SB 1504 Arizona Senate · 57th Legislature - First Regular Session

community colleges; baccalaureate degrees; reports

SB 1504 requires Arizona community colleges seeking to offer bachelor's degree programs to meet specific standards and submit detailed reports before approval. It mandates that colleges demonstrate regional workforce needs, student demand, and financial sustainability - including funding sources and resource plans - before the district board authorizes new programs. The bill also requires colleges to notify nearby public universities 60 days prior to submitting reports and include any university responses in their applications. Additionally, colleges must submit annual reports on enrollment, costs, and outcomes, plus a comprehensive five-year review to the legislative audit committee, focusing on program effectiveness, student success, and alignment with workforce needs.

Issues: ✓ Budget & Taxes

Sub-Topics: Audits & Accountability

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Mar 2025

Senate Passage

Mar 2025

House Passage

Apr 2025

Signed into Law

May 2025

Introduced Feb 10, 2025 Signed May 2, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Senate Engrossed Version → Chaptered Version · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill adds detailed requirements for community colleges offering baccalaureate degrees in Arizona, including mandatory reporting to the district board and the joint legislative audit committee. The changes expand the scope of required information to include workforce data, completion rates, student debt levels, and employment outcomes. These requirements aim to ensure new degree programs meet student and workforce needs while maintaining financial and academic quality.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of reporting requirements for community colleges offering baccalaureate degrees, adding new metrics and extending reporting obligations to the joint legislative audit committee.

REQUIREMENT

Added requirement for community colleges to notify public universities 60 days before submitting baccalaureate program reports to district boards, with a 30-day window for university responses.

Added mandatory annual reporting to the joint legislative audit committee by the fifth year after a baccalaureate program begins, including detailed metrics on applicants, admissions, enrollment, and graduates.

Added new reporting requirements for annual reports including workforce demand data, completion and continuation rates, impact on underserved students, job placement information, student debt levels, and time-to-degree rates.

Modified the numbering and structure of annual report requirements to include additional metrics such as cost per degree, funding sources, and disaggregated data by program.

DEFINITION

Added definitions for 'main campus' and 'public university' to clarify notification requirements between community colleges and public universities.

Introduced Version → Senate Engrossed Version · 12 edits · Mar 6, 2025

MAJOR

The bill was reformatted from an introduced version to a Senate engrossed version, with substantive additions to the reporting requirements for community colleges offering baccalaureate degrees. The engrossed version adds new reporting categories including degree completion rates, student debt levels, workforce impact data, and places of employment for graduates, while also modifying the annual report requirements to include specific workforce and cost metrics.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains the same (community colleges offering baccalaureate degrees), but the reporting requirements have been expanded to include more detailed performance and outcome metrics.

REQUIREMENT

Added new reporting requirements in subsection E(5) requiring data on persons who received degrees from each baccalaureate program.

Added new reporting requirement in subsection E(2) requiring costs per degree and funding sources for each program.

Added new reporting requirement in subsection E(3) requiring current trends in workforce demands for four-year degrees.

Added new reporting requirement in subsection E(4) requiring completion and continuation rates for student cohorts.

Added new reporting requirement in subsection E(5) requiring information on impact on underserved and underprepared students.

Added new reporting requirement in subsection E(6) requiring data on how programs fulfill identified workforce needs.

Added new reporting requirement in subsection E(7) requiring information on student employment locations and job placement rates.

Added new reporting requirement in subsection E(8) requiring student costs, financial aid amounts, and graduate debt levels.

Added new reporting requirement in subsection E(9) requiring time-to-degree rates and completion rates.

Added new annual report requirements in subsection F requiring total students pursuing degrees, projected enrollment, degrees completed, workforce demand data, and average tuition costs.

DEFINITION

Added new definitions for 'main campus' and 'public university' in subsection G.

TECHNICAL

Changed document format from introduced version to Senate engrossed version with updated title page and formatting.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 6, 2025 · House Apr 16, 2025

How they voted

27–0

Passed · 3 other

Total votes 30

Mar 6, 2025

D Democratic13

10 Yea 3

76% Yea

R Republican17

17 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 2, 2025

Signed into law

Signed by Governor

executive

Apr 16, 2025

Lower · Passed

PASSED

lower

Mar 18, 2025

Lower · Passed

lower

Mar 6, 2025

Upper · Passed

PASSED

upper

Mar 4, 2025

Upper · Passed

upper

Feb 19, 2025

Upper · Passed

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors