BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2786
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 19, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Jose Medina, Chair
AB 2786
(Chávez) - As Introduced February 19, 2016
SUBJECT: Public postsecondary education: Donahoe Higher
Education Act: 4-year baccalaureate degree.
SUMMARY: Requires the California State University (CSU)
Trustees, and requests the University of California (UC)
Regents, to offer to eligible students, as specified, an
agreement guaranteeing that a student, who meets certain
conditions, as specified, may complete a baccalaureate degree
within 4 academic years. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the CSU Trustees, and requests the UC Regents, to
offer eligible students an agreement guaranteeing that a
student who meets certain conditions may complete a
baccalaureate degree within 4 academic years.
2)Specifies that a campus may provide for a longer period of
completion for programs such as engineering or teacher
training that may require more than 4 academic years to
complete, but under no circumstances may the time to
baccalaureate degree agreed to under the parameters
established in this measure extend beyond 5 academic years.
3)Delineates that the agreement entered into shall comply with
all of the following:
AB 2786
Page 2
a) A student who scores in an unspecified percentile or
above on any standardized college readiness assessment
test, such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test, ACT, or any
other widely administered college readiness examination,
shall be presumed to be eligible to enter into the
agreement; and, a student who scores below the top
unspecified percentile, but above an unspecified percentile
may take another test chosen by the campus, and the campus
shall establish a cut-off score for eligibility for the
program pursuant to that test;
b) The agreement shall be executed by a student and an
authorized representative of the campus before the end of
the student's first semester or quarter of enrollment at
the campus;
c) The agreement shall 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 within the agreed-upon time;
d) The student shall not be required to declare a major
field until the spring semester or quarter of the student's
sophomore year;
e) The student shall be required to be a full-time student,
and maintain academic standards equivalent to those
required for receipt of Cal Grant awards;
f) A student may also be required to attend orientation
sessions and student success workshops in order to remain
eligible for the guarantee;
g) A student who executes an agreement shall be granted
priority for enrollment for each course that is part of the
general pathway outlined as part of the agreement, as
specified; and,
AB 2786
Page 3
h) A student who meets all of the requirements of the
agreement and, through no fault of his or her own, is
unable to complete his or her baccalaureate degree within
the guaranteed period shall pay no tuition to take the
additional coursework required to complete that degree.
4)Defines "campus" as a campus of the CSU or UC, as applicable.
EXISTING LAW: Declares that it is the policy of the Legislature
that all resident applicants to California institutions of
public higher education, who are determined to be qualified by
law or by admission standards, as established by the respective
governing boards of the institutions, should be admitted to
either a community college, CSU, or UC campus (Education Code
Section 66011).
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: Need for the measure. According to the author,
"given the recent trends in rising tuition costs, the
conclusions to be made are that students are having a hard time
graduating in four years and are paying more for it."
Background. Graduation rates on college campuses have become an
important national issue. In 2010 President Obama called for
raising the college graduation rate among 25 to 34 year olds to
60% by 2020, a 20% increase in just ten years. Governor Jerry
Brown has set as a goal for each of the State's public
universities a 10% increase in the proportion graduating in four
years.
According to the January 2014 report, "California's Future:
Higher Education, by the Public Policy Institute of California
(PPIC), three of every four bachelor's degrees awarded annually
come from either a CSU or UC. PPIC found that compared to other
AB 2786
Page 4
states, California's college-bound high school graduates are
more likely to enroll in community colleges than in four-year
colleges or universities. However, according to PPIC, lack of
preparation for college-level work and lack of financial
resources keep many students from advancing in the higher
education system.
PPIC found that only about half of CSU students graduate within
6 years of entering as freshmen and that 4 of every 5 students
earn a degree within 6 years at the UC.
Four-year degree programs. This measure requires the CSU
Trustees and requests the UC Regents to offer to eligible
students, as specified, an agreement guaranteeing that a student
who meets certain conditions may complete a baccalaureate degree
in 4 years.
1)CSU. According to the CSU's systemwide Degree-Seeking
First-Time Full-Time Freshmen Report, the number of CSU
first-time freshmen systemwide in fall of 2007 was 50,866;
after 4 years, 15.9% graduated, with 45.7% continuing on to
additional year(s) of study. Additionally, first-time
freshmen systemwide in fall of 2008 was 51,409; after 4 years,
16.2% graduated, with 47.5% continuing on to additional
year(s) of study.
Currently, according to the CSU 2014-15 Admission Handbook,
the CSU encourages all students who wish to graduate in four
years to take advantage of CSU's 4-year degree programs. Each
CSU campus has developed a four year program responsive to the
needs of the campus community. The common core component for
all 4-year degree plans is a strong advisement program.
Students are expected to meet with advisors each term to plan
a program of study that will assure appropriate progress
AB 2786
Page 5
toward meeting degree requirements.
Students participating in the CSU 4-year degree program must:
(1) Arrive with English and mathematics skills needed to
handle the demands of university study; (2) Declare a major at
the time of admission (or shortly thereafter) and not change
majors; (3) Enroll in a minimum of 15 semester/quarter units
each term; (4) Fulfill all academic, grade, and coursework
requirements; (5) Meet with an academic advisor on a regular
basis and heed advice given; (6) Follow required
administrative and academic policies and procedures; and (7)
Meet the unit requirement (120-132 semester/180-198 quarter
units) for the baccalaureate degree sought. Campuses must:
(1) Ensure regular academic counseling; (2) Provide required
courses; and, (3) Schedule sufficient class offerings.
Presently, it is unclear how many CSU students are taking
advantage of the CSU 4-year degree program and how many of the
23 campuses are actively promoting their 4-year degree
program. However, four CSU campuses (Fresno, San Bernardino,
Fullerton, and Cal Poly Pomona) currently have active 4-year
pledge programs.
According to the CSU Chancellor's Office, the various pledge
programs of the CSU have varying results. The 4-year
graduation rates for program participants can be much higher
than the undergraduate students who do not participate the
program, but attrition rates are also high, often times 50% or
more. Additionally, CSU Fullerton's 4-year pledge program has
had five cohorts of students that graduated with 4-year
graduation rates that range from 30.4% to 45.5%. However,
student participation in these programs has been small. For
example, at CSU San Bernardino, 620 students participate in
the 4-year pledge program, but that only represents 4% of the
undergraduate student population.
AB 2786
Page 6
To note, several campuses have discontinued similar types of
programs due to low participation rates of students.
UC. According to the UC, their first-time freshmen 4-year
graduation rates (systemwide roughly 60% of entering freshmen
graduate in 4 years), are well above the national average.
However, UC Riverside (UCR) has a significantly lower
percentage of their entering freshmen graduating in 4 years.
UCR is presently considering an initiative to create a 4-year
graduation contract with their students. It is unclear as to
when UCR will determine if indeed they will launch this
initiative.
Committee considerations. This measure allows students
participating in the created 4-year completion program to not
have to declare a major field of study until the spring semester
or quarter of the students' sophomore year. If students wait
this long to declare their major field of study, will this truly
allow for them to graduate in 4 years?
Committee staff recommends that the author amend this provision
to instead: specify that each campus shall determine the latest
possible time for a participating student in the 4-year degree
contract program to declare a major, but that a participating
student shall declare his or her major no later than the fall
semester/quarter of his or her sophomore year.
As aforementioned, it is presently unclear how many of the
campuses are encouraging their students to sign up for their
4-year graduation program. Instead of codifying the 4-year
graduation program, the Committee may wish to consider amending
this measure to require the CSU to increase their efforts in
ensuring entering freshmen are aware of the CSU's 4-year degree
AB 2786
Page 7
program.
Previous legislation. AB 2092 (Chávez) of 2014, which was held
on the Suspense File in the Assembly Appropriations Committee,
was very similar in nature to this measure.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
None on file.
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by:Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
AB 2786
Page 8