BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 2786


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          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:








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             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,









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             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  








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          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  








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            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.










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            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  








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          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
















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