BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
1143 (Liu)
Hearing Date: 05/27/2010 Amended: 04/05/2010
Consultant: Dan Troy Policy Vote: ED 7-0
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BILL SUMMARY: SB 1143 would change the calculation of
full-time equivalent student (FTEs) enrollment for purposes of
apportionment within the California Community Colleges to the
average enrollment in a course at the one-fifth point and at
course completion, as specified, and prohibits any reduction in
revenues as a result of the changed calculation until the
2012-13 fiscal year.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund
Administrative costs Unknown, potentially
millions General*
*Counts toward meeting the Proposition 98 minimum funding
guarantee
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STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.
Current law and regulation provides that funding for the
California Community Colleges (CCC) is based, in part, on a
calculation using the enrollment as of the Monday of the week
nearest to one-fifth of the length of the term.
According to the author's office only 29 percent of those
entering the community colleges seeking a degree ultimately
complete a certificate or degree or transfer to a university
within seven years of enrolling. The purpose of the bill, in
part, is to alter the CCC system of finance to incentivize
course completion.
A 2007 report by the Institute for Higher Education Leadership
& Policy identified changes to state policy that could reduce
barriers to course completion at the CCCs, including; 1) the
reform of finance policy to incorporate incentives for
completion, 2) granting the colleges more flexibility to use
funds to enhance completion 3) granting the colleges more
flexibility to hire the faculty/staff best able to help students
meet their academic goals, 4) modification of fee and financial
aid policies to meet students costs beyond fees, encourage
full-time attendance, and give colleges more access to fee
revenues, and 5) revision of college policies to achieve clearer
standards/assessments of college readiness matched with better
counseling and support of students.
By changing the calculation to the average of the one-fifth
point and at course completion, this bill would result in an
annual reduction in apportionments of approximately $420
million, commencing the 2012-13 fiscal year. This assumes that
the average course completion rate of 83 percent remains
constant. Staff notes that
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SB 1143 (Liu)
this figure could change depending on the response by CCCs. To
the extent CCCs are able to increase course completion rates,
savings would decrease.
The bill also authorizes CCC board of governors to adopt
alternative calculations for specified courses, including those
that are noncredit, short-term credit courses, apprenticeship,
tutoring, and certain other courses. Further, the bill requires
the adoption of weighting factors for the FTE calculation to
ensure that districts do not have a disincentive to enroll
students from demographic groups with historically lower rates
of course completion.
As noted above, in its current version, the bill would result in
long-term savings to the state commencing in the 2012-13 fiscal
year. This rests on the assumption that the intent of the bill
is to divert the funding from the CCC system. Potentially,
these programmatic savings could be shifted to other purposes
within the CCCs. The Chancellor's Office notes there would be up
front costs to the CCC districts to change their enrollment
accounting systems, and given the lack of consistency in how the
72 CCC districts operate, these costs could reach the millions.
It is not entirely clear that these costs would be reimbursable
through the mandate system, but as enrollment accounting is
required and this bill would require changes to the local
systems, it is possible the Commission on State Mandates would
deem the local costs reimbursable.
Author's proposed amendments would:
Hold overall system funding level harmless for the
change in the FTE calculation.
Delay implementation until the 2013-14 fiscal year.
Add additional groups to weighting criteria, including
low-income students, English language learners, students
with disabilities, and students entering with English or
math competencies below college level.