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
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|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 |
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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