BILL ANALYSIS
AB 24
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 1, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 24 (Block) - As Amended: February 26, 2009
Policy Committee: Higher
EducationVote:9-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill requires the California State University (CSU), by
January 1, 2011, to complete a study regarding the feasibility
of a CSU campus in Chula Vista (San Diego County). The study is
to include 12 specified elements and be funded solely from
private sources.
FISCAL EFFECT
One-time non-state cost of around $600,000 for the feasibility
study, which would include physical and academic planning and
environmental and traffic studies. Development of a new CSU
campus would probably require initial capital outlays of tens of
millions of dollars and at least several million dollars
annually in start-up costs.
COMMENTS
1)Background . During development of Chula Vista's land-use plan
for Otay Ranch in the early 1990s, approximately 375 acres was
set aside for a four-year university. The city and members of
the community have worked since that time to recruit a
university for the property. In 2005, it was reported that
the city was looking at a multi-school campus model where the
schools would share facilities such as classrooms and a
library, the institutions could be either public or private.
2)Purpose . The author argues that the current 23 CSU campuses
lack sufficient capacity to accommodate the growing demand for
a four-year college degree. The author indicates that for the
fall 2008 semester, San Diego State University (SDSU) turned
AB 24
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away almost 70% of the 50,000 first-time freshmen who applied,
and of the 62,330 total undergraduates that applied, only 34%
were admitted. The author notes that CSU is currently
overenrolled by 10,000 students, and maintains that building a
CSU campus in Chula Vista would create an option for tens of
thousands of Southern California students who are being turned
away from impacted campuses such as SDSU.
3)Comment . It should be noted that all qualified students from
the San Diego area were offered admission to SDSU in 2008, and
that CSU's overenrollment is not related to a lack of
systemwide physical capacity but rather to the system having
insufficient resources to sustain current enrollment levels.
The CSU plans to reduce enrollment in 2009 to better match its
budgeted resources. Moreover, the Legislative Analyst has
recently reported that, due to the state's deteriorating
economy and the temporary nature of some of the recent budget
solutions, the state's operating shortfalls are projected to
grow dramatically in 2010-11 and beyond, which implies
continued budget stress for CSU and a significant challenge
just to maintain current programs. Given this outlook, it is
difficult to envision expansion of the CSU system at this
time.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081