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SB-1585 California Community Colleges: transfer students.(2007-2008)

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Enrolled  August 22, 2008
Passed  IN  Senate  August 19, 2008
Passed  IN  Assembly  August 13, 2008
Amended  IN  Assembly  August 08, 2008
Amended  IN  Assembly  July 02, 2008
Amended  IN  Assembly  June 17, 2008
Amended  IN  Senate  May 27, 2008
Amended  IN  Senate  April 30, 2008
Amended  IN  Senate  April 23, 2008
Amended  IN  Senate  April 14, 2008
Amended  IN  Senate  March 25, 2008

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2007–2008 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 1585

Introduced  by  Senator Padilla

February 22, 2008

An act to add and repeal Article 3 (commencing with Section 66745) of Chapter 9.2 of Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code, relating to the California Community Colleges.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 1585, Padilla. California Community Colleges: transfer students.
Existing law establishes the 3 segments of public postsecondary education in this state. These segments include the California State University, the campuses of which are administered by the Trustees of the California State University, the University of California, which is administered by the Regents of the University of California, and the California Community Colleges, which are administered by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. Existing law, known as the Donahoe Higher Education Act, requires the regents, the trustees, and the board of governors to have as a fundamental policy the maintenance of a healthy and expanded program to increase the number of transfer students from community colleges.
This bill would make various legislative findings and declarations related to public higher education at the California Community Colleges.
The bill would require the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to establish a 5-year Improve Transfer Success Pilot Program, containing specified elements, to increase the number of transfer-declared students who begin in basic skills courses that are one or 2 levels below transferable coursework and successfully progress to transferable coursework leading to their successful transfer to a 4-year university. The Chancellor of the California State University would be required to establish a formal university outreach program to support the pilot program containing specified elements. The bill would request the Regents of the University of California and independent colleges and universities to establish a formal university outreach program in support of the pilot program. On or before December 31, 2013, the chancellor would be required to submit to the Legislature a report on the results of the pilot program. Community colleges selected by the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to participate in the pilot program would be required to support program costs through existing state funds appropriated for purposes consistent with this program, or through federal and private funding.
The bill would repeal the above provisions on January 1, 2014.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) In order for California to keep up with economic demand over the next 20 years, California will have to produce a steady increase in the amount of college-educated workers.
(b) California faces a looming economic crisis as a result of workforce shortages due to the impending retirement of a generation of baby boomers, shifts in the state’s economy, and demographic trends.
(c) The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that 43 percent of the United States labor force will be eligible to retire between 2004 and 2012.
(d) The Public Policy Institute of California, in its report, “California 2025: Taking on the Future,” found all of the following:
(1) Over the next 20 years, employment will grow by 30 to 40 percent.
(2) There will be a continued decline in the share of manufacturing employment and a steady rise in the share employed in services, particularly in the areas of health, business, educational services, professional entertainment, and recreation.
(3) Demand for workers with a high school education or less will fall and demand for those with associate, bachelor, and advanced degrees will rise.
(4) Students of color will make up an increasing share of the workforce and they are a group that now has lower levels of education.
(e) Many of California’s community college students face tremendous education gaps and personal hurdles that affect their ability to transfer to a four-year college or university. This problem is particularly true for the 70 percent of incoming students who begin their community college career in basic skills courses.
These students need quality academic support, access to student success services, and opportunities to understand the four-year university experience and transfer requirements while they are preparing to transfer to a university.

SEC. 2.

 It is the intent of the Legislature to establish an Improve Transfer Success Pilot Program to do all of the following:
(a) Increase the number of community college students who move from basic skills to transfer level coursework and ultimately succeed in transferring to a four-year institution.
(b) Develop a new partnership that advances the best of what the campuses of the community colleges, the California State University, the University of California, and independent and out-of-state colleges and universities can do to help students successfully transfer to a four-year university.
(c) Provide formalized, in-person, and regular community college counseling to basic skills students who identify transferring to a four-year institution as their goal.
(d) Provide consistent and direct interaction between potential transfer students and college advisors of the California State University system, the University of California, and independent and out-of-state colleges and universities, as well as field trips to university campuses.
(e) Expand the California Community Colleges’ capacity to monitor the progress of these students toward reaching their goals.
(f) Increase the number of transfer students who begin in basic skills courses that are one or two levels below transferable coursework and successfully progress to transferable coursework leading to their successful transfer to a four-year university.

SEC. 3.

 Article 3 (commencing with Section 66745) is added to Chapter 9.2 of Division 5 of Title 3 of the Education Code, to read:
Article  3. Improve Transfer Success Pilot Program

66745.
 (a) The Chancellor of the California Community Colleges shall establish a five-year Improve Transfer Success Pilot Program and may identify not more than 10 community colleges that, to the extent possible, reflect the state’s geographic and student diversity to participate in the pilot program.
(b) A community college chosen to participate in the pilot program shall satisfy all of the following:
(1) Be willing to participate in the pilot program.
(2) Have a transfer center.
(3) Have an existing transfer infrastructure in place to coordinate the participation of the college, the four-year institutions, and the students.
(4) Commit to identifying and regularly communicating with students who meet the participation criteria set forth in Section 66745.1.
(5) Be capable of providing regular in-person counseling and transfer information to participating students.
(c) The participation of a community college in the pilot program is voluntary.

66745.1.
 A student participating in the pilot program shall satisfy all of the following criteria:
(a) Have been provided the opportunity to participate and declared an interest in participating in this pilot program.
(b) Be enrolled in courses that are no more than two levels below transferable coursework.
(c) Maintain a unit load equivalent to at least six semester units.
(d) Complete a student educational plan during the first semester or quarter, as applicable, of his or her participation in the pilot program.
(e) Be willing and agree to meet with a community college advisor and with a representative from a campus of the California State University or University of California, or an independent or out-of-state four-year institution at least once per semester or quarter, as applicable.

66745.2.
 (a) The community college participating in the pilot program shall do all of the following:
(1) Coordinate with academic departments offering basic skills coursework.
(2) Provide outreach and special presentations about the pilot program to students and the campus community.
(3) Communicate specialized information about the transfer process and support services.
(4) Ensure availability of counseling services and provide assistance in developing long-term education plans, including, but not limited to, financial aid information and assistance.
(5) Coordinate with other student service programs, including Extended Opportunity Programs and Services, Cooperative Agencies Resources for Education, and CalWORKs, and other campus departments that provide services to students.
(6) Facilitate contact with representatives from four-year institutions.
(7) Make every effort to provide participating students the opportunity to enroll in courses needed for transfer in a timely manner.
(8) Coordinate with four-year institutions for the purposes of field trips to their campuses.
(9) Provide information to the Chancellor’s Office of the California Community Colleges to enable monitoring of participating students’ patterns of course enrollment and their academic progress.
(b) The Chancellor of the California State University shall establish a formal university outreach program to do all of the following:
(1) Establish and maintain a consistent, formalized, in-person presence at all participating community colleges.
(2) Provide advisors who are available to meet with participating students at least once per semester or quarter, as applicable, on the campus of the participating community college.
(3) Provide participating students with site visit opportunities, at least once a year, to California State University campuses.
(c) The Regents of the University of California and independent colleges and universities are requested to establish a formal university outreach program as specified in subdivision (b).

66745.3.
 On or before December 31, 2013, the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges shall submit to the Legislature a report on the results of the pilot program.

66745.4.
 The Chancellor of the California Community Colleges may accept private funds for the purposes of implementing the pilot program. Community colleges selected by the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to participate in the pilot program shall support program costs through existing state funds appropriated for purposes consistent with this program, or through federal and private funding.

66745.5.
 This article shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2014, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2014, deletes or extends that date.