BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2462
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2462 (Block, et. al)
As Amended August 21, 2012
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |70-0 |(May 25, 2012) |SENATE: |36-0 |(August 23, |
| | | | | |2012) |
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Original Committee Reference: HIGHER ED.
SUMMARY : Requires, by July 1, 2015 the Chancellor of the California
Community Colleges (CCC), using common course descriptors and
pertinent standards of the American Council on Education (ACE), to
determine for which courses credit should be awarded for prior
military experience.
The Senate amendments deleted language encouraging CCCs to
facilitate the acceptance of credits for prior military academic
experience, as specified, and delayed completion until 2015.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was similar, but broader, than
the version approved by the Senate.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee,
the CCC Chancellor's office would, at a minimum, need one personnel
year (PY) to review all CCC courses to determine which should be
eligible for prior military service credit. The Chancellor's office
estimates the position, with benefits, to cost approximately
$112,000.
COMMENTS : According to the author, 90% of the veteran student
population at the University of California (UC) and California State
University (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 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.
The military issues academic transcripts for active-duty service
members and veterans. The transcripts issued by the various service
AB 2462
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branches are endorsed and periodically evaluated by ACE and bear its
seal. ACE also provides recommendations to colleges for evaluating
these transcripts. The ACE 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.
UC and CSU have recently adopted the ACE standards for evaluating
prior military academic credit. In spring 2011, the CCC statewide
Academic Senate passed a resolution urging local senates to apply
credit for educational experiences during military service toward
the associate degree in accordance with the recommendations listed
in the ACE Guide. It is difficult to ascertain to what extent prior
learning experiences receive academic credit at CCC, since the
determinations are made at each campus.
Analysis Prepared by : Sandra Fried / HIGHER ED. / (916) 319-3960
FN: 0005323