BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Carol Liu, Chair
2013-2014 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 2610
AUTHOR: Williams and Gray
AMENDED: As Proposed
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: June 25, 2014
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Kathleen
Chavira
SUBJECT : California State University Special Sessions.
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) Prohibits self-supporting sessions from supplanting
regular course offerings available on a
non-self-support basis during the regular academic
year and additionally:
a) Requires to the extent possible,
that each campus ensure that any course required
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as a condition of undergraduate degree completion
for a matriculated student be offered as a
state-supported course.
b) Prohibits a campus from requiring
a student to enroll in a special session course
in order to fulfill graduation requirements for a
state-supported degree program.
2) Requires, in order to ensure that "supplanting" does
not occur, that special session courses meet the
following requirements:
a) Except as provided in (4),
prohibits officials of a campus from reducing the
number of state-supported undergraduate course
offerings while increasing the number of
self-supporting versions of the course.
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) For courses or programs leading to
a degree, requires that one of the following be
satisfied:
i) State general fund
appropriations to support the program must
be either unavailable or inappropriate.
ii) The course or program is designed
primarily for career enrichment or
retraining.
iii) The location of the offerings is
significantly removed from permanent,
state-supported facilities to accommodate
state-supported courses or programs.
iv) For new programs, the client group
for the course or program receives
educational or other services at a cost
beyond what could be reasonably provided
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within CSU state funds.
v) Delivery is
accomplished in an innovative or accelerated
manner.
vi) The course or program is developed
in collaboration with employers or non-state
entities for the purpose of meeting
specialized workforce needs not being met by
the state-supported program.
3) Makes an exception to the prohibition against reducing
state supported undergraduate course offerings while
increasing the number of self-supporting versions of
the course, with approval from the Chancellor's
office, 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.
4) Requires the Chancellor to provide guidance to the
campuses regarding compliance with these provisions.
5) Requires that the CSU Board of trustees receive an
annual report, beginning in 2015-16, on the status of
undergraduate self-support courses and programs, as
part of a noticed public meeting, and specifies that
the report include information on FTES undergraduate
enrollment in state supported, self-supported
programs, as well as the number of state supported
FTES enrolling in self-support instruction during the
academic year.
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6) Makes a number of related declarations and findings,
including the Legislature's intent that:
a) The CSU receive funding sufficient
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
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reasonable steps to ensure that when making course or
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
credential programs.
b) Open University, (permits nonmatriculated
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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). 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
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
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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 2153 (Gray) also on the
committee's agenda today also establishes a definition
of supplanting in response to the BSA report
recommendations. AB 2153 generally defines
supplanting as occurring when a state-supported course
is not offered during a term or all state
state-supported sections of the course or are full
during the academic year at the student's campus and
the course is offered in a special session. AB 2153
also requires that a matriculated student required to
take a special session course to complete his or her
undergraduate degree pay the lesser of the state
supported section and special session course fee.
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
None received on this version.
OPPOSITION
None received on this version.
AB 2610 (Williams and Gray) - As Proposed to be Amended
Delete the current contents and insert the following
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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 regarding the prohibition to
"supplant."
(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 a 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.
Section 2 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
under and pursuant to rules and regulations prescribed by
the trustees.
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(b)(1) "Special 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.
(2) Self-supporting special sessions shall not supplant
regular course offerings available on a non-self-supporting
basis during the regular academic year. 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 graduation requirements for a state-supported
degree program.
(3) In order to ensure that "supplanting" does not occur,
special session offerings shall meet the following
requirements:
(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.
(B) Campuses shall not offer special session programs at
times or in locations on that campus that limit the number
of regular course offerings that receive state funding.
(C) For courses or programs leading to a degree, one of the
following must be satisfied:
(i) State general fund appropriations to support the
program must be either unavailable or inappropriate.
(ii) The course or program is designed primarily for
career enrichment or retraining.
(iii) The location of the offerings is significantly
removed from permanent, state-supported facilities to
accommodate state-supported courses or programs.
(iv) For new programs, the client group for the course or
program receives educational or other services at a cost
beyond what could be reasonably provided within CSU state
funds.
(v) Delivery is accomplished in an innovative or
accelerated manner.
(vi) The course or program is developed in collaboration
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with employers or non-state entities for the purpose of
meeting specialized workforce needs not being met by the
state-supported program.
(c) With approval from the Chancellor's office, a campus
may add a self-supporting section of a course in a
state-supported undergraduate degree program, add a
self-support undergraduate degree program, or increase the
number of self-supporting sections of an undergraduate
course offering so long as all of the following are
satisfied:
(1)The campus has made the determination that state
resources are inadequate to provide for additional
state-supported sections.
(2)There is no corresponding reduction in the aggregate
number of state-supported course offerings on that campus.
However, 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 years
funding level.
(3)The self-supporting section or sections comply with all
applicable state laws and systemwide and campus policies.
(d)The chancellor shall provide guidance to the campuses
regarding how to comply with this section.
(e) Commencing in 2016-17, the Board of Trustees shall
receive an annual report as part of a noticed public
meeting on the status of undergraduate self-support courses
and programs as follows:
(1) FTEs undergraduate enrollment in state-support in the
academic year.
(2) FTEs undergraduate enrollment in self-support in the
academic year.
(3) The number of matriculated undergraduate
state-supported FTEs enrolling in self-support instruction
during the academic year.
(4) The proportion of state-support matriculated
undergraduate students enrolling in self-support
instruction during the academic year.