Amended in Assembly August 15, 2016

Amended in Assembly August 1, 2016

Amended in Assembly June 23, 2016

Amended in Assembly June 8, 2016

Senate Bill No. 412

Introduced by Senators Glazer and De León

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Baker and Levine)

February 25, 2015

An act to add and repeal Part 40.2 (commencing with Section 67430) of Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code, relating to public postsecondary education.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 412, as amended, Glazer. The California Promise.

Existing law establishes the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, and the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as 2 of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state.

This bill would establish the California Promise, which would require specified minimum numbers of campuses of the California State University to establish a California Promise program to enter into a pledge with a student who satisfies specified criteria to support the student in obtaining a baccalaureate degree within 4 academic years, or if the student is a community college transfer student who earned an associate degree for transfer, within 2 academic years, of the academic year of the student’s admission, as defined. The bill would require the trustees to submit a report to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature that includes demographic information about students who participate in the program and a summary description of significant differences in implementation of the program by campus. The bill would require the trustees to submit recommendations to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature regarding potential financial incentives that can benefit students who participate in the program. The bill’s provisions would be repealed as of January 1, 2024.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Part 40.2 (commencing with Section 67430) is
added to Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code, to read:

 

PART 40.2.  THE CALIFORNIA PROMISE

 

67430.  

This part shall be known, and may be cited, as the
California Promise.

67431.  

For purposes of this part, the following terms have the
following meanings:

(a) “Academic year of the student’s admission” means the first
full academic year in which a person is a student at the California
State University.

(b) “Campus” means a campus within the California State
University system as set forth in Section 89001.

(c) “Transfer student” is a community college student who
earned an associate degree for transfer.

(d) “Trustees” means the Trustees of the California State
University.

67432.  

The California Promise is hereby established to support
students who enroll in the campuses of the California State
University in obtaining baccalaureate degrees within four academic
years of the academic year of the student’s admission or within
two academic years of the student’s admission to the campus for
transfer students.

67433.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) This part is needed to facilitate the availability and
completion of coursework for degree programs offered by
campuses of the California State University and to ensure that
students enrolled at these campuses are able to complete
baccalaureate degree programs within four academic years of the
academic year of the student’s admission or within two academic
years of the student’s admission to the campus for transfer students.

(b) A more concerted, statewide effort to create pathways to
four-year graduation is needed at the California State University.
For the 2010 cohort of full-time, first-time students at the California
State University, 19 percent graduated within four academic years.
According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, the most recent
nationally comparable data shows that the California State
University’s overall four-year graduation rate was 16 percent in
2011, below the national rate of 26 percent among similar public
institutions.

(c) Impediments to graduating within four academic years
include the failure of students to complete sufficient units per
academic year and the lack of available high-demand courses.

(d) New approaches are critical for the future of higher education
in California. Efforts have been ongoing, though sporadic, to
improve postsecondary educational institution enrollment and
graduation. These efforts will need to be intensified and made
more broadly systemic.

(e) Students who graduate within four academic years save tens
of thousands of dollars. In addition to the direct costs of extended
college and university enrollment, students miss out on earnings
in the workforce while they remain in school.

(f) When California experiences a decline in college and
university graduates, the state’s economy shrinks and employers
seek qualified candidates outside the state. Furthermore, a larger
share of the state’s workforce is downgraded to lower-paying jobs
and consumer behavior and home ownership declines, which leads
to plummeting revenues for local and state government and to
more people relying on increasingly decimated government
services.

(g) According to the Public Policy Institute of California, if bold
measures are not taken, California will fall short of the state’s
economic demand by 1.1 million college and university graduates
by 2030. An increased demand for highly educated workers will
outweigh the number of qualified applicants for available jobs,
which will be exacerbated when scores of highly educated baby
boomers retire. The share of workers with a baccalaureate degree
will be 33 percent in 2030, below the 38 percent that will be
needed.

(h) The impact of graduation rates from California State
University campuses is felt not only throughout the state, but also
the nation. One out of every 10 California employees is a California
State University graduate, while one out of every 20 United States
citizens with a college or university degree graduates from a
campus of the California State University. These statistics
emphasize the national importance of graduation rates at California
State University campuses.

(i) It is the intent of the Legislature that the California Promise
will enable the California State University system to meet and
exceed the national average of similar public postsecondary
educational institutions as quickly as possible.

(j) The California Promise programs established at the California
State University in accordance with this part should aim to reflect
the demographics of their respective campuses and target a diverse
set of students.

67434.  

(a) The trustees shall develop and implement a
California Promise program that complies with this part.

(b) Commencing with the 2017-18 fiscal year, a minimum of
begin delete 10 end delete begin insert eight end insert campuses shall establish a California Promise program
pursuant to subdivision (a) to enter into a pledge with a qualifying
student who is enrolled at the campus and who is not a transfer
student to support the student in obtaining a baccalaureate degree
within four academic years of the academic year of the student’s
admission.

(c) Commencing with the 2017-18 fiscal year, a minimum of
15 campuses shall establish a California Promise program pursuant
to subdivision (a) to enter into a pledge with a qualifying transfer
student to support the student in obtaining a baccalaureate degree
program within two academic years of the student’s admission to
the campus, as applicable.

(d) Commencing with the 2018-19 fiscal year, a minimum of
5 additional campuses for a total minimum of 20 campuses shall
establish a California Promise program pursuant to subdivision
(a) to enter into a pledge with a qualifying transfer student to
support the student in obtaining a baccalaureate degree program
within two academic years of the student’s admission to the
campus, as applicable.

(e) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of subdivision (f), to be
a qualifying student or transfer student at the California State
University, the student must comply with both of the following:

(1) Be a California resident for purposes of in-state tuition
eligibility.

(2) Complete at least 30 semester units or the quarter equivalent
per academic year. Units completed by the student during a summer
term may count towards the previous or following academic year
as determined by the trustees.

(f) (1) Each program established by the trustees at a California
State University campus shall be reviewed by a graduation
initiative advisory committee of that campus or a committee
designated with similar functions. The committee shall ensure the
goals of the program and implementation steps lead to increasing
the campus’ four-year graduation rates for students who enrolled
as first-time freshman and two-year graduation rates for transfer
students, as applicable.

(2) The committee at each campus shall develop additional
eligibility requirements to prioritize specific student populations
that have lower four-year graduation rates at the campus for those
who enroll as first-time freshman and lower two-year graduation
rates for those who enroll as transfer students, including, but not
limited to, all of the following student populations:

(A) Students who receive financial aid under the Federal Pell
Grant Program (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1070a) or the Cal Grant Program
established in Chapter 1.7 (commencing with Section 69430) of
Part 42.

(B) Underrepresented students.

(C) First generation college students.

(3) It is the intent of the Legislature that the California Promise
program at each campus gradually scale up in order to
accommodate as many students into the program as feasible and
in consideration of available funding.

(g) Support provided by a California State University campus
to a student who participates in the campus’ California Promise
program shall include, but not be limited to, both of the following:

(1) (A) Priority registration in coursework. For purposes of this
paragraph, both of the following shall apply:

(B) A student shall not receive priority registration in
coursework under the program if he or she qualifies for priority
registration under another policy or program, as determined by the
campus or the Office of the Chancellor of the California State
University.

(C) A student shall only receive priority registration in
coursework over other students within his or her cohort of students,
as determined by the campus or the Office of the Chancellor of
the California State University.

(2) Academic advisement that includes monitoring the student’s
academic progress.

(h) (1) The trustees shall develop application criteria,
administrative guidelines, and additional requirements, including
how campuses will measure student success, for purposes of
implementing and administering the California Promise program.

(2) Requirements developed in accordance with paragraph (1)
may include a requirement that a student who participates in a
California Promise program maintain a minimum grade point
average determined by the student’s campus.

(3) In developing requirements for the California Promise
program, the trustees shall take into consideration the report on
graduation rates required pursuant to Item 6610-001-0001 of
Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of 2016.

(i) (1) The trustees shall submit a report to the appropriate
policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature by July 1, 2021,
that includes all of the following:

(A) The total number of students participating in the program
disaggregated by individual campus and all of the following:

(i) Transfer students and students who enroll as first-time
freshman.

(ii) First generation college students.

(iii) Recipients of financial aid under the Federal Pell Grant
Program (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1070a) or the Cal Grant Program
established in Chapter 1.7 (commencing with Section 69430) of
Part 42.

(iv) Student ethnicity.

(B) The total number of students who graduated in four
academic years for students who enrolled as first-time freshman
and two academic years for transfer students, disaggregated by
individual campus and the characteristics identified in clauses (i)
to (iv), inclusive, or subparagraph (A).

(2) The trustees shall submit a report to the appropriate policy
and fiscal committees of the Legislature by July 1, 2019, that
includes the total number of the first cohort of transfer students
participating in the program, disaggregated by individual campus
and the characteristics listed in clauses (ii) to (iv), inclusive, of
subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1).

(3) The reports required in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall include
a summary description of significant differences regarding
implementation of the California Promise program by campus,
including, but not limited to, the prioritization of student
populations pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (f) if
applicable, the role of academic advising, and the implementation
of priority registration.

(j) The trustees shall submit recommendations to the appropriate
policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature by March 15, 2017,
regarding potential financial incentives that can benefit students
who participate in the California Promise program, including, but
not limited to, incentives for qualifying students who are unable
to graduate within four or two academic years, as applicable, due
to a lack of course offerings.

(k) A student who successfully completes his or her associate
degree for transfer at a community college shall be guaranteed
participation in the California Promise program at the California
State University transfer campus, if established.

(l) The trustees shall make every effort to close the achievement
gap and encourage broad participation in a California Promise
program that reflects a participating campus’ demographics.

67435.  

This part shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2024, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
that is enacted before January 1, 2024, deletes or extends that date.