Amended in Assembly August 4, 2014

Amended in Senate May 27, 2014

Senate Bill No. 1425

Introduced by Senator Block

February 21, 2014

An act to add Article 1.7 (commencing with Section 78025) to Chapter 1 of Part 48 of Division 7 of Title 3 of begin insert , and to add and repeal Section 78026 of, end insert the Education Code, relating to community colleges.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1425, as amended, Block. Community colleges: begin delete retroactive awarding of degrees. end delete begin insert degree audit system. end insert

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(1) Existing

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begin insert Existing end insert law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of begin delete the end delete public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law establishes community college districts throughout the state, and authorizes those districts to provide instruction at community college campuses.

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This bill, prior to the beginning of the spring term of each academic year, and in accord with a specified timetable, would require each community college district with a specified Internet-accessible automatic degree audit system in place to conduct a one-time inquiry as the system is put in place. That inquiry would seek to identify the students who have completed the required units to receive a degree or certificate, or who have completed the transfer requirements of the California State University or the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum, in up to 12 of the highest demand majors, as determined by each community college district, during the previous 2 academic years.

end delete begin delete

The bill would require each affected community college campus to notify the students identified under the bill as eligible to receive a degree or certificate that they are eligible for the degree or certificate. The bill would provide that these students would have the choice of opting out or receiving the degree or certificate.

end delete begin delete

The

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begin insert This end insert bill would require the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to identify begin delete and procure a end delete commercially available begin delete utility end delete begin insert utilities and procure at least one of those utilities end insert to conduct systemwide automatic degree audits that would enable community college student services staff to monitor student progress toward completion of a certificate or degree, or the credits required to meet the transfer requirements of the California State University or the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum. The bill would require the chancellor’s office to oversee the implementation of the bill in accordance with a timetable that would require all campuses of the California Community Colleges to have the automatic degree audit system in place by December 31, begin delete 2017, end delete begin insert 2019, end insert as specified.

The bill would require the Legislative Analyst’s Office to submit a report to the Legislature and the Governor on the progress of the implementation of the begin delete retroactive degree awarding and end delete online degree audit system on or before December 31, begin delete 2017, and on or before December 31 every 3 years thereafter. end delete begin insert 2020. end insert

This bill would not be operative until the board of governors certifies that sufficient funds have been received from state, federal, or private sources to implement the online degree audit system that would be created under the bill.

Because this bill would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.

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(2) The

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begin insert The end insert California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

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

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

SECTION 1.  

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

(1) California is falling behind in producing the necessary
postsecondary education to ensure our state’s prosperity and
opportunities for individuals in the 21st century.

(2) California faces a degree and certificate gap, and is projected
to need one million more workers with bachelor’s degrees and an
additional 1.3 million workers with associate degrees or certificates
by 2025. Today, one in every four jobs requires at least an associate
degree.

(3) In the near future, one in every three jobs will require at
least an associate degree. Failure to make significant improvements
in degree completion will result in a less productive economy,
lower incomes for residents, less tax revenue for the state, and
more dependence on social services.

(4) The California Community Colleges are the state’s largest
workforce provider, offering associate degrees and short-term job
training certificates in more than 175 different fields.

(5) Meeting the current and future need for higher education
requires that postsecondary institutions improve their success rates
with current students and attract, and graduate, individuals from
groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in
postsecondary education.

(6) Degree audit systems efficiently support student persistence
and success efforts, and thereby save money for the institutions in
the longer term. This will be especially true of a degree audit
system that is centralized at the begin delete Chancellor’s end delete Office of the
begin insert Chancellor of the end insert California Community Colleges and paired with
the online educational planner that is being developed as part of
the Seymour-Campbell Student Success Act of 2012.

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(7) In California, less than one-fifth of community colleges have
online degree audit systems that can be used to inform their
students about their progress, leaving the remainder of the state’s
112 community colleges without a mechanism to identify already
earned degrees.

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(8)

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begin insert (7) end insert  As movement toward performance-based budgeting
continues, begin delete retroactive degree awarding and end delete degree audit systems
better position an institution to improve student outcomes.

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(9)

end delete

begin insert (8) end insert  Earning a certificate or degree from a community college
doubles an individual’s chance of obtaining a job. At a time when
unemployment rates are nearly 9 percent, certificates and degrees
are all the more valuable.

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(10)

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begin insert (9) end insert  Earning a degree or certificate from a California community
college, on average, nearly doubles an individual’s earnings within
three years, from $25,600 to $45,571.

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(11)

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begin insert (10) end insert  A national effort, Project Win-Win, is tackling this issue
in nine other states and is showing promising results. This project
introduces degree audit systems at colleges begin delete to accomplish both of
the following: end delete

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(A) Award degrees retroactively.

end delete

begin delete (B) end delete begin delete   end delete begin delete Ensure end delete begin insert to ensure end insert that, moving forward, students have
real-time information about their progress toward obtaining a
degree.

(b) Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature to do all of the
following:

(1) Build on national and local efforts to identify current begin delete or
former end delete students who are eligible to obtain their certificate or degree.

begin delete

(2) Award degrees and certificates retroactively to those students
who have completed degree or certificate requirements.

end delete begin delete

(3)

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begin insert (2) end insert  Establish begin delete a central end delete begin insert an end insert auditing system at the California
Community Colleges that enables individual community colleges
to audit student records, identify the students who are eligible for
a certificate or degree, and notify these students of this valuable
information.

SEC. 2.  

Article 1.7 (commencing with Section 78025) is added
to Chapter 1 of Part 48 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education
Code, to read:

 

Article 1.7.  begin delete Retroactive Awarding of Degrees end delete begin insert Degree Audit
System end insert

 

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78025.  

(a) The board of governors shall require all community
colleges to award degrees retroactively in accordance with this
article.

(b) Prior to the beginning of the spring term of the academic
year, and commencing with the 2015-16 academic year for the
first 28 campuses, each community college district shall perform
a one-time inquiry as the automatic degree audit system required
by this article is put in place at each campus, consistent with the
timetable prescribed in Section 78026, to identify the students who
have completed the semester or quarter units required to receive
a degree or certificate, or who have completed the California State
University (CSU) or the Intersegmental General Education Transfer
Curriculum (IGETC) transfer requirements in up to 12 of the
highest demand majors, as determined by each community college
district, during the previous two academic years.

(c) A community college campus shall notify those students
identified pursuant to subdivision (b) as eligible to receive a degree
or certificate that they are eligible to receive the degree or
certificate. Those students shall have the choice to opt out or to
receive the degree or certificate.

end delete

begin delete 78026. end delete
begin insert 78025. end insert   

(a) The Chancellor of the California Community
Colleges shall identify begin delete a end delete commercially available begin delete utility end delete begin insert utilities end insert to
conduct systemwide automatic degree begin delete audits for these purposes, end delete
begin insert audits, end insert and procure begin delete that utility end delete begin insert at least one of those utilities end insert in
accordance with the relevant provisions of the State Contract Act
(Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 10100) of Part 2 of Division
2 of the Public Contract Code). Once begin delete this end delete begin insert that end insert utility begin delete is end delete begin insert or those
utilities are end insert procured, the chancellor’s office shall oversee the
implementation of this article in accordance with the following
timetable:

(1)  At least begin delete 28 end delete begin insert 84 end insert campuses of the California Community
Colleges shall have the automatic degree audit system in place by
December 31, begin delete 2015. end delete begin insert 2018. end insert

begin delete

(2) At least 56 campuses of the California Community Colleges
shall have the automatic degree audit system in place by December
31, 2016.

end delete begin delete

(3)

end delete

begin insert (2) end insert  All campuses of the California Community Colleges shall
have begin delete the end delete begin insert an end insert automatic degree audit system in place by December
31, begin delete 2017. end delete begin insert 2019. end insert

(b)  begin delete The end delete begin insert An end insert automatic degree audit system procured under this
section shall satisfy all of the following conditions:

(1) It shall comply with all pertinent privacy and security
considerations and requirements.

(2) It shall be centrally begin delete purchased end delete begin insert procured end insert by the begin delete Chancellor’s
Office end delete begin insert Office of the Chancellor end insert of the California Community
Colleges in order to reduce costs through a bulk procurement
process.

(3) It shall be managed by each community college district for
use among the campuses within each respective district.

(4) It shall enable community college counselors, advisors, and
other student services staff to monitor student progress toward
completing a degree or certificate program, or achieving the
minimum requirements for CSU or IGETC transfer.

(5) It shall be accessible to community college personnel and
students through an Internet Web portal that provides a degree
progress profile, generated for each student upon request, that
includes all information regarding credits earned that is available
in the community college’s data.

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78027.  

The

end delete

begin insert

begin insert 78026. end insert   

end insert

begin insert (a) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert The end insert Legislative Analyst’s Office shall submit a
report to the Legislature and the Governor on the progress of the
implementation of the begin delete retroactive degree awarding and end delete online
degree audit system on or before December 31, begin delete 2017, and on or
before December 31 every three years thereafter. end delete begin insert 2020. end insert

begin insert

(b) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this
section is repealed on December 31, 2024.

end insert

begin delete 78028. end delete
begin insert 78027. end insert   

The metrics to be determined and reported pursuant to
Section begin delete 78027 end delete begin insert 78026 end insert shall include, but not necessarily be limited
to, all of the following:

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(a) The number and percentage of community college students
who were identified and were awarded associate degrees or
certificates, or who were determined to have completed the CSU
or IGETC transfer requirements because of the degree audit system.

(b)

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begin insert (a) end insert  The estimated economic benefits for the college and labor
market of the degree audit system.

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(c)

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begin insert (b) end insert  Other relevant indicators of student success resulting from
having a degree audit system in place.

begin delete 78029. end delete
begin insert 78028. end insert   

This article shall not be operative until the board of
governors certifies that sufficient funds have been received from
state, federal, or private sources to implement the online degree
audit system that would be created under this section. The board
of governors shall prominently post this certification promptly on
its Internet Web site.

SEC. 3.  

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.