BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2137
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Date of Hearing: April 19, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Jose Medina, Chair
AB 2137
(Santiago) - As Amended March 28, 2016
SUBJECT: Postsecondary education: University of California:
student transfers.
SUMMARY: Requests the University of California (UC) Regents to
submit annual reports, on or before March 1 in each year from
2017 to 2020, inclusive, relating to California Community
Colleges (CCC) students' transfers to the UC. Specifically,
this bill:
1)Requests the UC Regents to submit both of the following:
a) An annual report to the Legislature, submitted on or
before March 1 in each year from 2017 to 2020, inclusive,
on the implementation of the recommendations of the
Transfer Action Team convened by the UC President in
December 2013; and,
b) An annual report to the Legislature, submitted on or
before March 1 in each year from 2017 to 2022, inclusive,
on all of the following:
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i) The number of students with an associate degree for
transfer (AD/T) who were granted admission to the UC,
along with the average community college grade point
average (GPA) of these students, broken down by UC
campus;
ii) The number of students with an AD/T who were denied
admission to the UC, along with the average community
college GPA of these students, broken down by UC campus;
iii) The number of students described in clause (i) who
enrolled at a UC campus, and the number who graduated
from the UC within two or three academic years for the
cohort graduating in the year of the report, broken down
by UC campus;
iv) The number of students who used the transfer pathway
framework and who were granted admission to the UC, along
with the average community college GPA of these students,
broken down by UC campus;
v) The number of students who used the transfer pathway
framework and who were denied admission to the UC, along
with the average community college GPA of these students,
broken down by UC campus;
vi) The number of students described in clause (iv) who
enrolled at a UC campus, and the number who graduated
from the UC within two or three academic years for the
cohort graduating in the year of the report, broken down
by UC campus;
vii) The number of students who used the transfer
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admission guarantee and who were granted admission to the
UC, along with the average community college GPA of these
students, broken down by UC campus;
viii) The number of students who used the transfer
admission guarantee and who were denied admission to the
UC, along with the average community college GPA of these
students, broken down by UC campus; and,
ix) The number of students described in clause (vii) who
enrolled at a UC campus, and the number who graduated
from the UC within two or three academic years for the
cohort graduating in the year of the report, broken down
by UC campus.
2)Specifies that this section shall be repealed on January 1,
2024, as specified.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes various conditions, responsibilities, and
declarations around admission at the UC and California State
University (CSU). Among these are declarations of the
Legislature's intent for admission priority (generally
prioritizing admission of transfer students) and that the CSU
and UC maintain a student body comprised of 60 percent upper
division and 40 percent lower division students (Education
Code (EC) Sections 66201-66207).
2)Establishes a variety of requirements for the UC in regard to
articulation of major preparation courses, transfer
agreements, and transfer pathways (EC Section 66721.7).
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3)Establishes a variety of requirements regarding lower division
transfer curriculum requirements, transfer admission
procedures and transfer admission agreements for the CSU in
order to ensure a clear degree path for transfer students (EC
Section 66739.5).
4)Requires each department, school, and major of the UC and CSU
to establish discipline specific articulation and transfer
program agreements for majors with lower division
prerequisites and establishes a number of related reporting
and other requirements (EC Section 66740, et seq.).
5)Requires CCC districts to develop and grant a transfer
associate degree that deems the student eligible for transfer
into the CSU, when the student meets specified course
requirements (EC Section 66746).
6)Requires the CSU to guarantee admission with junior status to
any community college student who meets specified
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 or
her local CSU campus and to a program or major that is similar
to his or her community college 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 community
college transfer students, except for community college
students who have entered into a transfer agreement between a
community college and the CSU prior to the fall term of the
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2012-13 academic year (EC Section 66747).
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: Background. For the last several decades, CCC
students have faced and experienced significant challenges to
being able to transfer into the CSU or UC. Out of concern for
the myriad of issues CCC students faced when attempting to
transfer, the Legislature enacted SB 1440 (Padilla), Chapter
428, Statues of 2010; AB 2302 (Fong), Chapter 427, Statues of
2010; and, SB 440 (Padilla), Chapter 720, Statutes of 2013.
Senate Bill 1440 creates the Student Transfer Achievement Reform
(STAR) Act, which requires community colleges to create two-year
60 unit AD/Ts 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 community college; 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.
Assembly Bill 2302 stipulates that: (1) any community college
student who meets all the
requirements for transfer established by SB1440 can request that
the UC guarantee admission with junior status; and, (2) requests
that the UC, notwithstanding existing laws relating to admission
and categories of admission priority, grant priority admission
to a program or major similar to his or her community college
major or area of emphasis.
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Senate Bill 440 expands the provisions of the STAR Act to
require that CCC create AD/Ts in every major, and in areas of
emphasis, and require that the 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 measure also requires
the CCC and the CSU to establish a student-centered
communication and marketing strategy to increase the visibility
of the AD/Ts pathway, as specified.
UC Transfer Action Team report. Convened in December 2013 by UC
President Napolitano, the Transfer Action Team was to recommend
strategies to strengthen and streamline the transfer pathway
between the CCC and the UC. The report, released by the Team in
May of 2014, entitled, "Preparing California For Its Future:
Enhancing Community College Student Transfer to UC," is a
product of consultation with students, staff, and faculty, as
well as the CCC and CSU. The Team had several key
recommendations, including, but not limited to: (1) the need
for the UC to enhance its message to prospective transfer
students that they can afford and thrive at UC and create
resources that invite and help prepare them for transfer,
especially underserved students; (2) increase UC's presence at
every CCC campus; (3) streamline and strengthen the UC transfer
preparation process; and, (4) commit UC to working with CCC and
CSU to jointly engage in statewide strategic planning to improve
the transfer pathway, present a united voice for higher
education in Sacramento and with the California public, and
increase the capacity of the segments to accommodate students.
Transfer pathways and transfer admission guarantee (TAG). The
UC Transfer Pathways outline a single set of community college
courses that prospective transfer students can take to prepare
for a particular major at any of UC's nine undergraduate
campuses. Just last month an additional 11 Transfer Pathways
were finalized. Now, with Transfer Pathways developed for the
21 most popular majors for transfer students, the Pathways cover
two-thirds of all transfer admissions applications UC receives.
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Six UC campuses (Davis, Irvine, Merced, Riverside, Santa
Barbara, and Santa Cruz) offer the TAG program for CCC students
who meet specific requirements. Students participating in TAG
will receive early review of their academic records, early
admission notification, and specific guidance about major
preparation and general education coursework.
This measure requests the UC to report to the Legislature on the
number of CCC students who utilized the transfer pathway and/or
TAG and were granted admission and denied admission to the UC,
along with the average GPA, broken down by UC campuses.
Need for the measure. According to the author, "UC is not
currently required or requested by statute to report on their
efforts to strengthen and simplify transfer from the CCCs to
UC." The author contends that, "The Legislature must continue
monitoring UC to ensure a straightforward transfer process is
available to all students. This bill requests reporting from UC
related to transfer between the CCCs and UC."
The author suggests that providing more information in the
coming years will help the Legislature track UC on its efforts
to strengthen and simplify the transfer process.
Policy consideration. As drafted, this measure calls for each
UC campus to report on the average GPA for CCC transfer
students, as outlined in the measure. Committee staff
understands that it may not be possible for each UC campus to
report CCC transfer students' GPA by program and potentially by
campus.
Moving forward, the author may wish to continue working with the
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UC in order to determine the best possible solution for
obtaining GPA data.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
The Campaign for College Opportunity
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
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