BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                        AB 404|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                              |
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                                   THIRD READING 


          Bill No:  AB 404
          Author:   Chiu (D), et al.
          Amended:  6/10/15 in Senate
          Vote:     21  

           SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE:  7-0, 7/1/15
           AYES:  Liu, Runner, Leyva, Mendoza, Monning, Pan, Vidak
           NO VOTE RECORDED:  Block, Hancock

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE:  7-0, 8/27/15
           AYES:  Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza, Nielsen

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  78-0, 5/14/15 - See last page for vote

           SUBJECT:   Community colleges:  accreditation


          SOURCE:    Author

          DIGEST:   This bill requires the regional accrediting agency for  
          the California Community Colleges (CCC) to report to the CCC  
          Board of Governors (BOG) the date by which the agency's  
          application for continued recognition is due and requires the  
          CCC BOG to conduct a survey of community colleges, as specified,  
          to develop a report, transmitted to specified entities, that  
          reflects a systemwide evaluation of the regional accrediting  
          agency.

          ANALYSIS:   Existing law confers upon the CCC BOG the ability to  
          prescribe minimum standards for the formation and operation of  
          community colleges and exercise general supervision over the  
          community colleges.  (Education Code § 66700 and § 70901)  









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          As such, regulations (Title 5 California Code of Regulations §  
          51016) have been adopted to require each community college  
          within a district to be an accredited institution - with the  
          Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC)  
          determining accreditation. 

          This bill:

          1)Requires the regional accrediting agency for the community  
            colleges to report, as specified, to the CCC BOG the date by  
            which the agency's application for continued recognition is  
            due.

          2)Requires the CCC BOG to conduct a survey of community colleges  
            including faculty and classified personnel to develop a report  
            that reflects a systemwide evaluation of the regional  
            accrediting agency based on the criteria use to determine an  
            accreditor's status.

          3)Specifies that the report shall be transmitted to the United  
            States Department of Education (USDE) and the National  
            Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity  
            (NACIQI). 

          Comments
          
          1)Need for the bill?  According to the author, existing law  
            provides no mechanism for a CCC system-wide performance review  
            of the CCC's regional accrediting body and providing the  
            overseeing federal entities with such a review increases  
            accountability of the accrediting agency and improves  
            participation by CCC faculty and personnel in the process.   
            This bill seeks to provide a method for collecting stakeholder  
            feedback during an accrediting agency's performance review. 

          2)Accreditation, how it works.  Accreditation is a voluntary,  
            non-governmental peer review process used to determine  
            academic quality.  Accrediting agencies are private  
            organizations that establish operating standards for  
            educational or professional institutions and programs,  
            determine the extent to which the standards are met, and  
            publicly announce their findings.  

            Under federal law, the USDE establishes the general standards  







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            for accreditation agencies and is required to publish a list  
            of recognized accrediting agencies that are deemed reliable  
            authorities on the quality of education provided by their  
            accredited institutions.  There are three basic types of  
            accreditation:

             a)   Regional accreditation.  There are six USDE-recognized  
               regional accrediting agencies.  Each regional accreditor  
               encompasses public, the vast majority of non-profit private  
               (independent), and some for-profit postsecondary  
               educational institutions in the region it serves.   
               California's regional accrediting agency is separated into  
               two commissions: the ACCJC and the Senior College and  
               University Commission. 

             b)   National accreditation.  National accreditation is not  
               based on geography, but more focused to evaluate specific  
               types of schools and programs.  National accreditation is  
               designed to allow nontraditional colleges (trade schools,  
               religious schools, certain online schools) to be compared  
               against similarly designed institutions.  Different  
               standards and categories are measured, depending on the  
               type of institution.  

             c)   Specialized/programmatic accreditation.  Offered by  
               accrediting agencies that represent specific fields of  
               study, these agencies do not accredit entire colleges but  
               instead accredit the programs within colleges that prepare  
               students for the specific field or industry.  In most  
               cases, specialized accreditation alone does not enable  
               participation in state and federal financial aid programs.

          3)Accreditation of California community colleges.  After an  
            initial accreditation, colleges must have their accreditation  
            reaffirmed every six years.  This process includes a  
            self-study, a site visit by a team of peers, a recommendation  
            by the visiting team and an action by the ACCJC.  In addition  
            to these core components, colleges must submit a midterm  
            report every three years and annual progress reports.  The  
            college/district may also have to submit follow-up reports and  
            host visits as required by the ACCJC.  There are three levels  
            of sanction prior to termination of accreditation:  Warning,  
            Probation, and Show Cause.  Follow up reports and  
            accreditation visits are required to retain full  







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            accreditation.

            Many California community colleges have faced various levels  
            of accreditation sanctions.  Most recently, the sanctions  
            imposed on City College of San Francisco have drawn attention  
            to ACCJC and its accreditation process.  The heightened  
            attention lead to an audit by the California State Auditor,  
            who on June 26, 2014, issued a report on California Community  
            Colleges Accreditation.  This audit report provided both a  
            review of the ACCJC and the accreditation process in general,  
            as well as a more in-depth examination of recent events  
            related to City College of San Francisco.  The report raised  
            some concerns of the ACCJC and the accreditation process and  
            made a series of recommendations to address the identified  
            concerns. After the release of the State Auditor's report, the  
            Chancellor's Office reconvened its Accreditation Task Force  
            consisting of community college stakeholders.  The  
            Accreditation Task Force is charged with providing input  
            through a report to the Chancellor's Office regarding the  
            accreditation process, including addressing the State  
            Auditor's recommendations.  The Accreditation Task Force held  
            its final meeting at the end of May and is expected to release  
            the final report at the end of August. Arguably, the  
            information gathered by the provisions in this bill may  
            compliment the work of the Accreditation Task Force.

          4)National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and  
            Integrity. NACIQI advises the USDE on matters related to  
            postsecondary accreditation and the eligibility and  
            certification process for higher education institutions to  
            participate in Federal student aid programs.  Its primary  
            function is to provide recommendations to the U.S. Secretary  
            of Education concerning whether accrediting entities'  
            standards are sufficiently rigorous and effective in their  
            application to ensure the entity is a reliable authority  
            regarding the quality of the education provided by the  
            institutions or programs it accredits.  To meet that standard,  
            accrediting entities must demonstrate compliance with all the  
            criteria for recognition.  Once a recommendation is made, this  
            process allows for public comment.  This bill seeks to provide  
            CCC faculty and personnel a method for providing feedback and  
            remain anonymous during the accrediting agencies performance  
            review. 








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          Related/Prior Legislation
          
          AB 1385 (Ting, 2015) requires notification to the CCC BOG before  
          an accrediting agency increases membership fees, special  
          assessments, or other payments charged to a community college.   
          AB 1385 is pending in the Senate Education Committee. 

          AB 1397 (Ting, 2015) requires the accrediting agency for the CCC  
          to meet specified operational standards.  AB 1397 is pending in  
          the Senate Education Committee. 

          SB 1068 (Beall, 2014) would have required the CCC BOG, by  
          January 1, 2016, to report on the feasibility of creating an  
          independent accrediting agency to accredit the CCC and other  
          two-year private postsecondary educational institutions, and to  
          make recommendations relative to CCC accreditation.  SB 1068 was  
          held on the Senate Appropriations Committee suspense file. 

          FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    No          Fiscal  
          Com.:YesLocal:   No


          According the Senate Appropriations Committee:  


           CCC Chancellor's Office indicates that this bill requires 0.5  
            position and $55,000 General Fund.


          SUPPORT:   (Verified8/27/15)


          American Federation of Teachers, Local 2121 
          California Community College Independents 
          California Federation of Teachers
          California School Employees Association  
          California Teachers Association 
          Faculty Association of California Community Colleges
          San Francisco Community College Federation of Teachers


          OPPOSITION:   (Verified 8/27/15)









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          None received


          ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  78-0, 5/14/15
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,  
            Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang,  
            Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle,  
            Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina  
            Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray,  
            Grove, Hadley, Harper, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer,  
            Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis,  
            Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte,  
            O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon,  
            Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark  
            Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams,  
            Wood, Atkins
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Gipson, Roger Hernández

          Prepared by:Olgalilia Ramirez / ED. / (916) 651-4105
          8/30/15 19:42:09


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