BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Alan Lowenthal, Chair
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 2462
AUTHOR: Block
AMENDED: May 10, 2012
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: June 27, 2012
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Kathleen Chavira
SUBJECT : Academic credit for prior military experience.
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Chancellor of the California
Community Colleges (CCCs) to determine for which courses
credit should be awarded for prior military experience, as
specified, by July 1, 2013.
BACKGROUND
Current law establishes a matriculation process at CCCs
with the purpose of realizing a student's educational
objectives. Matriculation services to be made available by
the colleges include, but are not limited to (a) processing
of admission applications, (b) orientation and
pre-orientation services concerning academic expectations
and financial assistance, and (c) assessment and
counseling upon enrollment, as specified. (Education Code �
78212)
Current law also requires the California State University
(CSU) and CCC to grant priority registration for enrollment
to former members of the Armed Forces of the United States
within two years of leaving active military duty. (EC �
66025.8)
ANALYSIS
This bill :
1) Requires the Chancellor of the California Community
Colleges, by July 1, 2013, to :
a) Determine which courses credit
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should be awarded for prior military experience.
b) Use common course descriptors and
pertinent recommendations of the American Council
on Education for purposes of (a).
2) Encourages community colleges to:
a) Recognize the learning acquired by
military personnel during their service and award
credit where appropriate including applying the
Chancellor's Office determinations made as the
result of (1).
b) Consider military education or
experience for credit for career technical
education instruction.
c) Develop a way to evaluate progress
to, or completion of, a professional occupational
certificate for persons with military education
or experience.
d) Consider awarding credit by
examination process for experience or instruction
gained in a military setting.
3) Encourages the CCC Academic Senate to develop
recommendations regarding the appropriate use of
systems like the ACE system, that provide guidance for
awarding college credit for academic instruction and
experience in a military setting.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill . According to the author, 90% of
the veteran student population at the UC and CSU come
from CCC transfer students. Currently, some veterans
are unable to obtain academic, subject-specific course
credit for their military service because of the lack
of a uniform standard for evaluating prior military
service for academic credit at the CCC. According to
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the author, this bill will ensure uniformity among
campuses throughout the CCC and set a unified standard
for awarding credit for prior military academic
experience.
2) Veterans in California Community Colleges . California
has an estimated 2.2 million veterans residing in the
state. According to the California Community
Colleges, in 2010-11, more than 44,000 veterans
utilized education benefits at a California community
college. In addition, there are an estimated 8,000 to
10,000 active duty personnel enrolled annually at
community colleges across the state, not including
dependents.
3) American Council on Education (ACE) Guide . The
military issues academic transcripts for active-duty
service members and veterans. The transcripts issued
by the various service branches are endorsed and
periodically evaluated by ACE and bear its seal. ACE
also publishes the Guide to the Evaluation of
Educational Experiences in the Armed Services, which
provides recommendations to colleges for evaluating
these transcripts. The Guide's credit transfer
recommendations are based on reviews of military
coursework by a panel of university faculty members
convened by ACE. These faculty members review
military coursework and occupational training
descriptions pertaining to their own academic
disciplines, evaluating them according to disciplinary
standards and expectations. Both the UC and CSU have
adopted the American Council on Education standards
for evaluating the academic credit or prior service of
veterans, and in 2011 the CCC Academic Senate passed a
resolution urging local academic senates to award
credit in accordance with ACE standards.
4) CCC recognition of prior learning . It is difficult to
ascertain to what extent prior military learning
experiences receive academic credit at CCC, since the
determinations are made at each campus, but it appears
that the application of prior learning credit is
uneven. At present, 50 community colleges are members
of the Service members Opportunity Colleges (SOC)
Consortium, which provide educational opportunities to
service members to facilitate degree attainment such
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as:
a Reasonable transfer of credit to avoid
excessive loss of previously earned credit and
course work duplication; and
b Credit for military training and experience,
including use of the ACE Guide in evaluating and
awarding academic credit for military training
and experience.
1) One more optional list ? This bill encourages, but
does not require, the CCC to consider awarding credit
by applying the Chancellor's office determinations
made as a result of this bill's provisions. The
awarding of credit is generally the purview of a
colleges' faculty. As noted in staff comments (3) and
(4), credit for military training and experience is
already encouraged though use of the ACE Guide for
evaluating and awarding academic credit for military
training and experience through the Service members
Opportunity Colleges (SOC) Consortium and by the CCC
Academic Senate resolution. It is unclear what yet
another optional list of recommended course credit for
veterans will accomplish.
2) Credit towards transfer . The underlying concern that
the author appears to be trying to address is the
ability of veterans to obtain academic,
subject-specific course credit through a consistent,
streamlined process across all three public higher
education segments. While faculty at a CCC may grant
academic credit for prior learning experiences, this
does not ensure that these courses will transfer to a
four-year institution. Faculty at the receiving
institution determines whether prior learning credits
are accepted by that institution. Should this bill
instead require that the issue of academic credit for
prior military learning experiences be considered by
the CCC and CSU faculty who are implementing SB 1440
(Padilla), Chapter 428, Statutes of 2010, which
statutorily prescribes the content of a community
college degree that meets transfer eligibility
requirements?
3) Prior legislation . AB 372 (Hernandez, 2011) required
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California Community Colleges (CCC), as part of the
matriculation process, to assess prior college-level
learning gained by military service personnel and
veterans through non-college credit means, as
determined by relevant faculty, and that the related
credit awarded meet the standards of the American
Council on Education, the Council for Adult and
Experiential Learning, or other equivalent standard
for awarding academic credits. AB 372 passed this
Committee by a vote of 8-0 in June 2011, but was
subsequently held under submission in the Senate
Appropriations Committee.
SUPPORT
None received on this version.
OPPOSITION
None received on this version.