BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 611
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 4, 2011

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                    AB 611 (Gordon) - As Amended:  March 22, 2011 

          Policy Committee:                              Higher 
          EducationVote:9-0 (Consent)
                        Business and Professions              9-0 
          (Consent)

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill amends the Private Postsecondary Education Act to 
          prohibit unaccredited institutions from offering doctoral 
          degrees without disclosing to prospective students prior to 
          enrollment that the degree program is unaccredited, whether the 
          degree issued is issued in a field that requires licensure in 
          the state, and any known limitation of the degree.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Minor absorbable enforcement-related costs to the Bureau for 
          Private Postsecondary Education within the Department of 
          Consumer Affairs (DCA).

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose  . AB 48 (Portantino)/ Chapter 310 of 2009 
            re-established state regulation of private postsecondary 
            educational institutions in California by a bureau within DCA. 
            Accreditation is a voluntary, non-governmental peer review 
            process utilized for the purpose of determining academic 
            quality of higher education institutions and programs. 
            Unaccredited degrees can limit a student's career options.  
            For professions like education and health care, where 
            certification or licensure is a pre-requisite for employment, 
            degrees from accredited colleges are required. This bill seeks 
            to increase transparency and student protections by ensuring 
            that students enrolling in unaccredited doctoral programs at 
            private postsecondary institutions are aware of the 








                                                                  AB 611
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            limitations imposed by the accreditation status of their 
            degree program.

           2)Prior Legislation  . AB 1889 (Portantino) of 2010, which 
            included a similar provisions as this bill, was vetoed by 
            Governor Schwarzenegger due to concerns over unrelated 
            provisions in the bill regarding Bureau employment 
            requirements.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081