BILL NUMBER: SB 440	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 25, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Padilla

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2013

   An act to amend Sections 66746 and 66747 of  , and to add
Section 66748.5 to,  the Education Code, relating to public
postsecondary education.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 440, as amended, Padilla. Public postsecondary education:
Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act.
   (1) Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges and
the California State University as 2 of the segments of public
postsecondary education in this state. Existing law, the Student
Transfer Achievement Reform Act  (act)  , encourages
community colleges to facilitate the acceptance of credits earned at
other community colleges toward the associate degree for transfer.
The act also requires the California State University to guarantee
admission with junior status to a community college student who meets
the requirements for the associate degree for transfer. A student
admitted to the California State University pursuant to the act is
entitled to receive priority over all other community college
transfer students, excluding community college students who have
entered into a transfer agreement between a community college and the
California State University prior to the fall term of the 2012-13
academic year.
   This bill would express  the finding and declaration of
the Legislature that intersegmental faculty of the California
Community Colleges and the California State University have developed
transfer model curricula in many of the most commonly transferred
majors between the 2 segments. The bill would express the intent of
the Legislature to endorse and encourage the use of transfer model
curricula as the preferred basis for associate degrees for transfer
and the development of community college areas of emphasis that
articulate with the 25 most popular majors for transfer students
  findings and declarations of the Legislature relating
to   timely   progression from lower division
coursework to degree completion  . The bill would require
community  college districts   colleges  to
create an associate degree for transfer in every major offered by
that  district   college  that has an
approved transfer model curriculum before the commencement of the
 2014-15   2014-   15  academic
year,  and to create an associate degree for transfer in
specified areas of emphasis before the commencement of the 2016-17
academic year,  thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.

   The bill would require California State University campuses to
accept transfer model curriculum-aligned associate degrees for
transfer in each of the California State University degree options,
as defined, within a major field  , and accept transfer model
curriculum-aligned associate degrees for transfer in each of the
specified areas of emphasis referenced above. The bill would require
the California State University to develop an admissions redirection
process for students admitted pursuant to the Student Transfer
Achievement Reform Act who apply for admission to the California
State   University, but are not accepted into the campuses
specifically applied to  . 
   The bill would require the California Community Colleges and the
California State University, in consultation with specified parties,
to develop a student-centered communication and marketing strategy in
order to increase the visibility of the associate degree for
transfer pathway for all students in California. To the extent that
this provision would create new duties for community college
districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program. 
   (2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
   
  SECTION 1.    (a) The Legislature finds and
declares that intersegmental faculty of the California Community
Colleges and the California State University have developed transfer
model curricula in many of the most commonly transferred majors to
facilitate the transfer of students from community colleges to the
California State University.
   (b) It is the intent of the Legislature to do both of the
following:
   (1) Endorse and encourage both of the following:
   (A) The use of transfer model curricula as the preferred basis for
associate degrees for transfer.
   (B) The development of community college areas of emphasis that
articulate with the 25 most popular major courses of study for
students transferring from a community college to a campus of the
California State University.
   (2) Establish appropriate steps to be taken by campuses of the
California Community Colleges or the California State University that
fail to meet, in a timely manner, the requirements of Sections 66746
and 66747 of the Education Code, as those sections are amended in
this act. 
   SECTIO   N 1.    The Legislature finds and
declares all of the following:  
   (a) Since the enactment of the 1960 Master Plan for Higher
Education, preparing students to transfer to a four-year university
has been a core function of the California Community Colleges. 

   (b) Successful and timely progression from lower division
coursework to degree completion is a basic principle of California
higher education and is critical to the future of the state's
economy.  
   (c) The Public Policy Institute of California projects that
California's workforce will have one million fewer graduates than it
needs in 2025, and that increasing transfer rates from community
colleges to four-year postsecondary educational institutions could
dramatically reduce the education skills gap.  
   (d) Today, one in every four jobs requires an associate degree or
higher. In the near future, one in every three jobs will require an
associate degree or higher.  
   (e) The size of the California Community Colleges and the
California State University systems, which have the largest share of
postsecondary students in the nation, allow the state to address the
serious projected shortage of educated workers.  
   (f) To meet workforce demands in a cost-effective way, it is
critical that we significantly increase the number of students
obtaining an associate degree while preparing for transfer to a
four-year college or university.  
   (g) Although the community college and state university segments
have undertaken tremendous efforts to institute the new transfer
pathway, current implementation efforts of Sections 66746 and 66747
of the Education Code alone are insufficient to ensure that the
associate degree for transfer becomes the preferred transfer pathway
for all students across the state. 
  SEC. 2.  Section 66746 of the Education Code is amended to read:
   66746.  (a) Commencing with the fall term of the 2011-12 academic
year, a student who earns an associate degree for transfer granted
pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be deemed eligible for transfer
into a California State University baccalaureate program when the
student meets both of the following requirements:
   (1) Completion of 60 semester units or 90 quarter units that are
eligible for transfer to the California State University, including
both of the following:
   (A) The Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum
(IGETC) or the California State University General Education-Breadth
Requirements.
   (B) A minimum of 18 semester units or 27 quarter units in a major
or area of emphasis, as determined by the community college district.

   (2) Obtainment of a minimum grade point average of 2.0.
   (b) (1)  (A)    As a condition of receipt of
state apportionment funds, a community college district shall develop
and grant associate degrees for transfer that meet the requirements
of subdivision (a). A community college district shall not impose any
requirements in addition to the requirements of this section,
including any local college or district requirements, for a student
to be eligible for the associate degree for transfer and subsequent
admission to the California State University pursuant to Section
66747.  A 
    (   B)     A  community
college  district shall,before   shall, before
 the commencement of the 2014-15 academic year, create an
associate degree for transfer in every major offered by that 
district   college  that has an approved transfer
model curriculum. 
   (C) A community college shall, before the commencement of the
2016-17 academic year, create an associate degree for transfer in
areas of emphasis for disciplines including, but not necessarily
limited to, all of the following:  
   (i) Applied sciences.  
   (ii) Formal sciences.  
   (iii) Humanities.  
   (iv) Natural sciences.  
   (v) Social sciences. 
   (2) The condition of receipt of state apportionment funding
contained in paragraph (1) shall become inoperative if, by December
31, 2010, each of the state's 72 community college districts has
submitted to the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, for
transmission to the Director of Finance, signed certification
waiving, as a local agency request within the meaning of paragraph
(1) of subdivision (a) of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution, any claim of reimbursement related to the
implementation of this article.
   (c) A community college district is encouraged to consider the
local articulation agreements and other work between the respective
faculties from the affected community college and California State
University campuses in implementing the requirements of this section.

   (d) Community colleges are encouraged to facilitate the acceptance
of credits earned at other community colleges toward the associate
degree for transfer pursuant to this section.
   (e) This section shall not preclude students who are assessed
below collegiate level from acquiring remedial noncollegiate level
coursework in preparation for obtaining the associate degree.
Remedial noncollegiate level coursework shall not be counted as part
of the transferable units required pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a).
  SEC. 3.  Section 66747 of the Education Code is amended to read:
   66747.  (a)  (1)    Notwithstanding Chapter 4
(commencing with Section 66201), the California State University
shall guarantee admission with junior status to any community college
student who meets all of the requirements of Section 66746.
Admission to the California State University, as provided under this
article, does not guarantee admission for specific majors or
campuses. Notwithstanding Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 66201),
the California State University shall grant a student priority
admission to his or her local California State University campus and
to a program or major that is similar to his or her community college
major or area of emphasis, as determined by the California State
University campus to which the student is admitted. A California
State University campus shall accept transfer model
curriculum-aligned associate degrees for transfer in each of the
California State University degree options within a major field.
 As   The California State University shall
accept transfer model curriculum-aligned associate degrees for
transfer in each of the areas of emphasis listed in subparagraph (C)
of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 66746. 
    (2)     As  used in this section, a
"degree option" is an area of specialization within a degree program.

   (b) A student admitted under this article shall receive priority
over all other community college transfer students, in accordance
with subdivision (b) of Section 66202, excluding community college
students who have entered into a transfer agreement between a
community college and the California State University prior to the
fall term of the 2012-13 academic year. A student admitted pursuant
to this article shall have met the requirements of an approved
transfer agreement consistent with subdivision (a) of Section 66202.

   (c) The California State University shall develop an admissions
redirection process for students admitted under this article who
apply for admission to the California State University, but are not
accepted into the California State University campuses specifically
applied to. This process shall be aligned with the guaranteed
admission into the California State University system under
subdivision (a). 
   SEC. 4.    Section 66748.5 is added to the  
Education Code   , to read:  
   66748.5.  The California Community Colleges and the California
State University, in consultation with students, faculty, student
service administrators, the State Department of Education, the
California Education Round Table, and other key stakeholders, shall
develop a student-centered communication and marketing strategy in
order to increase the visibility of the associate degree for transfer
pathway for all students in California that includes, but is not
necessarily limited to, all of the following:
   (a) Outreach to high schools.
   (b) Posters, banners, and marquees displayed at all community
colleges and transfer centers.
   (c) Radio advertisements.
   (d) Outreach materials to students considering attending the
California State University as first-year students.
   (e) Information prominently displayed in community college course
catalogs.
   (f) Information prominently displayed on the Internet Web sites of
each community college, each campus of the California State
University, and on the CaliforniaColleges.edu Internet Web site.

   SEC. 4.   SEC. 5.   If the Commission on
State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by
the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for
those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section
17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.