AB 1291: University of California Associate Degree for Transfer Pilot Program.

Existing law, the Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act, requires a student who earns an associate degree for transfer to be deemed eligible for transfer into a California State University baccalaureate degree program if the student meets certain requirements. The act also requires the California State University to guarantee admission with junior status to a community college student who meets those requirements, and provides that admission to the California State University under these provisions does not guarantee admission for specific majors or campuses. A student admitted to the California State University pursuant to the act is entitled to receive priority over all other community college transfer students, excluding community college students who have entered into a transfer agreement between a community college and the California State University before the fall term of the 201213 academic year.

Provisions of the Donahoe Higher Education Act apply to the University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California act, by resolution, to make them applicable.

This bill would create the University of California Associate Degree for Transfer Pilot Program in the Donahoe Higher Education Act. The bill would require the University of California, Los Angeles to declare at least 8 majors by the 202627 academic year, and at least 12 majors by the 202829 academic year, as similar to the transfer model curricula from select community colleges chosen by the University of California, Los Angeles and would require, by the 202829 academic year, the University of California to designate at least 5 campuses to declare at least 12 majors as similar to the transfer model curricula from select community colleges chosen by the applicable campus, except that the 12 major minimum would not apply to the University of California, Merced if designated. The bill would require the applicable campus to prioritize admission of a student who earns an associate degree for transfer and meets the requirements of one of the transfer model curricula and to determine the appropriate admissions preference. The bill would require, for a student who meets those requirements and other University of California admission requirements but is not granted admission to the applicable campus, that campus to redirect the student to other campuses of the University of California and the student to be offered admission to at least one other campus of the University of California.

The bill would require the Legislative Analysts Office to review the pilot program and submit an interim and final report on the pilot program, each with specified content, by February 1, 2027, and June 1, 2030, respectively, to certain legislative committees and subcommittees. The bill would require the Legislative Analysts Office to make the final report publicly available and would require the Regents of the University of California to consider and discuss the final report during an open session of a regularly scheduled meeting of the regents.