BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1741
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1741 (Fong)
As Amended May 25, 2012
Majority vote
HIGHER EDUCATION 6-3 APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Block, Brownley, Fong, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield, |
| |Galgiani, Lara, | |Bradford, Charles |
| |Portantino | |Calderon, Campos, Davis, |
| | | |Gatto, Ammiano, Hill, |
| | | |Lara, Mitchell, Solorio |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Olsen, Achadjian, Miller |Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby, Wagner |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY : Requires the California Community Colleges (CCC)
Board of Governors to develop a plan for supporting specified
goals as part of its efforts to improve student success that are
contained in SB 1456 (Lowenthal) of 2012. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Establishes the CCC Student Success and Support Program Act of
2012 to do the following:
a) Provide the necessary counseling and instructional
infrastructure at CCC to ensure that students have the
access to support services and classroom instructors to
increase their opportunities for success; and,
b) Complement the Seymour-Campbell Student Success Act of
2012 (SB 1456 (Alan Lowenthal) pending on the Senate Floor)
in its purpose of providing improved orientation and
counseling services to student and greater access to
instructional faculty.
2)Identifies the following goals for the CCC Student Success and
Support Program Act of 2012:
a) Increasing the ratio of counselors to students;
AB 1741
Page 2
b) Increasing funding for categorical programs that provide
student support services;
c) Increasing the percentage of hours of credit instruction
that are taught by full-time instructors consistent with
existing law that sets a goal of 75% full-time to 25%
part-time faculty; and,
d) Expanding part-time faculty office hours consistent with
student needs.
3)Requires the CCC Board of Governors to do the following:
a) Each fiscal year, develop a plan to support the goals of
SB 1456 and this bill that is consistent with the needs of
individual districts and statewide policies regarding
student success;
b) As part of implementation of SB 1456, incorporate those
elements that contribute to increasing student success,
including but not limited to, those contained 2) above, and
ensure all budget requests submitted to the Governor and
Legislature propose sufficient funding to support both SB
1456 and this bill.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, to some extent, the goals outlined in this bill are
consistent with funding issues often addressed by CCC as part of
its annual budget request to the Governor and Legislature. For
example, in its 2012-13 budget request, CCC included $313
million to restore prior funding reductions for programs
providing student services. Nevertheless, the establishment of
these particular goals and the requirement that CCC develop an
annual plan for funding these goals, along with the provisions
of SB 1456, creates some level of additional cost pressure for
allocation of Proposition 98 funds for these specific purposes.
By way of illustration, the CCC Chancellor's Office estimates
the following:
1)Costs of $330 million to improve the student/counselor ratio
from a statewide average of the current 1900:1 to 900:1.
2)Net costs of $78 million to increase the percentage hours of
AB 1741
Page 3
instruction taught by full-time faculty to 75% statewide.
3)$11 million to meet statutory requirements for funding
part-time faculty office hours.
COMMENTS : Due to concerns regarding the relatively small
proportion of CCC students who are actually completing their
educational goals, SB 1143 (Liu), Chapter 409, Statutes of 2010,
required the CCC Chancellor to convene a task force to make
recommendations for improving student success. The Student
Success Task Force (SSTF) issued its report, including 22
recommendations, in January. The recommendations are designed
to refocus priorities on the core missions of remedial
education, workforce preparation, certificate and degree
attainment, and transfer, by improving matriculation services
and incentivizing successful student behaviors, aligning course
offerings to student needs, improving basic skills education and
professional development, strengthening statewide CCC
leadership, increasing CCC coordination, maintaining a student
success scorecard and data system, and aligning resources with
these recommendations. Most of these recommendations can be
implemented through regulation, the budget act, or state
administrative policy. Six recommendations require statutory
changes, most of which are contained in SB 1456 (Lowenthal),
pending on the Senate Floor.
The statewide CCC Academic Senate and the CCC faculty unions
have expressed concern that the task force recommendations
narrow the CCC mission, take key academic decisions out of the
purview of the local faculty, could negatively impact
disadvantaged students, and do not address key needs, including
restoring general and categorical funding.
Analysis Prepared by : Sandra Fried / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960
FN: 0003908
AB 1741
Page 4