BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2302
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Date of Hearing: May 12, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2302 (Fong) - As Amended: April 28, 2010
Policy Committee: Higher
EducationVote:9-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill requires the California State University (CSU) and the
California Community Colleges (CCC), and requests the University
of California (UC), to develop a common core curriculum for
major preparation, to develop transfer agreements and to
establish transfer degree programs equivalent to an associate
degree that would guarantee transfer to the UC and CSU systems.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires UC, CSU, and CCC to develop an intersegmental common
core transfer curriculum in major preparation courses that
shall be the same for all transfer students, regardless of the
public four-year institution or the campus to which the
students transfer.
2)Stipulates that any CCC student successfully completing the
existing transfer core curriculum in general education courses
and the applicable major preparation courses developed per (1)
is deemed eligible for a transfer degree, commencing with
2012-13 academic calendar.
3)Requires CSU and requests UC, effective July 1, 2013, to
develop transfer admission agreement programs at each CCC
campus for CCC students demonstrating intent to meet academic
requirements for transfer, and requires the transfer admission
agreement to guarantee admission to the campus and major
identified in the agreement and transfer of all units included
in the agreement.
4)Requires the CCC Chancellor, the CSU Chancellor, and the UC
President, to jointly develop and implement a transfer degree
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program, with the transfer degree to be granted by each CCC,
commencing with the 2012-13 academic year, to students who
complete the common core curriculum in general education and
major preparation in his or her major.
5)Stipulates that the transfer degree constitutes a recognized
educational credential awarded by a CCC, equivalent to
satisfactory completion of the requirements of a postsecondary
educational program at the associate degree level, and
guarantees a transfer student upper-division status at UC or
CSU upon enrollment in the major for which the student
completes the applicable lower division requirements.
6)Subject to a competitive application process, CSU is required,
and UC is requested, to guarantee admission to their
respective segments to each student who earns a transfer
degree, but stipulates that this does not limit UC's and CSU's
authority to impose post-transfer academic requirements on
transfer students.
7)Requires the CCC Chancellor, the CSU Chancellor, and the UC
President, to report to the Legislature on implementation of
all of the above by June 30, 2011.
8)Sunsets existing law related to UC and CSU articulation
agreements, effective July 1, 2013, and repeals other
transfer-related requirements in existing law.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)At the systemwide level, each of the three segments would
incur costs of several hundred thousand dollars to develop and
implement a common core curriculum for major preparation
courses and a transfer degree program.
2)Individual campuses for the three segments would incur
significant costs to develop transfer admission agreements
between UC and CSU campuses and the CCC campuses.
3)Potential significant long-term savings to the extent the new
transfer mechanism results in students graduating with fewer
total credits.
COMMENTS
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1)Background and Purpose . While the rate of student transfer
has generally increased over the past 15 years, the transfer
process is widely regarded as complex, confusing, and
inefficient. A CSU study found that transfer students
graduated with an average of 141 semester units (120 units is
usually needed to graduate). The excess units resulted from
course-taking actions at both CSU and CCC. A separate study
found that CCC transfer students earn an average of 75 CCC
units. Numerous entities have called for the streamlining of
the transfer process, including the Legislative Analyst's
Office and the Institute for Higher Education Leadership and
Policy (IHELP). This bill contains many of the recommendations
included in IHELP's report entitled, "Crafting a
Student-Centered Transfer Process in California: Lessons From
Other States" (August 2009).
CCC students who wish to transfer to a UC or CSU campus
typically take a set of general education courses (about 40
units), courses related to their major interest (6-8 units),
and electives or local degree requirements, which together
constitute lower division preparation. UC, CSU, and CCC are
required to maintain a common core curriculum for general
education for the purposes of transfer but not for major
preparation. Each major at each UC campus has its own set of
major preparation requirements, and while CSU has established
common major preparation requirements for high demand majors,
CSU can require additional pre-major courses that differ by
campus. This bill would require UC to develop a common core
curriculum for major preparation and would disallow CSU from
imposing additional pre-major courses that differ by campus.
However, this bill would allow UC and CSU to impose additional
pre-major requirements after the student has transferred.
2)Related Legislation . AB 2752 (Blakeslee), also on today's
committee agenda, requires CSU to develop a common curriculum
for lower division preparation that precludes a campus from
requiring nonelectives outside the common core curriculum.
SB 1440 (Padilla), pending in Senate Appropriations,
authorizes CCCs to grant an associate degree in the student's
field of study that is designated as being "for transfer."
3)Prior Legislation . SB 652 (Scott), Chapter 804, Statutes of
2006, established UC's major preparation articulation process.
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SB 1785 (Scott), Chapter 743, Statutes of 2004, established
CSU's Lower Division Transfer Pattern.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081