BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 716
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|Author: |Low |
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|Version: |February 25, 2015 Hearing Date: |
| | June 10, 2015 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Kathleen Chavira |
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Subject: California State University: special sessions
SUMMARY
This bill, defines "supplanting" for purposes of special session
instructional programs offered at the California State
University (CSU), and establishes requirements and prohibitions
on the offering of state-supported and special session courses
for the purposes of degree completion and graduation.
BACKGROUND
Current law authorizes the CSU to require and collect tuition
fees from students enrolled in each special session adequate in
the long run, to meet the cost of maintaining special sessions.
"Special sessions," at the CSU are defined to include, but not
be limited to, career enrichment and retraining programs.
Current law also declares the intent of the Legislature that
these programs, offered on a self-supporting basis by the CSU
during summer sessions, may be provided throughout the year.
Current law prohibits these courses from supplanting
state-supported course offerings during the regular academic
year. (EC § 89708)
ANALYSIS
This bill:
1)Defines supplanting to mean a reduction in the number of
state-supported course offerings while increasing the number
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of self-supporting versions of that course.
2)Requires that each CSU campus, to the extent possible, ensure
that courses required for state-supported matriculated
students to complete their undergraduate degrees be offered as
state-supported courses.
3)Prohibits a campus from requiring a state-supported matriculated
student to enroll in a special session course in order to
fulfill a graduation requirement for a state-supported degree
program.
STAFF COMMENTS
1)Bureau of State Audits (BSA) report. In December 2013, the State
Auditor issued a report, California State University's
Extended Education. The report found that, because state law
does not define "supplanting," it was not possible to
determine the extent to which such occurred at the three
campuses reviewed. Depending upon the definition used, the
Auditor identified as few as 26, and as many as 914 instances
in which supplanting may have occurred. In addition, among
other things, the report noted that campuses did not always
prepare statements of revenues and expenditures when setting
fees, as required per California State University (CSU)
student fee policy, revenues from extended education generally
exceeded expenditures, and two of the three campuses did not
notify the Chancellor's Office, as required, before converting
a state-supported program to a self-supported program.
Among other things, the report recommended that the
Legislature enact statutory language clarifying and defining
"supplant" and include a description of how CSU should measure
whether supplanting is occurring.
2)CSU Response. Among the recommendations, the Bureau of State
Audits (BSA) proposed that the Chancellor's Office immediately
begin working with the Legislature and its staff to clarify
its intent regarding supplanting. Further, that until
clarified by the Legislature, the Chancellor's Office should
immediately finalize its executive order pertaining to
extended education.
In response, the CSU convened a task force comprised of
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presidents, provosts, extended education deans, academic
senators and student representation to work with the
Chancellor's Office staff to discuss and suggest draft
supplant language. According to the BSA, the Assistant Vice
Chancellor of the CSU Office of Advocacy and State Relations
met with the Chair of the Higher Education Committee on
February 10, 2014 and discussed next steps. The Chancellor
also approved the supplant language definition as recommended
by the task force on May 23, 2014. As a result of the Task
Force meetings, CSU Executive Order 1099 was issued in June
2014.
The California State Auditor's assessment of the status of
these recommendations is that they have been fully
implemented.
3)CSU Executive Order (EO) 1099. CSU Executive Order 1099, issued
in June 2014, outlines the procedures to be followed by each
CSU campus in offering extended education self-support courses
and programs, including those offered in summer session and
winter intercession.
Among other things the EO provides that for degree, credential
or certificate programs, or individual academic credit bearing
courses to be offered during regular college terms CSU
Operating Funds must be either unavailable or inappropriate
for supporting the offerings and meet one additional criteria
from the following list:
a) Courses or programs must be designed primarily for
career enrichment or retraining.
b) Course or program location is removed from permanent
state-supported facility.
c) Courses or programs are offered through a distinct
technology.
d) There must have been a cessation of non-state funding
that previously provided educational or other services that
cost beyond that which could reasonably be provided with
CSU operating funds.
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In addition, the CSU is prohibited from requiring a
state-support matriculated student from enrolling in
self-support courses in order to fulfill the graduation
requirements of a state-supported degree program. This bill's
provisions generally parallel this element of the Executive
Order.
1)Self-supporting programs at the CSU. According to the CSU, their
extended and continuing education programs offer baccalaureate
and graduate degree programs, certificates, and many forms of
specialized education and training for business, industry, and
government. While the composition of these campus programs
vary considerably, most maintain the following common
instructional elements:
a) Special session degree, certificate, and credential
programs.
b) Open University, (permits nonmatriculated students to
enroll in regular university courses on a space available
basis, pay self-support fees and earn university academic
credit).
c) Contract and extension credit.
d) Non-credit certificates, courses, and programs.
e) Continuing education units.
Many campus self-support units conduct programs during
times when regular academic operations are recessed (early
January and May). In 2014, the CSU reported that about 3
percent of state-supported CSU students chose to enroll in
self-supported courses.
1)Special session degree programs. According to a report presented
to the CSU Board of Trustees in September 2010, in academic
year 2008-09, Extended Education offered 149 special session
degree programs in high demand fields such as business,
healthcare and nursing, biotechnology, criminal justice and
education, enrolling 16,115 annual full-time equivalent
students in courses for credit. According to the CSU, revenue
of more than $165 million was generated by extension and
continuing education students taking these courses for credit
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across the 23 CSU campuses. Students enrolled in these special
session degree program courses are eligible for financial aid,
except for the Cal Grant and the CSU State University Grant.
According to the report, there had been an approximate 50
percent increase in degree program registrations in Extended
and Continuing Education Programs between 2007-2008 and
2008-2009. The CSU noted that most of this growth had been at
the master's degree level, with a slight increase in the
number of online bachelor's degrees and degree completion
programs offered. This information was presented to the
Trustees as the result of a study commissioned to review
potential avenues of expansion for Extended Education to meet
the needs of CSU students and working professionals and to
supply an educated workforce in California.
2)PRIOR LEGISLATION
AB 2610 (Williams) proposed a definition of supplanting in
response to the Bureau of State Audits (BSA) report
recommendations. The contents of AB 2610 were based upon the
recommendations of the CSU Task Force and generally defined
supplanting as the elimination of a state-supported degree
program entirely and replacement of it with a self-supporting
instruction program. AB 2610 was heard and passed by this
Committee in June 2014 by a vote of 6-0 but was subsequently
held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 2153 (Gray) proposed a definition of supplanting in
response to the BSA report recommendations. This bill
generally defined supplanting as occurring when a
state-supported course is not offered during a term or all
state state-supported sections of the course are full during
the academic year at the student's campus and the course is
offered in a special session. It also required that a
matriculated student required to take a special session course
to complete his or her undergraduate degree pay the lesser of
the state supported section and special session course fee.
AB 2427 (Butler, 2012) would have required the CSU to annually
report to the Legislature on its Extended and Continuing
Education Programs, including the number of students enrolled,
the number of degree credit and units offered, the range of
fees charged and, to the extent possible, a five-year trend
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for this information. The also required that this information
be reported to the CSU Trustees annually. AB 2427 passed this
Committee in July 2012 by a vote of 7-2, but was subsequently
held under submission in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
SUPPORT
California Faculty Association
California Teachers Association
OPPOSITION
None received.
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