AB 2786, as amended, Chávez. Public postsecondary education: Donahoe Higher Education Act: 4-year baccalaureate degree.
Existing law, known as the Donahoe Higher Education Act, sets forth, among other things, the missions and functions of California’s public and independent segments of higher education, and the campuses operated by those segments. The public segments of higher education include the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, and the University of California, under the administration of the Regents of the University of California.
This bill would require the Trustees of the California State University, and request the Regents of the University of California, to offer eligible students of their respective segments an agreement guaranteeing that a student who meets certain conditions may complete a baccalaureate degree within 4 academic years, with the exception of certain programs that may require up to 5 academic years to complete. The bill would specify that a student who scores in an unspecified percentile, or above, on a standardized college readiness assessment would be presumed to be eligible to enter into an agreement under the bill. The bill would require the agreement to outline a general pathway for the coursework that the student must complete in order to continue to be qualified for the guarantee and receive his or her baccalaureate degree within the agreed-upon time.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 66011.3 is added to the Education Code,
2to read:
(a) The Trustees of the California State University
4shall, and the Regents of the University of California are requested
5to, offer eligible students of their respective segments an agreement
6guaranteeing that a student who meets certain conditions may
7complete a baccalaureate degree within four academic years. A
8campus may provide for a longer period for programs such as
9engineering or teacher training that may require more than four
10academic years to complete, but under no circumstances may the
11time to a baccalaureate degree agreed to under this section be
12extended beyond five academic years.
13(b) An agreement entered into under this section shall comply
14with all of
the following:
15(1) A student who scores in the ____ percentile or above on any
16standardized college readiness assessment test, such as the
17Scholastic Aptitude Test, ACT, or any other widely administered
18college readiness examination, shall be presumed to be eligible to
19enter into the agreement. A student who scores below the top ____
20percentile, but above the ____ percentile may take another test
21chosen by the campus, and the campus shall establish a cut-off
22score for eligibility for the program pursuant to that test.
23(2) The agreement shall be executed by a student and an
24authorized representative of the campus before the end of the
25student’s first semester or quarter of enrollment at the campus.
26(3) The agreement shall
outline a general pathway for the
27coursework that the student must complete in order to continue to
28be qualified for the guarantee and receive his or her baccalaureate
29degree within the agreed-upon time.
30(4) The student shall not be required to declare a major field
31until the spring semester or quarter of the student’s sophomore
32year.
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(4) Each campus shall, in accordance with policies adopted by
2the trustees or the regents, as applicable, determine the latest
3possible time for a participating student enrolled in a
4four-academic-year degree program, or a degree program that
5may require up to
five academic years to complete as described
6in subdivision (a), to declare a major, but the campus shall require
7a participating student to declare his or her major no later than
8the fall semester, or quarter, as applicable, of his or her sophomore
9year.
10(5) The student shall be required to be a full-time student, and
11maintain academic standards equivalent to those required pursuant
12to Article 1 (commencing with Section 69430) of Chapter 1.7 of
13Part 42 for receipt of Cal Grant awards.
14(6) A student may also be required to attend orientation sessions
15and student success workshops in order to remain eligible for the
16guarantee.
17(7) A student who executes an agreement under this section
18shall be granted priority for enrollment
for each course that is part
19of the general pathway outlined as part of the agreement pursuant
20to paragraph (3).
21(8) A student who meets all of the requirements of the agreement
22and, through no fault of his or her own, is unable to complete his
23or her baccalaureate degree within the guaranteed period shall pay
24no tuition to take the additional coursework required to complete
25that degree.
26(c) As used in this section, “campus” means a campus of the
27California State University or the University of California, as
28applicable.
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