BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Session AB 1016 (Santiago) - Public postsecondary education: Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Version: July 8, 2015 |Policy Vote: ED. 9 - 0 | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Hearing Date: July 13, 2015 |Consultant: Jillian Kissee | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the Suspense File. Bill Summary: This bill requires the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office (CCCCO) and the California State University (CSU) to submit reports, as specified, regarding the status of creating associate degrees for transfer (ADT). Fiscal Impact: Both the CCCCO and the CSU indicate that costs would be minor and absorbable to implement this bill. Background:1) SB 1440 (Padilla, Chapter 428, Statutes of 2010) required community colleges to create two-year 60 unit associate degrees that are fully transferable to CSU. These degrees require completion of (1) a minimum of 18 units in a major or area of emphasis, as determined by each community college, and (2) an AB 1016 (Santiago) Page 1 of ? approved set of general education requirements. Students who earn such a degree are automatically eligible to transfer to the CSU system as an upper-division student in a bachelor's degree program. Though these students are not guaranteed admission to a particular CSU campus or into a particular degree program, SB 1440 gives them priority admission to a CSU program that is "similar" to the student's CCC major or area of emphasis, as determined by the CSU campus to which the student is admitted. Once admitted, SB 1440 students need to only complete two additional years (an additional 60 units) of coursework to earn a bachelor's degree. SB 440 (Padilla, Chapter 720, Statutes of 2013) expanded these provisions to require that the California Community College (CCC) create ADTs in every major, and in areas of emphasis, and required that the CSU accept these degrees, and develop an admissions redirection process for students who complete these degrees but are denied admission to the CSU campus to which they have applied. SB 440 also required the CCC and the CSU to establish a student-centered communication and marketing strategy to increase the visibility of the associate degree for transfer pathway. This bill generally implements the recommendations of a recent Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) report that came out in spring 2015. It recommends one near-term report from the CCC (in fall 2015) and two from CSU (in fall 2015 and fall 2016) to track the segments' progress in creating ADTs and accepting transfer model curricula. LAO also recommends the Legislature require the CSU annually to provide data on certain student outcomes (including admittance to campuses and programs of choice, units taken, and graduation rates) beginning fall 2018. Proposed Law: This bill requires the CCCCO to report to the Legislature by December 1, 2016 on the status of creating ADT. This bill also requires the CSU to submit two reports to the Legislature on campus acceptance of transfer model curricula by concentration by December 1, 2016 and December 1, 2017, respectively. Beginning December 1, 2016, the CSU is required to annually, until November 30, 2021, publicly post data on all of the following: AB 1016 (Santiago) Page 2 of ? 1. The number of students admitted with an ADT. 2. The proportion of students with an ADT who graduate from CSU within two or three years. 3. The number of students with an ADT who applied to a particular CSU campus and were redirected to another campus. 4. The number of students who were redirected and who ultimately enrolled at a CSU campus. Staff Comments: This bill is keyed as a state mandate. However, since this bill imposes requirements upon the CCCCO and not community college districts, the requirements of this bill are unlikely to be considered a reimbursable state mandate by the Commission on State Mandates. In addition, according to the CCCCO, it already produces the information required by this bill through ADT Progress Reports, so there will be no fiscal impact on colleges or the CCCCO. There would be absorbable costs to publish formal reports to be transmitted to the Legislature and LAO. -- END --