BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2400
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 4, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Marty Block, Chair
AB 2400 (Block) - As Amended: March 23, 2010
SUBJECT : Public postsecondary education: community colleges:
baccalaureate degree pilot program.
SUMMARY : Authorizes three specified California Community
College (CCC) districts to offer baccalaureate degrees as part
of a pilot program. Specifically, this bill :
1)Authorizes the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District,
the San Diego Community College District, and the San Mateo
County Community College district to establish a pilot program
to offer a baccalaureate degree, and requires these CCC
districts do the following:
a) Seek accreditation as a baccalaureate degree-granting
college;
b) Maintain the primary mission of CCC as expressed in
existing law and have the additional mission to provide
high-quality undergraduate education at an affordable price
to students and the state;
c) Offer baccalaureate degrees in those subject areas
possessing unmet workforce needs in the local community, as
determined by the CCC district, and not unnecessarily
duplicate similar programs offered by nearby public
postsecondary educational institutions that have space
available to local students; and,
d) Maintain separate records for students who are enrolled
in courses classified in the upper-division and
lower-division of a baccalaureate program.
2)Requires the CCC district governing board participating in
this pilot program to do the following:
a) Determine the appropriate governance system for the
baccalaureate degree pilot program;
b) Make decisions regarding the baccalaureate degree pilot
AB 2400
Page 2
program's curriculum, faculty, and facilities; and,
c) Establish the level of matriculation, tuition, and other
appropriate costs for students enrolled in a baccalaureate
degree program.
3)Authorizes the CCC district governing board of the pilot
program to charge baccalaureate degree-seeking students a fee,
to be determined by the CCC district governing board, that
covers the additional costs imposed by providing a
baccalaureate degree pilot program, for enrollment in courses
that are not transfer core curriculum courses, as defined, and
requires all fees to be deposited and expended as specified.
4)Allows the governing board of the district to enter into
agreements with local businesses and agencies to provide
educational services to students participating in a
baccalaureate degree pilot program.
5)Requires the CCC district participating in the pilot program
to submit a report to the Legislature within one year prior to
the expiration of the baccalaureate degree pilot program, and
requires the report to evaluate the following factors:
a) The percentage of students who complete a baccalaureate
degree, calculated by dividing the number of students who
enroll in the baccalaureate degree pilot program by the
number of students who graduate from the program;
b) The extent to which the baccalaureate degree pilot
program is self-supporting, such that the student fees
charged cover the costs of the program;
c) Whether there is a problem with finding and paying
instructors for the baccalaureate degree pilot program;
d) Whether there was a decline in enrollment in the
California State University (CSU) and the University of
California (UC) as a result of the baccalaureate degree
pilot program;
e) The number of students who received jobs in the area in
the field of study of their baccalaureate degree; and,
f) The amount of student fees charged compared to the
AB 2400
Page 3
amount of student fees charged for courses at UC and CSU.
6)Sunsets the pilot programs eight years after the establishment
of the program, which is deemed to be when the first class of
students is enrolled in a baccalaureate degree program.
EXISTING LAW : Establishes the Master Plan for Higher Education,
differentiating the functions of the public postsecondary
segments to allow limited state resources to be focused on a few
key responsibilities as follows:
1)UC is designated as the state's primary academic research
institution and is to provide undergraduate, graduate, and
professional education.
2)CSU's primary mission is undergraduate education and graduate
education through the master's degree including professional
and teacher education, with the exception of the authority to
award the doctorate in education.
3)CCC has the primary mission of providing academic and
vocational instruction for older and younger students through
the first two years of undergraduate education. In addition,
CCC is authorized to provide remedial instruction, English as
a Second Language courses, adult noncredit instruction,
community service courses, and workforce training services.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill is keyed non-fiscal by Legislative
Counsel; however, the Assembly Appropriations Committee has
requested to hear this bill.
COMMENTS : Background : In its report, California's Future
Workforce: Will There Be Enough College Graduates? (December
2008), the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) projects
that California will face a shortage of almost 1 million
college-educated workers by 2025. In its follow up report,
Closing the Gap: Meeting California's Need for College Graduates
(April 2009), PPIC finds that this education-skills gap could
be cut in half by modest investments in programs aimed at
expanding college attendance rates, increasing transfer rates
from CCC to four-year institutions, and boosting graduation
rates at four-year institutions. Finally, PPIC's most recent
report, Higher Education in California: New Goals for the Master
Plan (April 2010), call for three modifications to the Master
Plan in order to close the education-skills gap:
AB 2400
Page 4
1)Eligibility goals for the CSU and UC systems should be
gradually increased to new levels by 2025. The share of the
state's high school graduates eligible for UC should grow from
the top 12.5% to the top 15% of high school graduates. The
share eligible for CSU should grow from the top 33.3% to the
top 40%.
2)The Master Plan should set explicit goals for transfer from
CCC to UC and CSU. A target for larger shares of bachelor's
degrees awarded to transfer students at both systems should be
defined.
3)A new component of higher education policy that focuses on
outcomes-specifically, completion rates-should be added to the
Master Plan
Purpose of this bill : According to the author, "There are three
important considerations that must be addressed when looking at
California's university systems: quality, access, and
affordability. While the quality of our education is quite high,
the access to four-year degrees and the price of that education
are exceedingly slipping out of the grasp of our youngest
generations. Allowing a select number of community colleges to
offer baccalaureate degrees could be one way to help improve
retention and graduation rates while providing
otherwise-placebound students an opportunity to get a
high-quality education close to home."
Other states : According to the American Association of State
Colleges and Universities (AASCU), there has been a steady
growth in the number of community colleges offering
baccalaureate degrees. In 2005, AASCU identified 11 states
where at least one two-year college offered baccalaureate
degrees, and three states in which similar baccalaureate
programs were being examined. AASCU also found that most of
these community colleges offered bachelor's programs in
collaboration with four-year universities through university
centers or shared facilities-very few offered independent
baccalaureate degrees. A recent analysis of states with
community college bachelor degree programs found the primary
reasons for offering these programs are to address workforce
needs, respond to economic pressures from employers, increase
access to populations underserved by traditional bachelor
degree-granting institutions, and maintain college
AB 2400
Page 5
affordability.
Why these CCC districts ? Pilot programs are designed to test
and evaluate how a program will work in a variety of
circumstances before implementation on a statewide basis. Thus,
pilots are usually selected by the CCC Chancellor in a
competitive process that seeks to ensure demographic and
geographic diversity. This bill specifies three CCC districts
that will serve as the pilot programs without the benefit of a
competitive process or evaluation of the diversity of the
pilots. Will this provide a suitable test of the viability of
the CCC baccalaureate degree and possible implementation
challenges for all CCCs?
One mission too many ? This bill represents a significant
expansion of the CCC mission, with an unknown impact on the
ability of CCC to complete its existing missions. As reported
by the Institute for Higher Education Leadership & Policy, of
the 60% of CCC students seeking a degree or certificate, only
about one-fourth succeed in transferring to a university and/or
earning an associate's degree or certificate within six years.
In the 2009-10 Budget Act, the Legislature and Administration
asked CCC to focus its resources on three key priorities: career
technical education, basic skills, and transfer. Is this bill
consistent with that intent?
Start up costs : CCCs have argued during budget debates that
they do not receive adequate funding for their existing
responsibilities and student enrollment levels. While this bill
authorizes these pilot programs to charge fees to cover the cost
of providing the baccalaureate instruction, fees cannot be
charged until after the programs are in place, which requires
accreditation. The accreditation process assesses finance,
governance, and integrity of educational programs. Each
institution applying for accreditation prepares a self
assessment document and undergoes evaluation and on-site
inspection by peer reviewers. A report then provides
recommendations and suggested actions. The accreditation
process takes three to six years. These expenses are incurred
long before students are enrolled and paying fees.
Would this bill be subject to existing statutes and regulations
governing CCC expenditures? Numerous statutes and regulations
specify how CCC leaders can use their resources. For example,
50% of a district's resources must be spent on instruction, and
AB 2400
Page 6
75% of faculty must be full-time. Would the pilot programs
authorized under this bill be subject to these statutes and
regulations?
What fee amount would be charged? This bill allows the pilots
to charge fees to cover the additional costs imposed by
providing a baccalaureate degree pilot program, for enrollment
in courses that are not transfer core curriculum courses, as
defined. What is included in "costs"? Could the fee differ
among the pilots? Would CCC seek funding from the state (CCC
receives approximately $4,000 per full-time equivalent student)?
Why not fund CSU to accept all eligible students? CSU has
announced plans to decrease enrollment by 40,000 students over
two years, starting with the 2010-11 class. Perhaps a simpler
and more cost effective option to increase the state's
baccalaureate degree production would be to fully fund or expand
the number of slots at CSU, as recommended by PPIC.
Other alternatives ? Partnerships between a CCC and a CSU campus
have been established to deliver upper-division instruction at
community sites away from the main CSU campus. The CCC
Baccalaureate Partnership Program, formed for the purpose of
offering baccalaureate degree programs on participating CCC
campuses, authorizes the CCC Chancellor's Office to award
annually two grants, not to exceed $50,000 each, to a
collaborative, consisting of at least one CCC and at least one
baccalaureate-degree granting institution, formed for the
purpose of offering a baccalaureate degree program at
participating CCCs. Ca?ada College partners with SFSU and CSU
East Bay to provide bachelor's degrees at the University Center
located on the Ca?ada College campus in Child and Adolescent
Development, Nursing, and Health Sciences. The city of Stockton
receives baccalaureate-level instruction provided by CSU
Stanislaus at an off-campus site in Stockton. CSU Fullerton
maintains a branch campus in El Toro, serving approximately
1,140 full-time equivalent students annually.
California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) review :
Current law generally requires colleges to seek and receive
approval by CPEC prior to commencing new programs of study. As
the process serves to improve the quality of programs, avoid
duplication, and ensure best use of state resources, staff
recommends that this bill be amended to clarify that although
AB 2400
Page 7
this bill authorizes CCC to offer baccalaureate degree programs,
such programs are not exempted from any existing review and
approval processes.
Previous efforts : AB 1455 (Hill) of 2009, pending in the Senate
Public Safety Committee, as introduced, would have required the
CCC Board of Governors (BOG) to establish a pilot program to
allow selected CCC districts to offer baccalaureate degrees. AB
1280 (Maze), Chapter 515, Statutes of 2005, established the CCC
Baccalaureate Partnership Program. AB 1932 (Maze) of 2004,
expressed legislative intent to authorize CCC to award
bachelor's degrees and establish an advisory committee to
examine the issue. This bill was held without recommendation in
the Assembly Higher Education Committee. The California
Performance Review issued by Governor Schwarzenegger in 2005
recommended that the Governor work with the Legislature to
create a pilot program allowing approved CCCs to offer
bachelor's degrees. Under the pilot program, individual
community colleges interested in offering a bachelor's degree
would submit a proposal for approval by the Secretary of
Education, or his or her successor.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
San Diego Community College District
San Mateo Community College District
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Sandra Fried / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960