BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 850 Page 1 SENATE THIRD READING SB 850 (Block) As Amended August 18, 2014 Majority vote SENATE VOTE :34-0 HIGHER EDUCATION 12-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Williams, Chávez, Bloom, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow, | | |Fong, Fox, Levine, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian | | |Linder, Medina, Olsen, | |Calderon, Campos, | | |Quirk-Silva, Weber, Wilk | |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, | | | | |Holden, Jones, Linder, | | | | |Pan, Quirk, | | | | |Ridley-Thomas, Wagner, | | | | |Weber | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY : Authorizes the California Community Colleges (CCC) Board of Governors (BOG), in consultation with the California State University (CSU) and the University of California (UC), to establish a statewide baccalaureate degree pilot program at not more than 15 community college districts, as specified. Specifically, this bill : 1)Authorizes the BOG, commencing on January 1, 2015, in consultation with the CSU and the UC, to establish a statewide baccalaureate degree pilot program at not more than 15 CCC districts with one baccalaureate degree program each, to be determined by the CCC Chancellor and approved by the BOG; specifies that the pilot shall commence no later than the 2017-18 Academic Year (AY) and participating students shall complete their degrees by the end of the 2022-23 AY; and, sunsets the pilot program on January 1, 2024. 2)Specifies that a CCC district shall seek approval to offer a baccalaureate degree program through the appropriate accreditation body; and when seeking approval from the BOG, a district must maintain the mission of the CCC and, as part of the pilot program have the additional mission to provide high-quality undergraduate education at an affordable price for students and the state. SB 850 Page 2 3)Requires districts, as a condition for eligibility to participate in the pilot program, to have a written policy requiring all students seeking a BOG fee waiver to instead submit either a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or a California Dream Act application. 4)Stipulates that a district may offer only one baccalaureate degree program at one campus within the district and requires districts to identify and document unmet workforce needs and to not offer a program already offered by CSU or UC. 5)Requires a district seeking to participate in the pilot program to submit specified information for review by the CCC Chancellor and approval by the BOG. 6)Requires the BOG, by March 31, 2015, to adopt regulations establishing a funding model, for each full-time equivalent student in the program, which is not to exceed the CCC's marginal cost for credit instruction, as established in current law. 7)Stipulates that student fees for lower division coursework shall not exceed CCC student fee amounts and that fees for upper division coursework shall equal the CCC fee plus $84 per unit. 8)Requires the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) to conduct interim and final evaluations of the pilot program, as specified, and report to the Legislature and the Governor. The interim evaluation is due July 1, 2018, and the final evaluation is due by July 1, 2022. EXISTING LAW differentiates the missions and functions of public and independent institutions of higher education. Under these provisions: 1)The UC is authorized to provide undergraduate and graduate instruction and has exclusive jurisdiction in public higher education over graduate instruction in the professions of law, medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine. The UC is also the primary state-supported academic agency for research; 2)The primary mission of the CSU is required to offer SB 850 Page 3 undergraduate and graduate instruction through the master's degree. The CSU is authorized to establish two-year programs only when mutually agreed upon by the Trustees and the CCC BOG. The CSU is also authorized to jointly award the doctoral degree with the UC and with one or more independent institutions of higher education; 3)The independent institutions of higher education are required to provide undergraduate and graduate instruction and research in accordance with their respective missions; and, 4)The mission and function of the CCC is the offering of academic and vocational instruction at the lower division level and the CCC are authorized to grant the associate in arts and the associate in science degree. The community colleges are also required to offer remedial instruction, English as a Second Language instruction, and adult noncredit instruction, and support services which help students succeed at the postsecondary level (Education Code (EC) Section 66010.4). FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, the following cost factors are associated with this measure: 1)Ongoing General Fund costs to the Chancellor's Office in the range of $350,000 for three to four staff to establish and monitor district programs, including developing guidelines and reviewing, approving, and monitoring participating districts' baccalaureate degree programs; 2)Significant one-time and ongoing costs to participating districts for establishing and operating the programs, including any needed capital improvements and equipment purchases. Since participation by districts is voluntary, these costs are not reimbursable and will be offset by state apportionments and student fee revenues. To the extent that students who participate in the program would otherwise have attended a CSU campus, the state cost for the student's enrollment would likely be similar; and, 3)Minor absorbable costs to the LAO to conduct a statewide program evaluation. SB 850 Page 4 COMMENTS : Need for the bill. According to the author, the state faces an urgent need to increase the number of Californian's with four-year degrees by 2025, necessitating an additional 60,000 baccalaureate degrees per year. The author contends that this bill seeks to find new methods for addressing this skills gap by authorizing the offering of baccalaureate degrees at California's community colleges. According to the author, this bill is patterned after the applied baccalaureate degree model offered in community colleges of more than twenty other states. Baccalaureate Degree Study. In 2013, the CCC Chancellor appointed a study group to review the various aspects of bachelor degrees at community colleges. The Report from California Community Colleges Baccalaureate Degree Study Group, acknowledges questions and reservations that community college bachelor's degrees represent a further erosion of the Master Plan, the potential for duplication of programs, and concerns that broadening the CCC mission would diminish attention to transfer, basic skills, and career technical education, especially as the system moves towards restoring access levels compromised by recent economic conditions. The study group recommended that the CCC Chancellor's Office (CCCCO) and the BOG conduct necessary research and policy analysis related to offering CCC baccalaureates including; a cost study, CCCCO workload projections for related reviewing, approving and reporting, and a definition of the types of baccalaureates appropriate for the CCC. The group also recommended that further work proceed with ongoing dialog with the CSU and UC, and that further study should consider the potential impact on the current mission of the CCC as well as on existing programs at local campuses. Master Plan. Notwithstanding the differentiation of the mission envisioned by the Master Plan and outlined in statute, the Legislature has authorized the CSU to go beyond its original mission to offer three doctoral degrees. These include: 1)Authority to offer the Ed.D, an applied doctorate in education. (EC Section 66040 to Section 66040.7). Thirteen CSU campuses offer an Ed.D. under this authority. 2)Authority to offer the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree. This degree was to focus on preparation of physical SB 850 Page 5 therapists to provide health care services and required to be consistent with meeting professional accreditation requirements (EC Section 66042 to Section 66042.3). 3)Authorization, until July 1, 2018, to offer a Doctor or Nursing Practice (DNP) through a pilot program at three CSU campuses. This degree was to focus on the preparation of clinical faculty, and was prohibited from replacing or supplanting CSU master's degree nursing programs. Enrollment was capped at 90 full-time equivalent student (FTES) for all three campuses and enrollment of new students is prohibited on or after July 1, 2018. In fall 2012, the CSU launched two programs, a joint program with CSU Fresno and CSU San Jose, and a CSU Fullerton-Long Beach-Los Angeles joint program. These programs were all subject to California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) review, evaluation and recommendation. Fees were capped at the rate charged at the UC, no additional funding was provided by the state, and these programs were to be implemented without diminishing or reducing enrollment in undergraduate programs. Statewide evaluations of the new programs were to be jointly conducted by the CSU, the LAO and the Department of Finance. Types of 4-year degrees envisioned? This measure prohibits a participating community college district to offer a baccalaureate degree that is offered by a CSU or a UC; with that in mind, the bill only allows for the awarding of what translates to very specific four-year degrees that are career technical in nature. According to several community college districts interested in participating in the pilot, the following is a brief list (not exhaustive) of the types of four-year degrees that would be offered in the pilot: a) dental hygiene; b) industrial technology; c) allied health technology; d) emergency medical technician; and e) data management for health care. Prior legislation. AB 661 (Block) of 2011, which was moved to the inactive file by the author on the Assembly Floor, authorized the Grossmont-Cuyamaca and the San Mateo Community College Districts to offer one baccalaureate degree pilot program per campus. AB 2400 (Block) of 2010, which was held in the Assembly Higher SB 850 Page 6 Education Committee by request of the author, authorized the San Diego, Grossmont-Cuyamaca and San Mateo Community Colleges Districts to establish baccalaureate degree pilot programs. Analysis Prepared by : Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960 FN: 0004792