Senate Bill No. 1450

Introduced by Senator Glazer

(Coauthors: Senators Allen, Anderson, Beall, Block, Cannella, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Hall, Hancock, Hertzberg, Hill, Huff, McGuire, Mendoza, Moorlach, Roth, Stone, Vidak, and Wolk)

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Baker and Weber)

February 19, 2016

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

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1450, as introduced, 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 the trustees and the board of governors to establish a program that authorizes a campus of the California State University and the California Community Colleges to enter into a pledge with a student who satisfies specified criteria to support the student in obtaining an associate degree within 2 academic years, or a baccalaureate degree within 4 academic years, of freshman admission. The bill would prohibit systemwide tuition charged to a California State University student who participates in a California Promise program for an academic year from exceeding the amount of tuition charged to the student for the academic year of the student’s freshman admission, and would prohibit tuition of a community college transfer student from exceeding a specified amount.

By imposing new duties on community college districts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

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

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

67431.  

The California Promise is hereby established to support
students who enroll in the campuses of the California State
University and the California Community Colleges in obtaining
associate degrees within two academic years, and baccalaureate
degrees within four academic years, as applicable, of the academic
year of the student’s freshman admission.

67432.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) This act is needed to facilitate the availability and completion
of coursework for degree programs offered by campuses of the
California State University and the California Community Colleges
and to ensure that students enrolled in these campuses are able to
complete associate degree programs within two academic years,
and baccalaureate degree programs within four academic years,
as applicable, of the academic year of the student’s freshman
admission.

(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 and the California Community Colleges in
accordance with this act should aim to reflect the demographics
of their respective campuses and target a diverse set of students.
California State University at San Bernardino’s inclusion of a
sizeable cohort of underrepresented minorities in its Four-Year
Graduation Pledge program is an example of an aggressively
promoted offering that benefits a diverse set of students. More
than 500 of the 614 students participating in the Four-Year
Graduation Pledge program are underrepresented minorities.

67433.  

(a) The trustees and the board of governors shall
develop and implement a California Promise program that complies
with this part at one or more of their respective campuses.

(b) The trustees and the board of governors may authorize a
campus to enter into a pledge with a qualifying student of the
campus, including a community college transfer student, to support
the student in obtaining an associate degree within two academic
years, or a baccalaureate degree within four academic years, as
applicable, of the academic year of the student’s freshman
admission.

(c) To be a qualifying student, 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 per academic year. Units
completed by the student during a summer term may count towards
the following academic year as determined by the trustees or the
board of governors, as applicable.

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

(1) Priority registration in coursework.

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

(e) (1) The trustees and the board of governors shall develop
application criteria, administrative guidelines, and additional
requirements 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.

(f) (1) A California State University student who participates
in a California Promise program shall not be charged in systemwide
tuition for an academic year at the campus an amount that exceeds
the tuition charged to the student for the academic year of the
student’s freshman admission to a campus of the California State
University.

(2) (A) A community college transfer student, who successfully
received his or her associate degree within two academic years as
a California Promise student at a community college, and who
participates in a California Promise program at the California State
University campus he or she transfers to, shall not be charged in
systemwide tuition for an academic year at the campus an amount
that exceeds the tuition charged to California State University
students at the time the student began his or her two-year associate
degree program.

(B) A community college transfer student not described in
subparagraph (A), who participates in a California Promise
program at the California State University campus he or she
transfers to, shall not be charged in systemwide tuition for an
academic year at the campus an amount that exceeds the tuition
charged to the student for the academic year of the student’s
admission to the campus.

(3) It is the intent of the Legislature to appropriate moneys from
the General Fund to the Trustees of the California State University
to fully compensate for systemwide tuition that is not charged to
students pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2).

(g) A California Promise student who cannot complete a
baccalaureate degree program within four academic years, or an
associate degree program within two academic years, as applicable,
of the academic year of the student’s freshman admission because
a required course for the degree program is not offered or is full
at the campus, shall not be charged systemwide tuition or fees, as
applicable, otherwise required to register and enroll in the course,
once the course becomes available, or in a substitute course that
fulfills the graduation requirement.

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

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

(2) “Board of governors” means the Board of Governors of the
California Community Colleges.

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

SEC. 2.  

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.