BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Carol Liu, Chair
2013-2014 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 2153
AUTHOR: Gray
AMENDED: May 23, 2014
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: June 25, 2014
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Kathleen Chavira
SUBJECT : Postsecondary education course offerings.
SUMMARY
This bill, defines "supplanting" for purposes of special
session instructional programs offered at the California
State University.
BACKGROUND
Current law authorizes the CSU to require and collect
tuition fees from students enrolled in each special session
adequate in the long run, to meet the cost of maintaining
special sessions. "Special sessions," at the CSU are
defined to include, but not be limited to, career
enrichment and retraining programs. Current law also
declares the intent of the Legislature that these programs,
offered on a self-supporting basis by the CSU during summer
sessions, may be provided throughout the year. Current law
prohibits these courses from supplanting state-supported
course offerings during the regular academic year. (EC �
89708)
ANALYSIS
This bill :
1) Defines "supplants," under the authority to offer
special session programs as occurring when an
undergraduate matriculated student is required to take
a more expensive special session course to graduate
because a state supported section of that course is
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unavailable because either:
a) The state-supported course is not
offered that term and the course is offered in
special session.
b) All state state-supported sections
of the course are full during the academic year
at the student's campus and the course is offered
in a special session.
2) Require, to the extent possible, that each campus
ensure that any course required as a condition of
undergraduate degree completion for a matriculated
student be offered as a state-supported course and
further:
a) Requires that a matriculated
student required to take a special session course
to complete his or her undergraduate degree
because a state-supported section of the course
is unavailable in the academic year at the
student's campus be required to pay the lesser of
the state supported section and special session
course fee.
b) Requires the campus to ensure, to
the extent possible, that general fund money is
not used to support a matriculated student's
enrollment in a special session program, section,
or course.
3) Establishes the following prohibitions relative to
special session courses and programs:
a) Prohibits officials of a campus
from reducing the number of state-supported
section of an undergraduate course offering while
increasing the number of section for the
self-supporting version of the course.
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b) Prohibits the offering of special
session programs at a campus at times or in
locations that limit the number of regular course
offerings that receive state funding.
c) Prohibits the number of special
session sections of any individual course,
including online courses from exceeding the
number of state-supported sections of that course
at a campus, but excludes special session
sections offered as of January 1, 2015, from
consideration for this purpose.
4) Makes an exception to the prohibitions outlined by
authorizing a campus to add a self-supporting section
of a course in a state-supported undergraduate degree
program, or increase the number of self-supporting
sections if the following conditions are satisfied:
a) The campus has made a
determination that state resources are inadequate
to provide for additional state-supported
sections.
b) In an academic year in which the
annual Budget Act does not reduce the CSU budget
from the prior year's funding level, there is no
corresponding reduction in the aggregate number
of state-supported course offerings on that
campus.
c) The self-supporting sections
comply with all applicable state laws and
systemwide and campus policies.
5) Requires the Chancellor to provide guidance to the
campuses regarding compliance with these provisions.
6) Declares the Legislature's intent that:
a) The CSU receive funding sufficient
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to provide core curriculum through state
supported academic programs.
b) That a matriculated student of the
CSU is entitled to a postsecondary education
within the bounds of a state-supported tuition
and fee structure.
c) That a campus of the CSU is able
to ensure that a student is not required to
enroll in a special session program, section or
course in order to receive a postsecondary
education in a timely manner.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Bureau of State Audits (BSA) report . In December
2013, the State Auditor issued a report, California
State University's Extended Education. The report
found that, because state law does not define
"supplanting", the Auditor was unable to determine the
extent to which such occurred at the three campuses
reviewed. Depending upon the definition used, the
auditor identified as few as 26, and as many as 914
instances in which supplanting may have occurred. In
addition, among other things, the report noted that
campuses did not always prepare statements of revenues
and expenditures when setting fees, as required per
CSU student fee policy, revenues from extended
education generally exceeded expenditures, two of the
three campuses did not notify the Chancellor's Office,
as required, before converting a state-supported
program to a self-supported program.
The report recommended that the Legislature enact
statutory language during the 2014 Legislative session
clarifying and defining "supplant" and including a
description of how CSU should measure whether
supplanting is occurring. In addition, clarifying
language should require each CSU campus to take
reasonable steps to ensure that when making course or
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program offering decisions, these do not force
students attempting to earn a degree to take
self-supported courses that are required as a
condition of degree completion.
2) CSU Extended Education State Audit Task Force . In
response to the BSA audit, the CSU convened a task
force comprised of presidents, provosts, extended
education deans, academic senators and student
representation to work with the Chancellor's Office
staff to discuss and suggest draft supplant language.
3) CSU Executive Order 1047 . This executive order,
issued in May 2010, addresses the procedures to be
followed by each campus of the California State
University in offering special sessions courses and
programs including during summer sessions and winter
intersession. Among other things the order provides
that for a related group of courses or an entire
program that leads to a degree, credential or
certificate to be offered under special sessions State
General Fund appropriations to support the program
must be either unavailable or inappropriate and the
courses or program must be different from approved,
state-supported programs operating on campus, as
specified. Special sessions courses are specifically
prohibited from being offered at times or places that
are likely to supplant or limit offerings of the
state-supported program.
4) Self-supporting programs at the CSU . According to the
CSU, their extended and continuing education programs
offer baccalaureate and graduate degree programs,
certificates, and many forms of specialized education
and training for business, industry, and government.
While the composition of these campus programs vary
considerably, most maintain the following common
instructional elements:
a) Special session degree, certificate, and
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credential programs.
b) Open University, (permits nonmatriculated
students to enroll in regular university courses
on a space available basis, pay self-support fees
and earn university academic credit).
c) Contract and extension credit.
d) Non-credit certificates, courses, and
programs.
e) Continuing education units.
Many campus self-support units conduct programs during
times when regular academic operations are recessed
(early January and May). The CSU reports that about 3
percent of state-supported CSU students choose to
enroll in self-supported courses.
1) Special session degree programs . According to a
report presented to the CSU Board of Trustees in
September 2010, in academic year 2008-09, Extended
Education offered 149 special session degree programs
in high demand fields such as business, healthcare and
nursing, biotechnology, criminal justice and
education, enrolling 16,115 annual full-time
equivalent students in courses for credit. According
to the CSU, revenue of more than $165 million was
generated by extension and continuing education
students taking these courses for credit across the 23
CSU campuses. Students enrolled in these special
session degree program courses are eligible for
financial aid, except for the Cal Grant and the CSU
State University Grant.
According to the report, there had been an approximate
50 percent increase in degree program registrations in
Extended and Continuing Education Programs between
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2007-2008 and 2008-2009. The CSU noted that most of
this growth had been at the master's degree level,
with a slight increase in the number of online
bachelor's degrees and degree completion programs
offered. This information was presented to the
Trustees as the result of a study commissioned to
review potential avenues of expansion for Extended
Education to meet the needs of CSU students and
working professionals and to supply an educated
workforce in California.
2) Similar legislation . AB 2610 (Williams) also on the
committee's agenda today, also establishes a
definition of supplanting in response to the BSA
report recommendations. The contents of AB 2610 are
based upon the recommendations of the CSU Task Force
and generally define supplanting as the elimination of
a state-supported degree program entirely and
replacement of it with a self-supporting instruction
program.
3) Prior legislation . AB 2427 (Butler, 2012) would have
required the CSU to annually report to the Legislature
on its Extended and Continuing Education Programs,
including the number of students enrolled, the number
of degree credit and units offered, the range of fees
charged and, to the extent possible, a five-year trend
for this information. The also required that this
information be reported to the CSU Trustees annually.
AB 2427 passed this committee in July 2012 by a vote
of 7-2, but was subsequently held under submission in
the Senate Appropriations Committee.
SUPPORT
Academic Senate of the California State University
California Faculty Association
California Labor Federation
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
OPPOSITION
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California State University
California Teachers Association
City of Temecula
North Orange County Legislative Alliance (NOCLA)
President, California State University Sacramento
San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce
Southwest California Legislative Council