BILL NUMBER: SB 412 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 19, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 15, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 1, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 23, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 8, 2016
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 Public
postsecondary education: 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
by which the campus would enter into a pledge
with a student who satisfies specified criteria to support the
student in obtaining earning 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. first year
of enrollment, as specified. The bill would require the
trustees to submit submit, by July 1, 2021,
a report to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the
Legislature that includes demographic
specified information about students who participate in the
program and a summary description of significant differences in
implementation of the program by campus.
campuses. The bill would require the trustees to submit
recommendations recommendations, by March 15,
2017, to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the
Legislature regarding potential financial incentives that
can could benefit students who participate in the
program. The bill's provisions would be repealed as of January 1,
2024. 2026.
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"
first year of enrollment " 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.
transfer from a California community college.
(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. California State University students in
earning a baccalaureate degree within four academic years of the
student's first year of enrollment or, for transfer students within
two academic years of the student's first year of enrollment to the
campus.
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) 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.
(b) Impediments students face in graduating within four academic
years include the inability to complete sufficient units per academic
year or take courses that are part of their degree programs.
(d)
(c) 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)
( d) 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)
( e) 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)
( f) 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.
(g) It is the intent of the Legislature that the California State
University system include the California Promise as a component of
the plan submitted to the Legislature and the Department of Finance
to increase graduation rates at CSU campuses above those at other
institutions and increase graduation rates for low-income students,
first-generation students, and students from underrepresented
minority groups as quickly as possible.
(j)
( h) 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.
campuses and make the benefits provided available on an
equitable basis considering the populations attending each campus.
67434. (a) The trustees shall develop and implement a California
Promise program that complies with this part.
(b) Commencing with the 2017-18 fiscal
academic year, a minimum of eight campuses shall
establish have established a California Promise
program pursuant to subdivision (a) to enter
by which the campus enters 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
earning a baccalaureate degree within four academic years of
the academic year of the student's admission.
first year of enrollment.
(c) Commencing with the 2017-18 fiscal
academic year, a minimum of 15 campuses shall
establish have established a California Promise
program pursuant to subdivision (a) to enter
by which the campus enters into a pledge with a qualifying
transfer student to support the student in obtaining
earning a baccalaureate degree program within
two academic years of the student's admission
first year of enrollment to the campus, as applicable.
(d) Commencing with the 2018-19 fiscal
academic year, a minimum of 5 additional campuses for
a total minimum of 20 campuses shall establish
have established a California Promise program
pursuant to subdivision (a) to enter by which
the campus enters into a pledge with a qualifying transfer
student to support the student in obtaining
earning a baccalaureate degree program
within two academic years of the student's admission
first year of enrollment to the campus, as
applicable.
(e) Except as provided in paragraph
(2) of subdivision (f), to To be a qualifying
entering 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 Commit to completing 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.
(f) Each College Promise program shall be reviewed by a graduation
initiative advisory committee of the campus or a committee with
similar functions designated by the president of the campus.
(g) (1) A campus shall guarantee participation in the program to,
at a minimum, any student who is any of the following:
(A) A low-income student. For purposes of this section,
"low-income student" shall have the same meaning as specified in
Section 89295.
(B) A student who has graduated from a high school located in a
community that is underrepresented in college attendance.
(C) A student who is a first-generation college student.
(D) A transfer student.
(3)
( 2) 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)
( h) Support provided by a California State
University campus to a student who participates in the campus'
California Promise program shall include, but not
necessarily 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 For purposes of this paragraph, 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.
(C) A graduation initiative advisory committee of the campus, or a
committee with similar functions designated by the president of the
campus, shall consider pre-existing priority registration policies
when implementing this section.
(2) Academic advisement that includes monitoring the student's
academic progress.
(h)
( i) (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.
(2) As a condition of continued participation in a California
Promise program, a student may be required to demonstrate both of the
following:
(A) Completion of at least 30 semester units, or the quarter
equivalent, in each prior academic year.
(B) Attainment of a grade point average in excess of a standard
established by the campus.
(3) In developing requirements for the California Promise
program, implementing this part, 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)
( j) (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 in total, by campus, and disaggregated
by individual campus and all of based on
the following:
(i) Transfer students and students who enroll as first-time
freshman.
(ii) First generation college students.
(i) Whether the student entered as a first-time freshman or a
transfer student.
(ii) Whether the student is a first-generation college student.
(iii) Recipients Whether the student is a
recipient 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 According to the student's
ethnicity.
(B) The total number of students who graduated in four academic
years for students who enrolled entered
as first-time freshman freshmen, and
two academic years for transfer students, disaggregated by
individual campus and years, for students who entered
as transfer students, in total, by campus, and disaggregated based on
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)
( 2) The reports required in
paragraphs (1) and (2) report required by paragraph
(1) shall include a summary description of significant
differences regarding in the
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. at each campus.
(j)
( k) 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 could 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.
program.
(k)
( l) 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)
( m) 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. the demographic populations
served by the campus.
67435. This part shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2024, 2026, and as of that date is
repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before
January 1, 2024, 2026, deletes or
extends that date.