BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 440|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 440
Author: Padilla (D)
Amended: 5/24/13
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 9-0, 5/1/13
AYES: Liu, Wyland, Block, Correa, Hancock, Hueso, Huff,
Jackson, Monning
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/23/13
AYES: De León, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
SUBJECT : Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill expands the provisions of the Student
Transfer Achievement Reform Act (STAR) to require that the
California Community Colleges (CCC) create associate transfer
degrees in every major, and in areas of emphasis within majors,
and to require that the California State University (CSU) accept
these degrees, and develop an admissions redirection process for
students who complete these degrees but are denied admission to
the CSU campus to which they have applied. This bill also
requires the CCC and the CSU to establish a student-centered
communication and marketing strategy to increase the visibility
of the associate degree for transfer pathway, as specified.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires a CCC district to develop and
grant a transfer associate degree that deems the student
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eligible for transfer into the CSU, when the student meets
specified course requirements.
Existing law also requires the CSU to guarantee admission with
junior status to any CCC student who meets these requirements,
but provides that the student is not guaranteed admission for
specific majors or campuses. However, the CSU is required to
grant a student priority admission to his/her local CSU campus
and to a program or major that is similar to his/her CCC major
or area of emphasis, as determined by the CSU campus to which
the student is admitted. Students that utilize the associate
transfer degree process are required to receive priority over
all other CCC transfer students, except for CCC students who
have entered into a transfer agreement between a CCC and the CSU
prior to the fall term of the 2012-13 academic year.
This bill:
1. Requires a CCC to:
A. Create an associate degree for transfer in every major
offered by that college that has no approved transfer
model curriculum (TMC) prior to the 2014-15 academic year.
B. Create an associate degree for transfer in areas of
emphasis for applied sciences, formal sciences,
humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, and other
areas prior to the commencement of the 2016-17 academic
year.
2. Requires a CSU campus to accept TMC-aligned associate degrees
for transfer in each of the CSU degree options within a major
field, and defines "degree option" as an area of
specialization within a degree program.
3. Requires the CSU to accept TMC-aligned associate degrees for
transfer in each of the areas of emphasis, as specified.
4. Requires the CSU to develop an admissions redirection process
for students admitted under the STAR program, but denied
acceptance at the campuses to which they have applied, and
requires that this process be aligned with the guarantee of
admission into the CSU system under STAR.
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5. Requires the CCC and the CSU, in consultation with specified
entities, to develop a student centered marketing strategy to
increase the visibility of the associate degree for transfer
pathway that includes outreach to high schools, and outreach
to students, as specified, in CCC course catalogs, and
information on campus websites and on the
CaliforniaColleges.edu Web site.
6. Makes a number of related declarations and findings,
including that, current efforts to implement STAR alone are
insufficient to ensure that the associate degree for transfer
becomes the preferred transfer pathway for all students
across the state.
Comments
In an effort to address long standing issues and concerns about
the need to ensure a clearer, transparent and more navigable
transfer process between the CCC and the CSU, the Legislature
and Governor enacted SB 1440 (Padilla, Chapter 428, Statutes of
2010). The legislation required CCC to create two-year 60 unit
associate degrees for transfers that are fully transferable to
CSU. These degrees require completion of (1) a minimum of 18
units in a major or area of emphasis, as determined by each CCC,
and (2) an approved set of general education requirements.
Students who earn such a degree are automatically eligible to
transfer to the CSU system as an upper-division student in a
bachelor's degree program. Though these students are not
guaranteed admission to a particular CSU campus or into a
particular degree program, SB 1440 gives them priority admission
to a CSU program that is "similar" to the student's CCC major or
area of emphasis, as determined by the CSU campus to which the
student is admitted. Once admitted, SB 1440 students need only
complete two additional years (an additional 60 units) of
coursework to earn a bachelor's degree.
SB 1440 also required that the Legislative Analyst's Office
(LAO) provide a status report to the Legislature by Spring 2012
on the segments' progress in implementing the bill's provisions.
In May 2012, the LAO issued "Reforming the State's Transfer
Process: A Progress Report on Senate Bill SB 1440." According
to the LAO, although the CCC and CSU made notable progress on
multiple fronts, both segments have much room for improvement.
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Further, an average of just four associate degrees for transfer
had been developed per CCC. In addition, a number of CCCs have
expressed reluctance to create more than a handful of such
degrees despite the CCC Chancellor's Office goal that, by 2014,
each CCC has a TMC aligned associate degree for transfer in
every major it offers. The LAO also reports that CSU campuses
and academic programs vary significantly in terms of accepting
the associate transfer degrees for their bachelor's degree
programs. Although the CSU Chancellor's Office had set a goal
for each CSU campus to offer at least one similar degree for
each TMC-aligned associate degree for transfer, only six CSU
campuses had achieved this goal.
Based on the progress to date in matching TMC to CSU majors, the
LAO opines that a significant number of CCC students with an
associate degree for transfer could be denied many of the
benefits of SB 1440.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Associate degree for transfer: one-time costs of $700,000 -
$1 million to develop associate degrees for transfer for
every major that has a TMC and, subsequently, for every major
and area of emphasis.
Communication efforts: Minor ongoing workload for CCC
campuses.
CSU redirection process: No new costs; the CSU has recently
developed a redirection process.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/1/13) (per Senate Education Committee
analysis) (Unable to reverify at the time of writing)
Alliance for College Ready Public Schools
Campaign for College Opportunity
California Communities United Institute
Hispanas Organized for Political Equality
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Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
Partnership Scholars Program
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, nearly
three years after the passage of legislation to establish STAR
(SB 1440, Padilla), there are still foundational elements that
are lacking in the access, flexibility, and communication of
this new degree and transfer pathway. Without robust
implementation of SB 1440 and a recommitment to the state's
transfer mission, students, and ultimately the State of
California, will suffer.
PQ:d 5/25/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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