SB 478: Public postsecondary education: transfer of community college students to the California State University or University of California.

Existing law, the Donahoe Higher Education Act, establishes the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in this state. These segments are the California State University, administered by the Trustees of the California State University, the University of California, administered by the Regents of the University of California, and the California Community Colleges, administered by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. A provision of the act applies to the University of California only to the extent that the regents, by resolution, make that provision applicable. Existing provisions of the act require the governing bodies of the 3 public postsecondary segments, with appropriate consultation with the academic senates of the respective segments, to develop, maintain, and disseminate a common core curriculum in general education courses for the purposes of transfer. Existing law provides that a student that earns an associate degree for transfer from a community college is eligible to transfer into a California State University baccalaureate program when the student meets specified requirements. Existing law recognizes that the University of California has been working with the California Community Colleges to seek improvements to the transfer process and states the intent of the Legislature that the University of California consider various viable pathways to transfer, including the development of an associate degree for transfer granted by community college districts, as part of this endeavor.

This bill would require the governing board of each community college district to direct the appropriate officials at their respective campuses to (1) identify those students who have completed an associate degree for transfer, (2) notify those students of their completion of the degree requirements, (3) automatically award the student with the degree, and (4) add the student to an identification system at the end of each academic year that the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges shall maintain and that can be accessed electronically by the California State University and the University of California. The bill would require that steps (1) to (3), inclusive, be completed at the end of each academic term. The bill would authorize a student to affirmatively exercise an option to not receive an associate degree for transfer or to be included in the identification system.

By placing additional duties upon a community college district, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would make its provisions operative during any fiscal year only if the Legislature appropriates sufficient funds to pay for all state-mandated costs to be incurred by community college districts pursuant to the bills provisions during that year.

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.