Existing law establishes the California State University, under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in the state. The California State University currently comprises 23 institutions of higher education.

This bill would authorize the Chancellor of the California State University to conduct and submit to the trustees a study about the feasibility of a California State University satellite program, and ultimately, an independent California State University campus, in the Antelope Valley or the Victor Valley, as defined, within 18 months after the date that the trustees certify that sufficient funds are available to conduct the study. The bill would require funding for the study to be derived solely from nonstate sources. If the trustees decide that a new campus or off-campus center is needed in the Antelope Valley or the Victor Valley, the bill would authorize the trustees to conduct a formal study of the proposal, as provided.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Senator Anna Caballero, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular Session

SB 1023 (Wilk) - California State University: Antelope Valley or Victor Valley campus

Bill Summary:

This bill authorizes the California State University (CSU) Chancellor to study the feasibility of a CSU satellite program and, ultimately, an independent CSU campus in the Antelope Valley or the Victor Valley, as defined. If deemed necessary by the CSU Trustees, the bill further authorizes a formal study of the proposal to be conducted, as provided. The bill further requires funding for the feasibility study to be derived solely from non-state resources.

Fiscal Impact:

• While the bill requires funding for the feasibility study to be paid from non-state sources, this could lead to additional cost pressure (federal or private funds) in the mid-hundreds of thousands of dollars on a one-time bases to conduct the study.
• To the extent that the feasibility study concludes that a new or off-campus is necessary, there could be one-time General Fund cost pressure in the high hundreds of thousands to low millions of dollars to conduct the formal study, as specified.
• Assuming the studies conclude that there is a need for a new campus, this bill could result in General Fund cost pressure to create a satellite program or an independent campus. The construction of a new CSU campus will likely require a significant capital investment in the high hundreds of millions of dollars, potentially up to $1 billion. Additionally, operating a CSU campus could have an annual cost in the high tens of millions of dollars. A satellite program would have an operational cost of approximately $1 million, with construction or lease costs dependent on local conditions and infrastructure.

Background:

Existing law establishes the CSU, under the administration of the Trustees of the CSU, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in the state. The CSU currently comprises 23 institutions of higher education.

Existing law establishes the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) to be responsible for coordinating public, independent, and private postsecondary education in California, as well as providing independent policy analyses and recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor on postsecondary education issues. CPEC was also responsible, among other things, for reviewing proposals for new academic and vocational programs, satellite campuses, and California public college and university campuses, as well as providing recommendations to the Legislature and Governor. However, the CPEC was defunded by the state in 2011. Since that time, the state has sponsored only one evaluation for a potential new CSU campus.

Proposed Law:

This bill authorizes the CSU Chancellor to study the feasibility of a CSU satellite program and, ultimately, an independent CSU campus, in the Antelope Valley or the Victor Valley.

The bill requires the study to include all of the following:

• 1. Ten-year enrollment projections and physical capacity analysis.
  2. Regional workforce needs.
  3. Prospective economic impact and job creation in the region.
  4. Infrastructure availability.
  5. The potential alleviation of overcrowding and traffic at the

Bakersfield and Northridge campuses.

• 1. Consideration of plausible alternatives.
  2. Academic planning and program justification.
  3. Description of proposed student services and student outreach programs.
  4. Support and capital outlay budget projections.
  5. Geographic and physical accessibility.
  6. Environmental and social impacts.
  7. Effects on other educational institutions.

This bill requires that funding for the feasibility study be derived solely from non-state sources and that the chancellor conduct and submit the study to the trustees within 18 months of the trustees certifying the availability of sufficient funds for the feasibility study.

The bill provides that if a new or off-campus is deemed necessary, the trustees shall conduct a formal study identical to the one that would have been done for a proposed new postsecondary educational program by CPEC, pursuant to current law.

This bill defines “Antelope Valley” to include, but not limited to, the cities of California City, Lancaster, and Palmdale, the census designated places of Boron, Green Valley, Lake Hughes, Lake Los Angeles, Leona Valley, Littlerock, Mojave, North Edwards, Piñon Hills, Phelan, Quartz Hill, Rosamond, and Wrightwood, and the unincorporated area of Pearlblossom, and “Victor Valley” to include, but not limited to, the cities of Adelanto, Hesperia, and Victorville, and the Town of Apple Valley.

Related Legislation:

AB 736 (Fox, 2013), identical to this bill, would have required the CSU to conduct a study, as specified, regarding the feasibility of CSU satellite program, and ultimately, an independent CSU campus in the Antelope Valley. AB 736 was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 24 (Block, 2009), which was vetoed by the Governor, proposed a study regarding the feasibility of establishing a CSU satellite program and campus at Chula Vista.

Staff Comments:

While this bill will not result in direct state costs on the front end, it creates substantial cost pressure on the CSU to complete several activities that are geared toward the possible creation of a new CSU campus in the Antelope Valley. This bill authorizes the CSU to conduct a feasibility study which is required to be funded entirely by nonstate funds, to be presented to the CSU Board of Trustees. If this study is presented to the Trustees and they agree that there is a need for a new campus or satellite in Antelope Valley, the CSU is “authorized” to conduct a formal study, as specified. The cost of that study could be in the high hundreds of thousands to low millions of dollars, and there is no prohibition against the use of state funds which could result in additional General Fund cost pressure.

Antelope Valley is one of the areas proposed for evaluation for a new CSU campus or satellite program. The area is currently home to CSU Bakersfield’s Antelope Valley Regional Center, which opened in 2000 on the campus of Antelope Valley College, a California Community College, and is now fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. CSUB-AV currently offers only eight undergraduate degrees, including an Associate Degree in Nursing to Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing program, five graduate degrees, and three teaching credential programs.

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SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Senator Josh Newman, Chair

2023 - 2024 Regular

Bill No: SB 1023 Hearing Date: March 20, 2024

Subject: California State University: Antelope Valley or Victor Valley campus.

SUMMARY

This bill authorizes the California State University (CSU) Chancellor to study the feasibility of a CSU satellite program and, ultimately, an independent CSU campus in the Antelope Valley or the Victor Valley, as defined. If deemed necessary by the CSU Trustees, the bill further authorizes a formal study of the proposal to be conducted, as provided. The bill further requires funding for the feasibility study to be derived solely from non-state resources.

BACKGROUND

Existing law:

1. Establishes the CSU, under the administration of the Trustees of the CSU, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in the state. The CSU currently comprises 23 institutions of higher education. (Education Code (EC) § 66600)
2. Declares the intent of the Legislature that sites for new institutions or branches of the CSU shall not be authorized or acquired unless recommended by the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) and that CPEC should advise the Legislature and the Governor regarding the need for, and location of, new institutions and campuses of public higher education. (EC § 66900 and § 66904)

ANALYSIS

This bill:

1. Authorizes the CSU Chancellor to study the feasibility of a CSU satellite program and, ultimately, an independent CSU campus, in the Antelope Valley or the Victor Valley.
2. Requires the study to include all of the following:
   
   1. Ten-year enrollment projections and physical capacity analysis.
   2. Regional workforce needs.
   3. Prospective economic impact and job creation in the region.
   4. Infrastructure availability.
   5. The potential alleviation of overcrowding and traffic at the

Bakersfield and Northridge campuses.

• 1. Consideration of plausible alternatives.
  2. Academic planning and program justification.
  3. Description of proposed student services and student outreach

programs.

• 1. Support and capital outlay budget projections.
  2. Geographic and physical accessibility.
  3. Environmental and social impacts.
  4. Effects on other educational institutions.

1. Requires that funding for the feasibility study be derived solely from non-state sources and that the chancellor conduct and submit the study to the trustees within 18 months of the trustees certifying the availability of sufficient funds for the feasibility study.
2. Authorizes, if a new or off-campus is deemed necessary, the trustees to conduct a formal study identical to the one that would have been done for a proposed new postsecondary educational program by CPEC, pursuant to current law.
3. Defines, for purposes of the bill:
   1. “Antelope Valley” to include, but is not limited to, the cities of California

City, Lancaster, and Palmdale, the census designated places of Boron, Green Valley, Lake Hughes, Lake Los Angeles, Leona Valley, Littlerock, Mojave, North Edwards, Piñon Hills, Phelan, Quartz Hill, Rosamond, and Wrightwood, and the unincorporated area of Pearlblossom.

• 1. “Victor Valley” includes, but is not limited to, the cities of Adelanto,

Hesperia, and Victorville, and the Town of Apple Valley.

STAFF COMMENTS

1. Need for the bill. The author’s office asserts that residents in the Victor Valley and Antelope Valley currently do not have a public four-year university within a reasonable distance for commuting. While the area is filled with several great community colleges, opportunities for masters or bachelors degrees are limited. According to the author, “The High Desert is one of the last affordable frontiers left in California. But as its population grows, students and families still have to make the costly commute down the hill to get to the nearest CSU campus. Having a campus in the Victor Valley or Antelope Valley would create easier and more affordable access to education, create jobs, and alleviate overcrowding at other campuses. Simply looking at what’s possible is long overdue.”
   
2. The Legislature lacks the capacity to assess the need for new campuses or academic programs. California does not have a coordinating entity for higher education. Existing law establishes CPEC to be responsible for coordinating public, independent, and private postsecondary education in California, as well as providing independent policy analyses and recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor on postsecondary education issues. Prior to 2011, CPEC was responsible, among other things, for reviewing proposals for new academic and vocational programs, satellite campuses, and California public college and university campuses, as well as providing recommendations to the Legislature and Governor.

CPEC would typically review new programs and campuses through, at a minimum, the prisms of societal need, student demand, existing programs, the total costs of the program, and appropriateness to the institution and system mission. Since the defunding of CPEC in 2011, the state has sponsored only one evaluation for a potential new CSU campus. It appears that funds were provided to CSU for these purposes in the 2019-20 Budget Act, and ultimately, an independent analysis was conducted of five specified areas, which included San Joaquin County (including Stockton), Chula Vista, Concord, Palm Desert, and San Mateo County. In the absence of a CPEC-like entity, the Legislature is now placed in the position of examining and reviewing the academic, programmatic, and fiscal implications of “new” programs or campuses, a function for which the Legislature is ill-equipped.

Having a neutral statewide body provide critical analysis on the future needs of postsecondary education in California is beyond the scope of this measure. However, it does call into question who or what entity should be performing such analysis in the absence of a CPEC. In this measure, a requirement is being placed on the CSU to pursue such a study. It further encourages the CSU trustees to carry out a formal study that mirrors CPEC’s methodology.

1. CSU, Bakersfield - Antelope Valley Regional Center (CSUB-AV). Antelope Valley is one of the areas proposed for evaluation for a new CSU campus or satellite program. The area is currently home to CSU Bakersfield’s Antelope Valley Regional Center, which opened in 2000 on the campus of Antelope Valley College, a California Community College, and is now fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. CSUB-AV currently offers only eight undergraduate degrees, including an Associate Degree in Nursing to Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing program, five graduate degrees, and three teaching credential programs.
2. Recent study for new campus. The Budget Act of 2019 provided $4 million to the CSU Chancellor’s Office to assess demand for a potential new campus in one of five specified areas: San Joaquin County (including Stockton), Chula Vista, Concord, Palm Desert, and San Mateo County. The Chancellor’s Office contracted with a team of independent consultants for the study, which was released in July 2020. The study concluded that projected enrollment demand did not justify a new campus in any of the five areas, as the existing CSU campuses have sufficient capacity under their master plans to accommodate projected growth. However, the existing campuses would need additional funding to reach their planned capacity. The study does not directly evaluate which existing campuses or centers to prioritize for facility or enrollment growth funds. Subsequently, in the 2021 Budget Act, $1 million in ongoing general funds was provided to support the enrollment growth of 115 students at the CSU Stanislaus Stockton Center.
3. Prior legislation.

AB 736 (Fox, 2013), identical to this bill, would have required the CSU to conduct a study, as specified, regarding the feasibility of CSU satellite program, and ultimately, an independent CSU campus in the Antelope Valley. AB 736 was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 24 (Block, 2009), which was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger, proposed a study regarding the feasibility of establishing a CSU satellite program and campus at Chula Vista.

AB 500 (Conway, 2009) was virtually identical to AB 24, except called for a CSU campus in the High Desert. AB 500 died in the Assembly Higher Education Committee.

SUPPORT

None received

OPPOSITION

None received

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