Amended in Senate July 2, 2014

Amended in Senate June 11, 2014

Amended in Assembly May 12, 2014

Amended in Assembly April 1, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2610

Introduced by Assembly begin delete Member end delete begin insert Members end insert Williams begin insert and Gray end insert

February 21, 2014

An act to amend Section 89708 of the Education Code, relating to the California State University.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2610, as amended, Williams. California State University: special sessions.

Existing law establishes the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law requires that tuition fees adequate to meet the cost of maintaining special sessions, as defined, in the California State University be collected from students enrolled in each special session pursuant to rules and regulations prescribed by the trustees, and further provides that self-supporting special sessions shall not supplant regular course offerings available during the academic year, as specified.

This bill would begin delete define end delete begin insert explain the use of end insert the term “supplant” for those purposes. The bill would prohibit a campus from requiring a state-supported matriculated student to enroll in a special session course to fulfill graduation requirements. The bill would express various legislative findings and declarations relating to self-supporting courses and programs. begin insert The bill would authorize a campus to, with approval from the Office of the Chancellor, add a self-supporting section of a course in a state-supported undergraduate degree program, add a self-supported undergraduate degree program, or increase the number of self-supporting sections of an undergraduate course offering only if certain conditions are satisfied. The bill would require the chancellor to provide guidance to each campus on how to comply with the requirements of this bill. The bill would, commencing in the 2016-17 academic year, require the trustees to receive an annual report at a noticed public meeting on the status of undergraduate self-supported courses and programs, as specified. end insert The bill would make conforming and technical changes.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert begin insert

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

end insert begin insert

(1) In addition to providing state-supported courses and
programs, the campuses of the California State University offer
self-supporting courses and programs, known as special sessions.

end insert begin insert

(2) Special sessions are designed and used to provide increased
access to the educational resources of the system and to otherwise
facilitate the use of those resources.

end insert begin insert

(3) The campuses of the California State University are
prohibited from supplanting regular course offerings with
self-supporting special sessions. However, the State Auditor has
determined that existing state law does not define “supplant.”

end insert begin insert

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide sufficient
direction to the Chancellor of the California State University and
to the campuses of the California State University by clarifying
this statutory language regarding the prohibition to “supplant.”

end insert begin insert

(c) It is the intent of the Legislature that the California State
University shall receive funding sufficient to provide core
curriculum through state-supported academic programs, that a
matriculated student of the California State University is entitled
to a postsecondary education within the bounds of a
state-supported tuition and fee structure, and that every campus
of the California State University is able to ensure that a student
is not required to enroll in a special session program, section, or
course in order to receive his or her postsecondary education in
a timely manner.

end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 89708 of the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert is amended to
read: end insert

89708.  

begin insert (a) end insert begin insert   end insert Tuition fees adequate, in the long run, to meet the
cost of maintaining special sessions in the California State
University shall be required of, and collected from, students
enrolled in each special session under and pursuant to rules and
regulations prescribed by the trustees.

begin delete

“Special

end delete

begin insert (b) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert “Special end insert sessions,” as used in this division, means
self-supporting instructional programs conducted by the California
State University. The special sessions shall include, but not be
limited to, career enrichment and retraining programs. It is the
intent of the Legislature that those programs, currently offered on
a self-supporting basis by the California State University during
summer sessions, may be provided throughout the year, and shall
be known as special sessions. begin delete The self-supporting end delete

begin insert (2) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert Self-supporting end insert special sessions shall not supplant regular
course offerings available on a non-self-supporting basis during
the regular academic year. begin insert To the extent possible, each campus
shall ensure that any course required as a condition of
undergraduate degree completion for a state-supported
matriculated undergraduate student shall be offered as a
state-supported course. A campus shall not require a
state-supported undergraduate matriculated student to enroll in
a special session course in order to fulfill a graduation requirement
for a state-supported degree program. end insert

begin insert

(3) In order to ensure that “supplanting” of regular session
course or program offerings with self-supporting special session
offerings does not occur, a special session offering shall satisfy
the following requirements:

end insert begin insert

(A) Except as provided in subdivision (c), officials of a campus
shall not reduce the number of state-supported undergraduate
course offerings while increasing the number of self-supporting
versions of that course.

end insert begin insert

(B) A campus shall not offer special session programs at times
or in locations on the campus that limit the number of regular
course offerings that receive state funding.

end insert begin insert

(C) For a special session course or program leading to a degree,
at least one of the following shall be satisfied:

end insert begin insert

(i) Appropriations from the General Fund to support the
program are either unavailable or inappropriate.

end insert begin insert

(ii) The course or program is designed primarily for career
enrichment or retraining.

end insert begin insert

(iii) The location of the course offering is significantly removed
from permanent state-supported facilities in order to accommodate
state-supported courses or programs.

end insert begin insert

(iv) For a new course or program only, the client group for the
course or program receives educational or other services at a cost
greater than could be reasonably provided with state funds of the
California State University.

end insert begin insert

(v) Delivery is accomplished in an innovative or accelerated
manner.

end insert begin insert

(vi) The course or program is developed in collaboration with
employers or nonstate entities for purposes of meeting specialized
workforce needs not satisfied by a state-supported course or
program.

end insert begin insert

(c) With approval from the office of the chancellor, a campus
may add a self-supporting section of a course in a state-supported
undergraduate degree program, add a self-supported
undergraduate degree program, or increase the number of
self-supporting sections of an undergraduate course offering, only
if all of the following conditions are satisfied:

end insert begin insert

(1) The campus has made the determination that state resources
are inadequate to provide for additional state-supported sections.

end insert begin insert

(2) There is no corresponding reduction in the aggregate
number of state-supported course offerings on that campus. This
paragraph applies only to an academic year for which the annual
Budget Act has not reduced the budget of the California State
University from the prior year’s funding level.

end insert begin insert

(3) The self-supporting section or sections comply with all
applicable state laws and systemwide and campus policies.

end insert begin insert

(d) The chancellor shall provide guidance to each campus on
how to comply with the requirements of this section.

end insert begin insert

(e) Commencing in the 2016-17 academic year, and each
academic year thereafter, the trustees shall receive an annual
report at a noticed public meeting on the status of undergraduate
self-supported courses and programs. This report shall include
all of the following information:

end insert begin insert

(1) Full-time equivalent student undergraduate enrollment in
state-supported courses and programs in the academic year.

end insert begin insert

(2) Full-time equivalent student undergraduate enrollment in
self-supported courses and programs in the academic year.

end insert begin insert

(3) The number of matriculated undergraduate state-supported
full-time equivalent students enrolling in self-supported instruction
during the academic year.

end insert

begin insert (4) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert The proportion of state-supported matriculated
undergraduate students enrolling in self-supported instruction
during the academic year. end insert

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(1) In addition to providing state-supported courses and
programs, California State University campuses offer
self-supporting courses and programs, known as special sessions.

(2) Special sessions are designed and used to provide increased
access to the educational resources of the system and to otherwise
facilitate the use of those resources.

(3) California State University campuses are prohibited from
supplanting regular course offerings with self-supporting special
sessions. However, the State Auditor has determined that existing
state law does not define “supplant.”

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide sufficient
direction to the Chancellor of the California State University and
to campuses of the university by clarifying statutory language and
defining “supplant.”

SEC. 2.  

Section 89708 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

89708.  

(a) Tuition fees adequate, in the long run, to meet the
cost of maintaining special sessions in the California State
University shall be required of, and collected from, students
enrolled in each special session pursuant to rules and regulations
prescribed by the trustees.

(b) “Special session,” as used in this division, means a
self-supporting instructional program conducted by the California
State University. The special sessions shall include, but not be
limited to, career enrichment and retraining programs. It is the
intent of the Legislature that those programs, currently offered on
a self-supporting basis by the California State University during
summer sessions, may be provided throughout the year, and shall
be known as special sessions. The self-supporting special sessions
shall not supplant regular course offerings available on a
non-self-supporting basis during the regular academic year.

(c)  For purposes of this section, and except as provided in
subdivision (d), to “supplant” regular course offerings available
on a non-self-supporting basis means to eliminate entirely a
state-supported degree program and replace it with a
self-supporting instructional program. A campus shall not require
a state-supported matriculated student to enroll in a special session
course in order to fulfill graduation requirements for a
state-supported degree program.

(d) After appropriate review and approval by the Office of the
Chancellor, a degree may be offered only through a self-supporting
instructional program if the program is shown to meet existing
student demand and workforce needs.

end delete