
5not expend General Fund moneys to establish and maintain the
6extension program.

end insert
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7(e) An extension credit course shall not supplant any course
8funded with state apportionments. A community college district
9shall not reduce a state-funded course section needed by students
10to achieve basic skills, workforce training, or transfer goals, with
11the intent of reestablishing those course sections as part of the
12extension program. The governing board of a community college
13district shall annually certify compliance with this subdivision by
14board action taken at a regular session of the board.

end insert
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15(f) A degree credit course offered as an extension course shall
16meet all of the requirements of subdivision (a) of Section 55002
17of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, as it exists on
18January 1, 2013.

end insert
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19(g) The governing board of a community college district may
20charge students enrolled in an extension course a fee that covers
21the actual cost of the course and that is based upon the district’s
22nonresident fee rate for the year the course is offered. For purposes
23of this subdivision, “actual cost” includes the actual cost of
24instruction, necessary equipment and supplies, student services
25and institutional support, and other costs of the community college
26district used in calculating the costs of education for nonresident
27students.

end insert
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28(h) A community college district maintaining an extension
29program under this section shall make every effort to encourage
30broad participation in the program and support access for students
31eligible for Board of Governors fee waivers, including, but not
32limited to, providing students with information about financial aid
33programs, the American Opportunity Tax Credit, military benefits,
34scholarships, and other financial assistance that may be available
35to students, as well as working with campus foundations to provide
36financial assistance for students attending extension programs.

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37(i) (1) A community college district maintaining an extension
38program offering credit courses under this section shall collect
39and keep records that measure student participation, student
40demographics, and student outcomes in a manner consistent with
P6    1measures collected by community college districts in regular credit
2programs supported through state apportionments, including an
3analysis of program effects, if any, on district workload and district
4financial status. A community college district shall submit this
5information to the Office of the Chancellor of the California
6Community Colleges by October 1 of each year. For community
7college districts operating more than one college, the evaluation
8shall be for each participating college.

end insert
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9(2) The chancellor shall submit all of the information provided
10by community college districts pursuant to paragraph (1) to the
11Legislative Analyst’s Office by November 1 of each year.

end insert
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12(3) No later than January 1, 2017, the Legislative Analyst shall
13submit to the Legislature a written report that includes a summary
14of the information provided pursuant to this paragraph, an
15assessment of the extent to which community college extension
16programs are operated in a manner consistent with legislative
17intent, and suggestions to the Legislature for needed statutory
18 improvements.

end insert
begin insert

19(j) Courses offered by the extension program established and
20maintained under this section may only be offered during summer
21and winter intersessions.

end insert


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