BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1550
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Date of Hearing: June 19, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Marty Block, Chair
SB 1550 (Wright) - As Amended: June 11, 2012
SENATE VOTE : 34-1
SUBJECT : Community colleges: extension course pilot.
SUMMARY : Requires the California Community Colleges (CCC)
Chancellor's office to establish a voluntary pilot program
involving up to five CCC districts (CCDs) for the purposes of
authorizing a CCD to establish and maintain an extension program
offering career and workforce training credit courses, as
defined, at fee levels that cover the actual cost of maintaining
those courses, and requires the Legislative Analyst's Office
(LAO) to report to the Legislature on this pilot program by June
30, 2016. Specifically, this bill :
1)Establishes the pilot participant selection process as
follows:
a) Authorizes the governing board of any CCD to apply to be
selected by the Chancellor's office.
b) Limits participation to five campuses from five separate
CCDs.
c) Requires the Chancellor, in selecting the campuses, to
consider all of the following:
i) Geographic, socio-economic, and demographic
diversity,
ii) Labor-market demand,
iii) The CCD's program and planning capacity, and,
iv) Potential support from funding partners in industry,
labor, or other private funding sources to reduce cost of
attendance for participating students.
2)Defines "career and workforce training credit courses" to
include courses identified as vocational in the CCC Taxonomy
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of Programs.
3)Establishes pilot participation eligibility requirements as
follows:
a) Requires a selected campus meet the following criteria
in order to be eligible to participate in the pilot
program:
i) Serve a number of students equal to or beyond its
funding cap for the two immediately prior academic years,
to be determined as specified;
ii) Have not received a stability adjustment to state
appropriations;
iii) Meet transfer, basic skills, or career technical
education objectives for all courses in the state-funded
programs offered for credit;
iv) Prioritize enrollment of students in state-supported
courses, as defined, by promoting policies that
prioritize students who are fully matriculated, as
defined, and making satisfactory progress toward a basic
skills, transfer or workforce development goal;
v) Prioritize enrollment of students who are eligible
for resident tuition; and,
vi) Limit state-supported enrollments in "activity"
courses, as defined, and do not claim apportionment for
students who repeat either credit courses or noncredit
physical education or visual or performing arts courses,
as specified, unless these courses meet the student's or
another CCD's degree requirements, as specified,
excluding disabled students, athletes, and students with
educational plans in these disciplines.
b) Authorizes the Chancellor to review pilot programs,
monitor compliance with the provisions of the bill, and
grant the Chancellor's office the authority to rescind
authority to participate in the pilot if the Chancellor
determines that a campus or its district is out of
compliance with these provisions.
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4)Requires a selected CCD to comply with the following
requirements in order to participate in the extension program:
a) Requires CCDs to minimize the costs of administration of
the pilot program to the greatest extent possible;
b) Prohibits the pilot program enrollment from being
reported for state appropriation but requires that
enrollment be open to the public;
c) Prohibits a governing board from expending any general
fund moneys to establish and maintain these courses, and
specifies that these fees do not apply to fees generated in
the extension program;
d) Prohibits extension courses from being offered at times
or in locations that supplant or limit offerings of
state-supported programs nor in conjunction with courses
funded with state apportionments;
e) Requires each participating CCD to ensure that 1) state
and federal financial aid is available to eligible students
and 2) financial aid students receive same priority for
enrollment as all other students, and specifies that
students who participate in the pilot are not eligible for
a BOG fee waiver;
f) Requires that credit courses offered be developed in
accordance with relevant provisions of the Education Code
and Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations governing
CCC courses;
g) Applies the following statutes relative to faculty and
expenditures:
i) Requires a goal of 75:25 ratio of full-time to
part-time faculty in extension program credit classes;
ii) Requires the inclusion of pilot program revenues and
expenditures (that conform to the "current expense" of
education) in the calculation/determination of the CCD's
compliance with the 50% law governing program revenues
and expenditures (50% of current expense of education
must be for payment of salaries of classroom
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instructors); and,
iii) Subjects the extension program to collective
bargaining agreements.
h) Prohibits supplanting of courses funded with state
apportionments and further prohibits a CCD from reducing
courses funded with state apportionments that are necessary
for students to achieve basic skills, workforce training,
or transfer goals, or to expand those courses as part of
the pilot program.
i) Adopts enrollment priority and student support policies
that ensure that students who are eligible for state
financial aid are not disproportionately shifted from
courses that receive state apportionment funding to courses
offered under the pilot program.
5)Authorizes a CCD governing board to establish fees that do not
exceed the actual cost of maintaining the pilot program and
defines actual costs, for this purpose, to include all of the
following:
a) Cost of instruction,
b) Cost of necessary equipment and supplies, student
services and institutional support costs, and,
c) Administrative costs incurred by the Chancellor's office
for providing oversight of the pilot program.
6)Encourages participating CCDs to offer as part of the program
one or more courses that lead to a certificate or diploma that
is recognized by potential employers as satisfying skill
requirements necessary for employment, similar to the Skills
Certification System endorsed by the National Association of
Manufacturers.
7)Requires each participating CCD to comply with the following
reporting requirements:
a) Collect student information, as specified, and conduct
an analysis of the program effects on district workload and
financial status, and to submit this information to the
Chancellor's office by August 1 annually.
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b) Submit a schedule of established course fees to the
Chancellor by August 1 annually.
8)Requires the Chancellor to forward the data and information
submitted to the LAO.
9)Requires the LAO, on or before June 30, 2016, to provide to
the Legislature a report evaluating the pilot program, drawing
upon campus reports and visits, interviews with faculty,
students and administrators, and any other source that LAO
deems relevant.
10)Requires the LAO report to include:
a) Summary statistics on course offerings, enrollment,
financing, and student utilization of financial aid,
funding, and completion rates.
b) A determination of the extent of the pilot program's
compliance with statutory requirements and the extent to
which it expanded access for students.
c) An assessment of the program's effect on the
availability of, and enrollment in state-supported courses,
with particular attention to the demographic make-up and
financial aid status of students enrolled in the
state-supported courses.
d) Recommendations regarding the extension, expansion, or
modification of the program and consideration of
alternative approaches that could achieve expanded access
without increased state funding.
11)Sunsets these provisions on January 1, 2018.
12)Prohibits a CCD from charging a per unit fee for courses the
CCD or an affiliated entity or foundation offers that are in
excess of applicable fee amounts specifically authorized by
law, as provided by this bill.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes the governing board of any CCD to establish
contract education programs within or outside the state by
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agreement with any public or private agency, corporation,
association, or any other person or body to provide specific
educational programs or training to meet the specific needs of
these bodies. (Education Code � 78021)
2)Establishes the CCC as a part of public higher education with
distinct goals, missions and functions within California's
public higher education system. (EC � 66010)
3)Provides that the primary missions of CCC are to offer
academic and vocational education at the lower division level
for recent high school graduates and those returning to
school, as well as advancing California's economic growth and
global competitiveness through education, training, and
services that contribute to continuous workforce improvement.
In addition, current law provides that essential and important
functions of CCC include: basic skills instruction, providing
English as a second language, adult noncredit instruction, and
providing support services that help students to succeed at
the postsecondary level. CCCs are also authorized to provide
community service courses and programs so long as their
provision is compatible with an institution's ability to meet
its obligations in its primary missions. To the extent funding
is provided the CCCs are authorized to conduct institutional
research concerning student learning and retention as is
needed to facilitate their educational missions. (EC �
66010.4)
4)Requires the governing board of a CCD to admit any California
resident (and authorizes them to admit any nonresident),
possessing a high school diploma or the equivalent and
authorizes the board to admit anyone who is capable of
profiting from the instruction offered, as specified. (EC �
76000)
5)Requires that CCC students be charged a per unit fee and
statutorily prescribes the fee level through the annual budget
process. Current law exempts the student enrolled in noncredit
courses and in credit contract education courses, as
specified, from these fee requirements. Current law also
exempts from these requirements University of California and
California State University students enrolled in CCC remedial
classes, as specified, and provides for the waiver of these
fees for students who have financial need or meet other
specified criteria. (EC �76300)
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FISCAL EFFECT : The Senate Appropriations Committee determined
the following costs:
1)Pilot program: The Chancellor's office estimates
administrative expenses of $206,000 - $313,000 to administer
the pilot program. A portion of those expenses would be
incurred up front, before the pilot program begins. Those
costs would only be reimbursed to the extent that there is
participation, and it is not clear if they would be reimbursed
in the same fiscal year in which they are incurred.
2)LAO report: Minor costs, absorbable within existing LAO
staffing resources.
COMMENTS : Background . Ongoing budget shortfalls and the
economic downturn have combined to increase CCC enrollment as
the state has reduced CCC's budget, resulting in greater student
demand for CCC courses than the system can accommodate.
Consequently, the CCC estimates that 140,000 students were
denied CCC access courses in 2011, over 95% of all classes are
at capacity, and an estimated 10,000-15,000 students are on wait
lists for courses. This access problem may become became even
more serious given the magnitude of enacted and potential budget
reductions.
In the 2011-12 budget, the CCC was cut by $400 million. In
January 2012, mid-year "trigger" cuts resulted in an additional
$102 million reduction. If the Governor's tax initiative is
rejected by voters, the CCC budget will face yet another
mid-year reduction of $292 million. In recent years the
Legislature has directed CCC to prioritize transfer, basic
skills, and career technical education courses in implementing
budget reductions.
Need for this bill . According to the author's office, there are
600,00 manufacturing jobs that are going unfilled; half of the
nation's employers are struggling to fill jobs for skilled
trades; and California's steel industries cannot fill openings
for mechanical and electrical technicians. This bill, in an
effort to expand access to career technical and workforce
development courses, would establish a pilot program to
authorize fees sufficient to cover the actual costs of these
classes at up to five CCDs. It would also establish conditions
that must be met regarding the use of state general fund dollars
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provided to the CCDs in order to participate in the pilot
program. Specifically, this bill includes various participation
requirements as follows:
1)Requires campuses to meet specified requirements regarding
cap, course offering and enrollment priority conditions.
2)Establishes a variety of requirements to be met by the
extension programs established under the authority granted by
the bill, including 1) student eligibility for state and
federal financial aid (excluding BOG fee waivers) and 2)
applicability of existing laws (including 75:25 full-time to
part-time faculty ratio and that 50% of funds be spent on
instruction) and collective bargaining.
3)Authorizes the Chancellor's office to monitor compliance with
requirements, to rescind participation in the program for
non-compliance, and to assess a fee to recover administrative
costs for providing oversight.
4)Requires independent evaluation and reporting of the program's
implementation and effects by the LAO by June 30, 2016.
5)Sunsets the pilot program in 2018.
Differential fee precedent and access . CCC is intended to
provide open access to all Californians, offering low fees and
generous aid. This bill authorizes a small scale, narrowly
focused pilot program to test the benefit of a self-supporting
extension program offering career and workforce training
courses. Opponents note that this bill would create a precedent
of providing access for those willing to pay higher fees that
could lead to an expansion of a differential fee model.
Students could use state and federal financial aid awards to pay
for these fees, since the course offerings would be the same as
those offered in the campus's state-supported program; however,
the BOG fee waiver could not be used for the extension program.
Arguments in support . Supporters contend that while community
colleges have long championed open access and affordability, we
as a state are utterly failing our communities and hundreds of
thousands of students. This bill will give community colleges
more flexibility in meeting local needs, enhance student access,
protect faculty jobs during this time of enrollment constraints
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and reductions, and enable students to complete their degrees
faster, which in turn would make them able to become part of
California's workforce sooner.
Arguments in opposition . Opponents express concern that the
concept of extension courses at CCC is contrary to its open
access mission. The Academic Senate of the California Community
Colleges also argues, "Opting to permit students to pay for
those courses that the state is not sufficiently funding is a
first step towards further defunding higher education and,
potentially, the demise of colleges with populations unable to
survive in a state that effectively places more of the
cost-burden of education on the student."
Prior legislation . AB 515 (Brownley), which remains in the
Senate Education Committee, would establish the CCC Extension
Pilot Program which, until July 1, 2016, CCCs that meet
specified requirements to establish and maintain an extension
program offering credit coursework to students at fee levels
that cover the actual cost of maintaining these courses.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Legion-Department of California
AMVETS-Department of California
California Association of County Veterans Service Officers
California State Commanders Veterans Council
Cerritos Community College District
Community College League of California
Long Beach Community College District
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
Riverside Community College District
Vietnam Veterans of America-California Council
Opposition
Academic Senate for California Community Colleges
Academic Senate of Long Beach City College
Antelope Valley Community College District
California Federation of Teachers
Kern Community College District
Los Angeles College Faculty
Los Angeles Community College District
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Los Rios Community College District
Peralta Community College District
San Diego Community College District
Sharon Crasnow, Academic Senate President, Norco College
Yosemite Community College District
1 Individual
Analysis Prepared by : Sandra Fried / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960