Senate Concurrent Resolution
No. 93
CHAPTER 157
Relative to joint doctoral programs.
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Filed with
Secretary of State
September 11, 2002.
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LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SCR 93, Alpert.
Joint doctoral programs: California State University: University of California.
This measure would express legislative support for the Joint Education Doctorate Initiative of the California State University and the University of California. The measure would encourage the Joint Ed.D. Board and the respective universities to take actions, including the submission of periodic joint reports to the Legislature, that will implement these joint doctoral programs.
Digest Key
WHEREAS, California has historically made a commitment to providing access to high-quality public educational programs for all students, ranging from elementary to doctoral level instruction; and
WHEREAS, The state’s policy and educational leaders remain committed to ensuring that professionals serving in our public schools and community colleges are fully prepared to meet the challenges in today’s classrooms; and
WHEREAS, The Governor and the Legislature have made improving California’s educational system a top priority; and
WHEREAS, It is recognized that well-qualified education leaders are a key to successfully implementing improvements in California education; and
WHEREAS, Public school and community college educators seek greater access to affordable advanced educational programs that will help them improve their leadership skills to better serve their students; and
WHEREAS, The California State University (CSU) and the University of California (UC) recognize that regional access to education doctoral (Ed.D.) programs in public higher education is necessary but currently inadequate to meet California’s growing need for skilled educational leaders; and
WHEREAS, CSU and UC, working together, can create rigorous, high-quality Ed.D. programs for working professionals that build on the complementary strengths of both systems; and
WHEREAS, With the support of the Legislature, as well as the education community, statewide organizations, and business and community leaders, the CSU and UC have agreed to develop a joint Ed.D. initiative as equal partners that will greatly expand the access to these public programs for a large number of California’s education leaders; and
WHEREAS, Beginning in 2002, CSU and UC have each committed $1,000,000 per year from their existing resources for this purpose for the first two years, for a total of $4,000,000; and
WHEREAS, The CSU and UC have agreed to form a Joint Ed.D. Board that will solicit, review, fund, and expedite programs that build on the mutual strengths of the CSU and UC campuses, and that would be cochaired by the chief academic officers of the two systems and include faculty from CSU and UC; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature supports the Joint Education Doctorate Initiative of the CSU and UC, and intends that gaps in California’s needs for education doctorates (Ed.D.s) be identified and addressed through doctoral programs offered jointly and on a coequal basis by the CSU and UC; and be it further
Resolved, That the CSU and UC, through a collaborative regional assessment process, will evaluate the educational leadership needs of public schools, community colleges, and other aspects of higher education to ensure that those needs are understood and properly matched with the strengths of the CSU and UC. These assessments will be conducted under the auspices of the Joint Ed.D. Board, and will include ongoing consultation with K-12, community college, and California independent college and university leaders; and be it further
Resolved, That the Joint Ed.D. Board shall develop a strategy for consultation with K-12 and community college representatives to provide input with regard to the development and expansion of new joint Ed.D. programs; and be it further
Resolved, That, beginning in fall 2003, joint CSU/UC Ed.D. programs will be established, and will enroll students to address identified unmet statewide and regional educational leadership needs; and be it further
Resolved, That it is the intent of the Legislature that both of the following shall occur:
(a) That joint Ed.D. programs will be governed and offered by the CSU and UC on a coequal basis, in which participation and decisionmaking in all aspects of the program design, governance, and delivery occur equitably.
(b) That the Joint Ed.D. Board and the CSU and UC faculty will consider the characteristics and requirements inherent in the highest quality programs that are applicable to today’s research and educational needs as they develop, implement, and subsequently evaluate joint Ed.D. programs; and be it further
Resolved, That the joint Ed.D. programs be designed so that working professionals can complete these programs in a reasonable timeframe using techniques, such as alternative scheduling, including part-time enrollment and delivery, that would utilize evening, weekend, or summer instruction; and be it further
Resolved, That CSU and UC will jointly report to the Legislature every two years, beginning in June 2004, on all of the following:
(a) The implementation of the joint Ed.D. programs, including information identifying the number of new programs, enrollments, and degree recipients.
(b) The extent to which these programs are fulfilling identified state needs for training in educational leadership.
(c) Feedback from program participants about the programs and steps the universities are taking to make improvement; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature encourages this collaboration between CSU and UC as a sound and fiscally responsible policy direction to address the state priority of meeting the leadership needs of public school and community college educators, and as the fulfillment of one of the original tenets of the Master Plan for Higher Education, to which the Legislature remains fully committed; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to each member of the Trustees of the California State University and the Regents of the University of California.