BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2610
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 29, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Das Williams, Chair
AB 2610 (Williams) - As Amended: April 1, 2014
SUBJECT : California State University: special sessions.
SUMMARY : Requires the California State University (CSU)
Chancellor to develop a definition for "supplanting" and report
to the Legislature by January 31, 2015. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Finds and declares that CSU extension education courses and
programs are designed and used to provide increased access to
the system; campuses are prohibited from "supplanting"
state-supported courses with self-supported courses; the
California State Auditor (Auditor) has determined that
existing state law does not define "supplanting"; "Supplant"
is used in the context of community college extension courses,
but is not defined in that provision; and, that it is the
intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to provide
sufficient direction to the CSU regarding "supplanting".
2)Requires the CSU Chancellor, in consultation with
stakeholders, including, but not necessarily limited to, the
Academic Senate of the CSU, to develop a definition of
"supplanting" in accordance with the aforementioned
Legislative intent.
3)Requires the CSU Chancellor to report the recommended
definition of "supplanting" to the chairpersons of the
Assembly Committee on Higher Education and the Senate
Committee on Education on or before January 31, 2015.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires CSU to establish tuition/fees adequate to meet the
cost of maintaining "special sessions" (extension
courses/programs) and defines "special sessions" to mean
self-supporting instructional programs conducted by CSU,
including, but not be limited to, career enrichment and
retraining programs; and,
2)Establishes Legislative intent that extension programs may be
AB 2610
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provided throughout the year, and shall not supplant regular
course offerings available on a non self-supporting basis
during the regular academic year.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Background . In December 2013, the Bureau of State
Audits (BSA) released an audit report concerning extended
education in CSU and the supplanting of state-supported courses.
BSA found difficulty in determining the extent to which
"supplanting" occurred due to lack of clarity in the term. The
BSA audit considered two interpretations of supplanting: (1) a
campus could not require a student to enroll in a self-supported
course as the only path to their degree; and, (2) the plain
meaning definition of replacing a state-supported section with
an extension section. In analyzing campus course data for
fiscal years 2007-08 through 2011-12, BSA found potential
instances of supplanting under both definitions. BSA
recommended that the Legislature provide direction regarding the
interpretation of supplanting, and provided several
recommendations to the CSU Chancellor's Office regarding
oversight and compliance of campus extension program activities.
CSU efforts . In response to the BSA audit, the CSU Chancellor's
Office has established an Extended Education State Audit Task
Force to develop a definition of supplanting and make a
recommendation to the Chancellor. The Task Force includes five
campus presidents, four faculty members, two provosts, two
extended education representatives, and two Office of the
Chancellor representatives. The Task Force solicited
comments/feedback from the CSU community, and has held meetings
open to the public to discuss definition options. The final
recommendations are expected to be presented to the Chancellor
in June.
Purpose of this bill . According to the author, this bill
responds to the Auditor's recommendation but also acknowledges
the work already underway by the CSU to address this issue. The
author believes it is appropriate to allow the CSU, in
consultation with stakeholders, to develop a recommended
definition for "supplant" that can inform future statutory
changes.
Related legislation . AB 2153 (Gray) would establish a
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definition of "supplanting" for the purpose of CSU extension.
This bill was heard, amended, and approved by this committee on
April 22, 2014.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
California State University, Fullerton
California State University, Office of the Chancellor
California State University, Sacramento
California State University San Bernardino
California State University, Stanislaus
Humboldt State University
San Francisco State University
San Jose State University
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Laura Metune / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960