BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 412
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|Author: |Glazer and De León |
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|Version: |August 19, 2016 Hearing |
| |date: August 26, 2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Olgalilia Ramirez |
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Subject: Public postsecondary education: The California
Promise
SUMMARY
This bill requires the California State University Board of
Trustees to develop and implement a program that authorizes a
campus to enter into a pledge with qualifying students, as
defined, to support completion of a baccalaureate degree within
four years or for transfer students within two years, and
outlines the requirements which may be included in such a
program.
BACKGROUND
Existing law:
1) Establishes the Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act and
requires
California Community College (CCC) districts to develop and
grant an Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) that deems the
student eligible for transfer into the California State
University (CSU), when the student meets specified course
requirements (Education Code (EC) Section 66746). The CSU is
required to guarantee admission with junior status to any
community college student who meets specified requirements, but
provides that the student is not guaranteed admission for
specific majors or campuses. (Education Code § 66747)
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2) Requires the CSU and each California Community College
(CCC) district, and requests the University of California
(UC) to give priority for registration for enrollment to
any member or former member of the Armed Forces, as
defined, who is a resident of California and who has
received an honorable discharge, a general discharge, or an
other than honorable discharge for any academic term
attended at one of these institutions within four years of
leaving state or federal active duty, if the institution
already administers a priority enrollment system. Current
law further requires that the veteran use this benefit
within 15 years of leaving state or federal active duty and
requires that these students comply with student
responsibilities established by the Student Success Act of
2012.
(EC § 66025.8)
3) Requires the CSU and each CCC district, and requests the
UC, to grant priority enrollment, if the institution
already administers a priority enrollment system for
registration, to any current or former foster youth, and
repeals these provisions on January 1, 2017. (EC §
66025.9)
ANALYSIS
This bill:
1) Establishes the California Promise for the purposes of
supporting California State University (CSU) 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.
2) Defines various terms for the purpose of this bill
including, "transfer student," to mean a student who earned
an Associate Degree for Transfer from a California
Community College (CCC).
3) Requires the Trustees of the CSU to:
a) Develop and implement a California Promise
program that:
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i) Ensures, commencing with the 2017-18
academic year, a minimum
of eight campuses have established a California
Promise program
by which the campus enters into a pledge with a
first-time freshman
student to support the student in obtaining a
baccalaureate degree
within four academic years.
ii) Ensures, commencing with the 2017-18
academic year, a minimum
of 15 campuses have established a California
Promise program by which the campus enters into a
pledge with a qualifying transfer student to
support the student in obtaining a baccalaureate
degree program within two academic years.
iii) Increases, commencing with the 2018-19
academic year, to a total
of 20 campuses, the number of transfer student
Promise programs.
b) 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.
c) Make every effort to close the achievement gap
and encourage broad
participation in a California Promise program that
reflects the demographic populations served by the
campus.
d) Take into consideration the report on graduation
rates required pursuant
to the Budget Act of 2016.
e) Submit a report to Legislative policy and fiscal
committees by January 1,
2021 that includes:
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i) The number of students
participating in the program in
total, by campus and disaggregated based on:
whether the student
entered as a first-time freshman or a transfer
student; whether the
student is a first-generation college student;
whether the student is
a recipient of financial aid under the Federal
Pell Grant Program or
the Cal Grant Program and; according to the
student's ethnicity.
ii) The total number of students who
graduated in four academic years
for students who entered as first-time freshman
and two academic years, for California Community
College (CCC) transfer students, in total, by
campus, and disaggregated based on the
aforementioned characteristics.
iii) A summary description of significant
differences in the
implementation of the California Promise program
at each campus.
f) Submit recommendations to the appropriate policy
and fiscal committees
of the Legislature, by March 15, 2017, regarding
potential financial incentives that could benefit
students who participate in the California Promise
program.
4) Requires each College Promise program to be reviewed by a
graduation initiative advisory committee of the campus or a
committee with similar functions designated by the
president of the campus.
5) Requires support provided by a California State University
(CSU) campus to a California Promise program student to
include, but not necessarily be limited to, both of the
following:
a) Priority registration in coursework provided that
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a student does not qualify
for priority registration under another policy or
program, as specified. The designated advisory
committee is required to consider pre-existing
priority registration policies upon implementing
priority registration under the California Promise
program.
b) Academic advisement that includes monitoring
academic progress.
6) Requires a student in order to qualify for the program to:
a) Be a California resident for purposes of in-state
tuition eligibility.
b) Commit to completing at least 30 semester units
or the quarter equivalent
per academic year, including summer term units, as
specified.
7) Requires a campus to guarantee participation in the program
to, at a minimum, any student who is a:
a) A low-income student, as defined.
b) A student who has graduated from a high school
located in a community
that is underrepresented in college attendance.
c) A first-generation college student.
d) A transfer student who successfully completes his
or her associate degree
for transfer at a community college.
8) Establishes as a condition of continued participation in a
California Promise program, as 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.
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b) Attainment of a grade point average in excess of
a standard established
by the campus.
9) Declares that it is the intent of Legislature to
accommodate as many students into the program as feasible
and in consideration of available funding.
10) Sunsets the provisions of this bill on January 1, 2026.
11) Makes a number of related declarations and findings.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill. According to the author, this bill is
intended to address the California State University's (CSU)
overall four-year graduation rate, which is well below the
national rate among similar public institutions. The
provisions of the bill are based on existing programs at
CSU campuses which the author asserts are effective in
improving four-year graduation rates and two-year
graduation rates for transfer students. This bill
establishes a program which, in exchange for a promise to
complete 30 units per year and maintain a grade point
average standard, would provide priority enrollment and
enhanced academic advising.
2) Similar legislation. On April 20, 2016 this Committee
heard a similar bill, SB 1450 (Glazer), which failed
passage, by a vote of 4-2. Both SB 1450 and this bill
require the CSU to develop and implement a program that
authorizes a campus to enter into a pledge with qualifying
students to support completion of a baccalaureate degree
within four years and offer incentives to students in
exchange for participation in that program.
However, unlike this bill, SB 1450 established various
requirements regarding systemwide fees for California
Promise students at CSU, including freezing tuition and
granting tuition waivers if students were unable to
complete a degree within the required timeframe due to
unavailability of courses. SB 1450 also imposed these same
requirements on the community colleges (CCC) and required
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the CCC Board of Governors to establish the Promise program
as well. The CCC was removed from the scope of this bill
and instead requires CSU to ensure entry into a promise
program for any CCC student who transfers with an Associate
Degree for Transfer. In addition, this bill requires a
greater number of programs (20) to be developed by the
California State University (CSU).
3) Is there a problem? In its March 2016 report on State
Performance Measures for the 2014-15 academic year, the
California State University (CSU) reports a cumulative
four-year graduation rate for all students of 19.1 percent
in 2011. According to the 2015-16 Budget Analysis by the
Legislative Analyst's Office, CSU graduation rates have
been increasing, but while 6-year graduation rates are
similar to those of other large public masters
institutions, four-year rates are significantly lower, and
only 48 percent of first year students are on track to
graduate on time.
Aside from benefitting the state through increased access
and more efficient movement of students through the CSU
system, accelerating degree completion also reduces the
overall cost of higher education for students and families.
In The Real Cost of College: Time and Credits to Degree in
California, the Campaign for College Opportunity reports
that every additional year of enrollment in college
increases the total cost by more than $26,000 in tuition,
fees, books, and living expenses, as well as more than
$22,000 in lost lifetime wages. A CSU student who takes
six years to earn a bachelor's degree will spend an
additional $58,000 more on tuition, fees, books and other
expenses, and will earn $52,900 less, over his/her
lifetime, than someone who graduated in four years. As a
result of these additional two years, this student would
incur $110,900 in extra expenses and lost wages.
4) Existing CSU goals/strategies. In October 2014, the CSU
initiated "Graduation Initiative 2025", setting the
following completion goals:
a) Increasing the 6-year graduation rate for
first-time freshmen to 60 percent.
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b) Increasing the four-year graduation rate for
first-time freshmen to 24 percent.
c) Increasing the four-year graduation rate for
transfer students to 76 percent.
d) Increasing the two-year graduation rate for
transfer students to 35 percent.
e) Closing the achievement gap for historically
underrepresented students to seven percent and to five
percent for low-income students
The strategies employed by the Chancellor's Office and
campuses to achieve these goals include the following:
a) Reducing the number of units required to earn
a BA/BS degree (94 percent of BA/BS programs now
require only 120 units).
b) Expanding high impact practices including
undergraduate research, service learning, internships
and study abroad.
c) Redesigning courses to incorporate technology
to improve content retention.
d) Expanding the Associate Degree for Transfer
program.
e) Expanding cohort-based learning communities.
f) Expanding Summer Bridge and other transitional
programs.
g) Expanding the use of electronic academic
advising tools to establish clear pathways to degrees
and data analysis to improve student outcomes.
h) Hiring more tenure track faculty and academic
advisors.
i) Expanding the number of CourseMatch course
offerings to increase degree completion rates
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(CourseMatch allows access to online courses offered
at other California State University (CSU) campuses).
j) Building relationships with community and
business partners, community colleges and K-12 school
districts to ensure students are prepared for college.
1) Existing programs? According to the CSU, four of its
campuses currently have pledge programs (Fresno, San
Bernardino, Fullerton and Cal Poly Pomona) that are
generally consistent with what is proposed in the bill.
While the four-year graduation rates for program
participants are much higher than the undergraduate student
populations that do not participate in the programs,
attrition rates are also high (often times 50 percent or
more). The Cal State Fullerton's Finish in Four Scholars
Program has had five cohorts of students that graduated
with four-year graduation rates that range from 30.4
percent to 45.5 percent. The numbers of students in these
programs tend to be small. For example, California State
University (CSU) San Bernardino has one of the larger
programs with 620 participants, but that number represents
less than 4 percent of the undergraduate student
population.
The CSU reports that several campuses have discontinued
similar types of programs because of low student
participation. The CSU also noted that many students are
unable to participate in or continue with these programs
because they do no enter the CSU academically prepared, are
unable to maintain grade point average requirements, or
change their major.
2) Priority registration. This bill requires a CSU campus to
provide a California Promise program student with priority
registration in coursework provided that the student does
not qualify for priority registration under another policy
or program. In addition, the designated advisory committee
is required to consider pre-existing priority registration
policies upon implementing priority registration under the
California Promise program. It's unclear how these
provisions may be interrupted and applied considering the
number of students that are guaranteed participation in the
program under the provisions of the bill.
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3) Fiscal impact. According to the Assembly Committee on
Appropriations this bill would impose the following costs:
California State University (CSU) indicates
that four campuses (Fresno, Fullerton, Cal Poly
Pomona, and San Bernardino) have four-year pledge
programs similar to what is proposed in this bill for
incoming freshman. Administrative costs to replicate
this model at six additional campuses would be in the
range of $450,000 to $600,000 annually. [General
Fund]
CSU also indicates that one of four campuses
in the system that has over 1,000 Associate Degree for
Transfer (ADT) students already has a two-year pledge
program serving these students. Costs for the two-year
pledge program at these four campuses will total
$300,000 to $400,000 and for 16 additional campuses,
with smaller numbers of ADT students, will be between
$300,000 and $800,000, for total costs of $600,000 to
$1.2 million for the two-year pledge programs.
[General Fund]
Costs for the legislative reports will be
about $100,000. [General Fund]
SUPPORT
None received.
OPPOSITION
None received on this version.
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