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, 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 findings and declarations of the Legislature relating to timely progression from lower division coursework to degree completion. The bill would require community colleges to create an associate degree for transfer in every major offered by that college that has an approved transfer model curriculum before the commencement of the 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:
The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:
3(a) Since the enactment of the 1960 Master Plan for Higher
4Education, preparing students to transfer to a four-year university
5has been a core function of the California Community Colleges.
P3 1(b) Successful and timely progression from lower division
2coursework to degree completion is a basic principle of California
3higher education and is critical to the future of the state’s economy.
4(c) The Public Policy Institute of California projects that
5California’s workforce
will have one million fewer graduates than
6it needs in 2025, and that increasing transfer rates from community
7colleges to four-year postsecondary educational institutions could
8dramatically reduce the education skills gap.
9(d) Today, one in every four jobs requires an associate degree
10or higher. In the near future, one in every three jobs will require
11an associate degree or higher.
12(e) The size of the California Community Colleges and the
13California State University systems, which have the largest share
14of postsecondary students in the nation, allow the state to address
15the serious projected shortage of educated workers.
16(f) To meet workforce demands in a cost-effective way, it is
17critical that we significantly
increase the number of students
18obtaining an associate degree while preparing for transfer to a
19four-year college or university.
20(g) Although the community college and state university
21segments have undertaken tremendous efforts to institute the new
22transfer pathway, current implementation efforts of Sections 66746
23and 66747 of the Education Code alone are insufficient to ensure
24that the associate degree for transfer becomes the preferred transfer
25pathway for all students across the state.
Section 66746 of the Education Code is amended to
27read:
(a) Commencing with the fall term of the 2011-12
29academic year, a student who earns an associate degree for transfer
30granted pursuant to subdivision (b) shall be deemed eligible for
31transfer into a California State University baccalaureate program
32when the student meets both of the following requirements:
33(1) Completion of 60 semester units or 90 quarter units that are
34eligible for transfer to the California State University, including
35both of the following:
36(A) The Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum
37(IGETC) or the California State University General
38Education-Breadth Requirements.
P4 1(B) A minimum of 18 semester units or 27 quarter units in a
2major or area of emphasis, as determined by the community college
3district.
4(2) Obtainment of a minimum grade point average of 2.0.
5(b) (1) (A) As a condition of receipt of state apportionment
6funds, a community college district shall develop and grant
7associate degrees for transfer that meet the requirements of
8subdivision (a). A community college district shall not impose any
9requirements in addition to the requirements of this section,
10including any local college or district requirements, for a student
11to be eligible for the associate degree for transfer and subsequent
12admission to the California State University
pursuant to Section
1366747.
14(B) A community college shall, before the commencement of
15the 2014-15 academic year, create an associate degree for transfer
16in every major offered by that college that has an approved transfer
17model curriculum.
18(C) A community college shall, before the commencement of
19the 2016-17 academic year, create an associate degree for transfer
20in areas of emphasis for disciplines including, but not necessarily
21limited to, all of the following:
22(i) Applied sciences.
23(ii) Formal sciences.
24(iii) Humanities.
25(iv) Natural sciences.
26(v) Social sciences.
27(2) The condition of receipt of state apportionment funding
28contained in paragraph (1) shall become inoperative if, by
29December 31, 2010, each of the state’s 72 community college
30districts has submitted to the Chancellor of the California
31Community Colleges, for transmission to the Director of Finance,
32signed certification waiving, as a local agency request within the
33meaning of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 6 of Article
34XIII B of the California Constitution, any claim of reimbursement
35related to the implementation of this article.
36(c) A community college district is encouraged to consider the
37local articulation agreements and
other work between the respective
38faculties from the affected community college and California State
39University campuses in implementing the requirements of this
40section.
P5 1(d) Community colleges are encouraged to facilitate the
2acceptance of credits earned at other community colleges toward
3the associate degree for transfer pursuant to this section.
4(e) This section shall not preclude students who are assessed
5below collegiate level from acquiring remedial noncollegiate level
6coursework in preparation for obtaining the associate degree.
7Remedial noncollegiate level coursework shall not be counted as
8part of the transferable units required pursuant to paragraph (1) of
9subdivision (a).
Section 66747 of the Education Code is amended to
11read:
(a) (1) Notwithstanding Chapter 4 (commencing with
13Section 66201), the California State University shall guarantee
14admission with junior status to any community college student
15who meets all of the requirements of Section 66746. Admission
16to the California State University, as provided under this article,
17does not guarantee admission for specific majors or campuses.
18Notwithstanding Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 66201),
19the California State University shall grant a student priority
20admission to his or her local California State University campus
21 and to a program or major that is similar to his or her community
22college major or area of emphasis, as determined by the California
23State University campus to which the student
is admitted. A
24California State University campus shall accept transfer model
25curriculum-aligned associate degrees for transfer in each of the
26California State University degree options within a major field.
27The California State University shall accept transfer model
28curriculum-aligned associate degrees for transfer in each of the
29areas of emphasis listed in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) of
30subdivision (b) of Section 66746.
31(2) As used in this section, a “degree option” is an area of
32specialization within a degree program.
33(b) A student admitted under this article shall receive priority
34over all other community college transfer students, in accordance
35with subdivision (b) of Section 66202, excluding community
36college students who have entered into a transfer agreement
37between
a community college and the California State University
38prior to the fall term of the 2012-13 academic year. A student
39admitted pursuant to this article shall have met the requirements
P6 1of an approved transfer agreement consistent with subdivision (a)
2of Section 66202.
3(c) The California State University shall develop an admissions
4redirection process for students admitted under this article who
5apply for admission to the California State University, but are not
6accepted into the California State University campuses specifically
7applied to. This process shall be aligned with the guaranteed
8admission into the California State University system under
9subdivision (a).
Section 66748.5 is added to the Education Code, to
11read:
The California Community Colleges and the
13California State University, in consultation with students, faculty,
14student service administrators, the State Department of Education,
15the California Education Round Table, and other key stakeholders,
16shall develop a student-centered communication and marketing
17strategy in order to increase the visibility of the associate degree
18for transfer pathway for all students in California that includes,
19but is not necessarily limited to, all of the following:
20(a) Outreach to high schools.
21(b) Posters, banners, and marquees displayed at all community
22colleges and transfer centers.
23(c) Radio advertisements.
24(d) Outreach materials to students considering attending the
25California State University as first-year students.
26(b) Information on the pathway prominently displayed in all
27community college counseling offices and transfer centers.
28(c) Associate degree for transfer pathway information provided
29to all first-year community college students developing an
30education plan to aid them in making informed educational choices.
31(d) Targeted outreach to
first-year students through campus
32orientations and existing student support services programs
33(federal TRIO programs), including, but not necessarily limited
34to, First-Generation Experience, Mesa, and Puente.
35(e) Information prominently displayed in community college
36course catalogs.
37(f) Information prominently displayed on the Internet Web sites
38of each community college, each campus of the California State
39University, and on the CaliforniaColleges.edu Internet Web site.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
2this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
3local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
4pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
54 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
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