SB 640: Public postsecondary education: admission, transfer, and enrollment.

(1)Existing law establishes the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, as one of the segments of postsecondary education in the state.

Existing law requires the California State University to establish a model uniform set of academic standards for purposes of recognition for admission to the California State University. Under existing law, the University of California and the California State University are expected to plan that adequate spaces are available to accommodate all California resident students who are eligible and likely to apply to attend an appropriate place within the system.

This bill would establish the CSU Direct Admission Program under which a pupil graduating from a high school of a participating local educational agency is deemed eligible for enrollment into a designated California State University campus. The bill would require, upon the implementation of transcript-informed pupil accounts, the reporting available on the CaliforniaColleges.edu platform to be used to provide the data required to determine eligibility for the program, as specified. The bill would require the California College Guidance Initiative, on behalf of the California State University, to transmit a letter of direct admission to each eligible pupil that notifies the pupil that they have been directly admitted, as specified.

(2)Existing law, until the 202627 academic year, requires the trustees to offer for first-time freshman applicants meeting certain criteria a dual admissions program, and authorizes eligible first-time freshman applicants to enter into a dual admissions agreement with the California State University that guarantees the students admission to a specific campus of the segment selected by the student at the time of the agreement if the student completes transfer requirements, which may include completion of an associate degree for transfer (ADT) or another established course of study for transfer within 2 academic years at a California community college.

This bill would extend the above-described dual admission program until the 203536 academic year, and would instead require a student to complete an ADT or another established course of study for transfer within 3 academic years at a California community college. The bill would also require the California Community Colleges to take certain actions to promote the program.

(3)By imposing new duties on community college districts, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The 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 the statutory provisions noted above.