BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 850|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 850
Author: Block (D), et al.
Amended: 5/1/14
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 8-0, 4/24/14
AYES: Liu, Wyland, Block, Galgiani, Hancock, Hueso, Huff,
Monning
NO VOTE RECORDED: Correa
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/23/14
AYES: De Le�n, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
SUBJECT : Community Colleges: Baccalaureate Degree Pilot
Program
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill allows the California Community College
(CCC) Board of Governors (BOG), in consultation with the
California State University (CSU) and the University of
California (UC), to establish a baccalaureate degree pilot
program at no more than 15 CCC districts to be determined by the
CSU Chancellor and approved by the CCC BOG; Grants authority to
authorize each participating campus within the CCC district to
offer one type of baccalaureate degree that is not offered
within the CSU system; requires the CCC BOG of participating CCC
to submit specified information for review by the CSU Chancellor
and approval by the CCC BOG, including the proposed governance
system of the program; Requires the Department of Finance (DOF)
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and the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) to conduct a joint
statewide evaluation of the pilot program by July 1, 2021; and
requires the CCC BOG to develop and adopt, through regulations,
a funding model for the support of these pilot programs. This
bill sunsets on January 1, 2024.
ANALYSIS : Existing law differentiates the missions and
functions of public and independent institutions of higher
education. Under these provisions:
1.The primary mission of the CSU is required to offer
undergraduate and graduate instruction through the master's
degree. The CSU is authorized to establish two-year programs
only when mutually agreed upon by the Trustees and the CCC
BOG. The CSU is also authorized to jointly award the doctoral
degree with the UC and with one or more independent
institutions of higher education.
2.The UC is authorized to provide undergraduate and graduate
instruction and has exclusive jurisdiction in public higher
education over graduate instruction in the professions of law,
medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine. The UC is also
the primary state-supported academic agency for research.
3.The independent institutions of higher education are required
to provide undergraduate and graduate instruction and research
in accordance with their respective missions.
4.The mission and function of the CCCs is the offering of
academic and vocational instruction at the lower division
level and the CCC are authorized to grant the associate in
arts and the associate in science degree. The CCCs are also
required to offer remedial instruction, English as a Second
Language instruction, and adult noncredit instruction, and
support services which help students succeed at the
postsecondary level.
This bill, commencing January 1, 2015, authorizes the CCC BOG,
in consultation with the CSU and the UC, to establish a
statewide baccalaureate degree pilot program at not more than 15
CCC districts, to be determined by the Chancellor and approved
by the CCC BOG, which authorizes each participating CCC district
to offer one type of baccalaureate degree at one campus within
the district, as specified. Requires a district baccalaureate
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degree pilot program to commence by the beginning of the 2017-18
academic year, and requires a student participating in a
baccalaureate degree pilot program to complete his/her degree by
the end of the 2022-23 academic year. Requires participating
CCC districts to meet specified requirements, including, but not
limited to, offering baccalaureate degrees not offered by the
CSU or the UC, and in subject areas with unmet workforce needs,
as specified.
This bill also requires the CCC BOG of a participating CCC
district to submit certain information for review by the CSU
Chancellor and approval by the CCC BOG, including the
administrative plan for the baccalaureate degree pilot program.
Provides that DOF and the LAO shall jointly conduct a statewide
evaluation of the statewide baccalaureate degree pilot program
implemented under this article, as specified and to report the
results of the evaluation, in writing, to the Legislature and
the Governor, on or before July 1, 2021. This bill provides
that the CCC BOG shall develop, and adopt by regulation, a
funding model for the support of the statewide baccalaureate
degree pilot, program as specified.
This bill sunsets on January 1, 2024.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Statewide administration: Significant one-time costs, likely
in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars, to develop
guidelines and create a baccalaureate degree pilot program,
and to select up to 15 CCC districts to participate. Ongoing
administrative costs of approximately $350,000 for a 15 CCC
district pilot program. Actual costs will depend on the
number of participating CCC districts, as well as the level of
guidance and oversight needed to ensure the program's success.
Local implementation: Significant local costs and potentially
significant revenue for CCC districts that elect to
participate, depending on the program structure and the type
of degree offered (relative to the expense of providing upper
division courses). To the extent that students who
participate in the program would otherwise have attended a CSU
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campus, the state cost for the student's enrollment would
likely be similar; to the extent that this promoted enrollment
for students who would otherwise not take additional college
coursework, there will be additional state costs for increased
enrollment.
Evaluation: Minor costs to the LAO and DOF to conduct a
statewide evaluation of the program, as specified.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/22/14)
American Legion - Department of California
AMVETS - Department of California
Bakersfield College
Barton Health Board of Directors
California Association of County Veterans Service Officers
California Chamber of Commerce
California State Commanders Veterans Council
Citrus Community College District
City of South Lake Tahoe
Coastline Community College
Contra Costa Community College District
CEO'S of the CCC Board of the California Community College
League
Foothill-De Anza Community College District
Gavilan College
Golden West College
Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District
Imperial Community College District
Kern Community College District
Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce
Lake Tahoe Visitor's Authority
Los Angeles Community College District
Mid-Peninsula Dental Society
MiraCosta Community College District
Napa Valley Community College District
Oceanside Chamber of Commerce
Pasadena Community College District
Rancho Santiago Community College District
Repertory Care Board of California
San Bernardino Community College District
San Diego and Imperial Counties Community Colleges Association
San Diego Community College District
San Diego Military Advisory Council
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San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce
San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation
San Diego Unified School District
San Jose-Evergreen Community College District
San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce
Santa Monica Community College District
Shasta-Tehama-Trinity Joint Community College District
South County Economic Development Council
South Orange Community College District
Southwestern College
Technology Credit Union
Tri-City Medical Center
Veterans Caucus of the California Democratic Party
Veterans of Foreign Wars - Department of California
Vietnam Veterans of America - California State Council
West Kern Community College District
Yosemite Community College District
Yuba Community College District
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/22/14)
California Teachers Association
Faculty Association of the California Community Colleges
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, "the state
faces an urgent need to increase the number of Californian's
with four-year degrees by 2025, necessitating an additional
60,000 baccalaureate degrees per year. This bill seeks to find
new methods for addressing this skills gap by authorizing the
offering of baccalaureate degrees at CCCs. According to the
author, this bill is patterned after the applied baccalaureate
degree model offered in community colleges of more than twenty
other states."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The California Teachers Association
argues in part that this bill would alter the master plan for
education by changing the mission of CCCs. The focus of CCCs
has not been the education of students who would be
traditionally served by the CSU system. We believe that a
systemic study regarding the role of the CCCs as well as the
role of the CSU in regard to the services they provide for
students should first be conducted to access the appropriateness
of proposing these changes within the CCC system as opposed to
the CSU.
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PQ:e 5/25/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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