BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1425
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Date of Hearing: August 6, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
SB 1425 (Block) - As Amended: August 4, 2014
Policy Committee: Higher
EducationVote:13-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill requires the California Community Colleges (CCC)
Chancellor to procure a commercially available system(s) for
conducting automatic degree audits and requires all community
colleges to have the auditing system in place by 2020.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the CCC Chancellor to identify and procure a
commercially available utility, meeting specified conditions,
to conduct automatic degree audits and oversee audits by all
community colleges pursuant to the following timetable:
a) At least 84 campuses shall have the automatic degree
audit system in place by December 31, 2018.
b) All 112 CCC campuses shall have the automatic degree
audit system in place by December 31, 2019.
2)Requires each community college district to manage the audit
system for its campuses, and requires the system to be
accessible to students and staff through a web portal in order
to monitor student progress toward achieving degree,
certificate, or transfer requirements.
3)Requires the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) to report to
the Governor and the Legislature on the progress and
implementation of the retroactive degree awarding and online
degree audit system by December 31, 2020.
4)Specifies that all of the above shall not be operative until
the BOG certifies that sufficient funds have been received
from state, federal, or private sources to implement the
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online degree audit system.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Potential significant cost pressure to provide state funds.
Though many districts have purchased auditing systems (see
comment #2 below), many have done so using one-time grants.
Costs to purchase a system for the 27 campuses currently
without one would be about $4 million. Moreover, setting up
and maintaining these systems will cost several million
dollars more annually.
2)The LAO's cost for the report should be absorbable, but
districts will likely incur costs to provide information to
the LAO relative to the reporting requirements.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . According to the author, while the Seymour-Campbell
Student Success Act of 2012 requires community colleges to
provide orientation, advising and educational planning tools
to all students, current law does not require the institution
to monitor and notify students of their progress toward their
defined educational goals.
The author contends that California's community colleges play
a vital role in meeting our current and future workforce
needs, however, according to the CCC Student Success
Scorecard, fewer than half of CCC students earn a degree,
certificate, or transfer to a four-year postsecondary
institution after six years. The author states, "SB 1425 will
help more students cross the finish line and enter
California's workforce with increased opportunity by making a
degree tracking system available that will keep current and
future students on track to successfully reach their college
goals."
2) Chancellor's Office Concerns . The Chancellor's Office
indicates they have just begun work on the Education
Planning Initiative (EPI), which will help provide colleges
with integrated tools for education planning and degree
audit in order to support students. The EPI was given $6
million in the 2013-14 Budget Act, and the project was
awarded in December 2014 to Butte Glen Community College
District Technology Center. A list of 10-12 colleges who
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wish to participate in the pilot is being finalized. The
next step is the Request for Information, which is
basically a request for information from vendors to see
what is technologically possible and/or available. The
next implementation phase of the EPI will entail the CCCCO
sending out Request for Proposals to note this phase will
not begin to be developed until sometime in July.
In 2012, it was estimated by West Ed that approximately 25% of
community college campuses had a degree audit system. A
recent survey by the EPI this summer indicates that this
figure is now up to 75%. Therefore, at this point either most
campuses have the degree audit software or will be able to
access the EPI version of it by 2016.
Given the above, the need to mandate the Chancellor's Office
procurement of degree audit systems, nor districts' use of
those systems, is unclear.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081