Amended in Assembly September 3, 2013

Amended in Assembly August 5, 2013

Amended in Senate May 24, 2013

Amended in Senate April 25, 2013

Senate Bill No. 440

Introduced by Senator Padilla

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(Coauthor: Assembly Member Williams)

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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, 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, and provides that admission to the California State University under these provisions does not guarantee admission for specific majors or campuses. 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 and area of emphasis offered by that college for any approved transfer model curriculum, as prescribed, 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 every major and concentration offered by that California State University, as specified. This bill would provide that the guarantee of admission for those community college students described above includes admission to a program or major and concentration that is either similar to the student’s community college transfer model curriculum-aligned associate degree for transfer or may be completed with 60 semester units of study beyond that degree for transfer, the determinations to be made by the campus to which the student is admitted. 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.  

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 and meeting the requirements of an approved transfer model
curriculum.

(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.

(B)  Before the commencement of the 2015-16 academic year,
a community college shall create an associate degree for transfer
in the major and area of emphasis offered by that college for any
approved transfer model curriculum finalized prior to the
commencement of the 2013-14 academic year.

(C) A community college shall create an associate degree for
transfer in every major and area of emphasis offered by that college
for any approved transfer model curriculum approved subsequent
to the begin insert commencement of the end insert 2013-14 academic year within 18
months of the approval of the transfer model curriculum.

(D) Before the commencement of the 2015-16 academic year,
there shall be the development of at least two transfer model
curriculum in areas of emphasis and, before the commencement
of the 2016-17 academic year, there shall be the development of
at least two additional transfer model curriculum in areas of
emphasis.

(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 enrollment in nontransferable
student success courses or 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 and nontransferable
student success courses 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, with admission
to a program or major and concentration, as applicable, that meets
either of the following:

(A) Is similar to the student’s community college transfer model
curriculum-aligned associate degree for transfer, as determined by
the California State University campus to which the student is
admitted.

(B) May be completed with 60 semester units of study beyond
the community college transfer model curriculum-aligned associate
degree for transfer, with completion ability determined by the
California State University campus to which the student is
admitted.

(2) Admission to the California State University, as provided
under this article, does not guarantee admission for a specific major
or campus.

(3) 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 and concentration that is similar to the
student’s community college transfer model curriculum-aligned
associate degree for transfer, as determined by the California State
University campus to which the student is admitted.

(4) A California State University campus shall accept transfer
model curriculum-aligned associate degrees for transfer in every
major and concentration offered by that California State University
campus that meets the requirements of paragraph (1). A California
State University campus shall additionally make every effort to
accept transfer model curriculum-aligned associate degrees for
transfer in each of the California State University concentrations.

(5) As used in this section, a “concentration” is an area of
specialization within a major 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 begin insert in accordance with existing high
school outreach programs and activities performed by the colleges
and universities end insert .

(b) Information on the pathway prominently displayed in all
community college counseling offices and transfer centers.

(c) Associate degree for transfer pathway information provided
to all first-year community college students developing an
education plan to aid them in making informed educational choices.

(d) Targeted outreach to first-year students through campus
orientations and student support services programs offered by the
campus that may include, but are not necessarily limited to, Federal
TRIO Programs, First-Generation Experience, MESA, and Puente.

(e) Information begin insert on the pathway end insert prominently displayed in
community college course catalogs.

(f) Information begin insert on the pathway end insert 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. 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.