BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 670
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 3, 2011

                       ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
                                 Marty Block, Chair
                     AB 670 (Block) - As Amended:  April 28, 2011
           
          SUBJECT  :   California State University: admissions.

           SUMMARY  :   Requires the California State University (CSU) to 
          ensure that its campuses implement uniform appeal procedures for 
          applicants who are denied admission to a campus that includes 
          the following:

          1)Appeal procedures that clearly set forth the following:

             a)   The basis for appeal,

             b)   A timeframe of 15 business days from the date of denial 
               of admissions notification with which to appeal,

             c)   A limit of one appeal per academic term,

             d)   The contact information for the campus office to which 
               an appeal is submitted, and,

             e)   A time estimate for when the campus expects to issue a 
               response to an appeal request.

          2)Inclusion of appeal procedures, as defined above, in a denial 
            of admission notification to a student.

          3)Posting of information on its Internet Web site detailing the 
            appeal procedures, as defined above. 

           EXISTING LAW  requires the CSU Board of Trustees to adopt rules 
          and regulations for the government of the CSU and requires those 
          rules and regulations to be published for distribution as soon 
          as practicable after adoption.  Existing law prescribes notice 
          and hearing procedures for the adoption, amendment, and repeal 
          of those regulations.  (Education Code � 89001, 89030, 89030.1)

           FISCAL EFFECT  :   Unknown

           COMMENTS  :    Background  .  The California State University 
          Enrollment Management Policy and Practices, published by Office 








                                                                  AB 670
                                                                  Page  2

          of the Chancellor in 2002, includes a provision requiring each 
          campus to maintain a process by which students can receive 
          information about the status of their application for admission, 
          reasons for denial of admission, and a process to appeal 
          admissions decisions.  The specifics of the appeals process, 
          including timeframe for appeal, criteria, and method of 
          communication, is left to the discretion of each campus.

           Need for this bill  .  According to the author, while each campus 
          is to have an appeals process that is available to students, 
          this process is not uniform nor is it always easy to obtain.

           Existing CSU campus processes  .  Appeal procedures were readily 
          available on the Internet Web sites of seven of the 23 CSU 
          campuses: Dominguez Hills, Pomona, Sacramento, East Bay, 
          Fullerton, San Marcos, and Mission Bay.  However, information 
          about the appeal process varied significantly; several campuses 
          mention the appeal process but provide very little information 
          to guide a student pursuing an appeal, such as criteria or 
          timeframes or where to submit the appeal.  When timeframes were 
          listed, they ranged from two weeks to 90 days for students to 
          appeal. 

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
          California State University

           Opposition 
           
          None on file.

           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Sandra Fried / HIGHER ED. / (916) 
          319-3960