BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2382
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2382 (Blumenfield)
As Amended July 15, 2010
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |75-1 |(May 13, 2010) |SENATE: |35-0 |(August 12, |
| | | | | |2010) |
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Original Committee Reference: HIGHER ED.
SUMMARY : Authorizes the California State University (CSU) to
award the Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree, as
distinguished from the doctoral degree programs at the
University of California (UC).
1)Authorizes CSU to award a DPT, notwithstanding the Master Plan
for Higher Education and its differentiation of mission and
function, in order to meet specified physical therapy needs in
California, subject to compliance with the following
conditions:
a) Limits the authority to award a doctorate to the
discipline of physical therapy;
b) Requires that the amount of state full-time equivalent
student (FTES) funding per student be at the agreed upon
marginal cost calculation that CSU receives and further:
i) Requires that FTES funding for the new students in
these programs come from within CSU's agreed upon
enrollment levels in the annual Budget Act; and,
ii) Prohibits enrollment in these programs from altering
the ratio of graduate instruction to total enrollment and
diminishing the growth of enrollment of undergraduate
programs.
c) Requires that the degree be focused on preparing
physical therapists to provide health care services and
that it be consistent with meeting the requirements of the
Commission on the Accreditation in Physical Therapy
Education (CAPTE);
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d) Affirms the authority of the California Postsecondary
Education Commission to review, evaluate and make
recommendations relating to any and all programs
established under the bill's provisions;
e) Caps the fees that may be charged students in these
programs at the rate charged for students in
state-supported DPT programs at UC (including joint UC-CSU
programs);
f) Requires that start-up funding for these programs be met
within existing academic program support budgets, without
diminishing the program support offered to undergraduates;
and,
g) Prohibits funding of these programs from resulting in
reduced undergraduate enrollment at CSU.
2)Requires CSU, the Department of Finance, and the Legislative
Analyst's Office to jointly conduct a statewide evaluation of
the implementation of the DPT programs authorized by this bill
as follows:
a) Requires the evaluation consider the number of new
programs implemented, as specified, the extent to which the
programs are fulfilling identified needs for physical
therapists, information on subsequent job placement and
employment of graduates, program costs, fund sources, and
cost per degree awarded, the cost of programs to students,
as specified, and the degree of compliance with this bill's
provisions; and,
b) Requires the evaluation be submitted to the Legislature
and Governor by January 1, 2015, until January 1, 2019.
The Senate amendments :
1)Codify legislative intent language.
2)Repeal the reporting requirement as of January 1, 2019.
EXISTING LAW : The Master Plan for Higher Education defines the
missions of UC, CSU, and the California Community Colleges.
Specifically, UC has sole responsibility for awarding doctorate
degrees, except CSU may enter into joint programs and may award
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the Doctor of Education degree, which the Legislature authorized
CSU to award in AB 724 (Scott), Chapter 269, Statutes of 2005.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill is substantially similar to
the version that passed the Senate.
FISCAL EFFECT : No net state costs as the additional student
fee revenues, from increased fees charged to DPT students, will
more than offset the additional costs of the DPT programs. When
fully implemented, likely in 2016-17, additional student fee
revenues will be about $500,000 annually per campus or $2
million for the four CSU DPT programs. [This assumes DPT
students will be charged about $14,500 annually ($43,500 for
three years)-equal to the current charge for CSU Doctor of
Education students.] The additional cost for the DPT
programs-mainly involving adding two faculty positions per
campus to accommodate a one- or two-semester extension of the
current programs-are about $300,000 per campus annually or $1.2
million total. All start-up costs to develop the DPT program
will be absorbed by existing faculty.
COMMENTS : CAPTE, which has sole responsibility for accrediting
PT education programs in the United States, revised its
accreditation standards last October to require the DPT as the
terminal degree instead of the Master's degree, requiring PT
Master's degree programs to convert to DPT programs by December
30, 2015. Programs that do not meet this criterion by that date
will be required to come into compliance no later than December
31, 2017, or lose accreditation. Prospective PTs must have
graduated from a CAPTE-accredited program in order to sit for
the National Physical Therapy Examination, which is required for
licensure.
As of January 2010, there were 203 DPT programs (96%) and only
nine Master's programs (4%) accredited nationally. There are
currently nine private DPT programs in California and one public
program-a joint DPT between San Francisco State University and
the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF). The
programs average about 40 students, take approximately three
years, and cost $27,000 to $40,000 per year. CSU operates four
PT Master's programs at its Fresno, Northridge, Long Beach, and
Sacramento campuses. CSU Fresno does offer a nine-month DPT
option upon completion of a Master's degree in partnership with
UCSF.
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According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics,
demand for physical therapists (PTs) will increase by 30% from
2008 to 2018, driven by the increasing elderly population, the
aging baby boom generation, and changes in insurance
reimbursement rates for PT services.
Analysis Prepared by : Sandra Fried / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
FN: 0005578