Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act of 2021: Associate Degree for Transfer Intersegmental Implementation Committee.

Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of postsecondary education in this state. The California Community Colleges system provides instruction to students at 116 campuses operated by community college districts throughout the state and, among other things, provides its students with a transfer pathway, facilitated by mechanisms such as the associate degree for transfer, allowing students to apply academic credit earned at a community college toward receipt of a bachelor's degree at a 4-year postsecondary educational institution. The Donahoe Higher Education Act requires a student who earns an associate degree for transfer (ADT) to be deemed eligible for transfer into a California State University baccalaureate program when the student meets certain requirements. 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. Existing law establishes the California Community College Guided Pathways Grant Program under the administration of the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges and requires the chancellor's office to distribute grants, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to community colleges that meet certain requirements, to integrate existing student-success programs and develop clearly structured, coherent guided pathways programs. This bill would express findings and declarations of the Legislature related to the process of transfer from community colleges to 4-year postsecondary educational institutions. The bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation related to a student-centered transfer process. This bill would establish, until July 1, 2025, the Associate Degree for Transfer Intersegmental Implementation Committee to serve as the primary entity charged with the oversight of the ADT. The bill would specify the committee's membership. The bill would assign numerous duties to the committee, including the duty to establish timelines and reporting deadlines relating to reviews of transfer model curricula, and the duty to develop a comprehensive communications plan and guidance to inform students about the ADT pathway. The bill would also require the committee, on or before December 31, 2023, to provide the Legislature with recommendations on certain issues impeding the scaling of the ADT and streamlining transfer across segments for students. The bill would require the Intersegmental Committee of the Academic Senates of the University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges, on or before May 31, 2023, to establish a singular lower division general education pathway that meets the academic requirements necessary for transfer admission to the California State University and the University of California, and would require, if the committee is unable to come to agreement on or before May 31, 2023, the respective administrative bodies of those segments to establish a singular lower division general education pathway that meets the academic requirements necessary for transfer admission to the California State University and the University of California by December 31, 2023. The bill would require the singular lower division general education pathway, commencing with the fall term of the 2025–26 academic year, to be the only lower division general education pathway used to determine eligibility and sufficient academic preparation for transfer into both segments, and to not lengthen the time-to-degree or include more units than those required under the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum on July 1, 2021. These requirements pertaining to the singular lower division general education pathway would apply to the University of California only if the regents adopt an appropriate resolution, as required by existing law. Where ADTs for major pathways exist, the bill would require the California Community Colleges, on or before August 1, 2024, to place students who declare a goal of transfer on their mandatory education plans on the ADT pathway if the student has not opted out, as specified, and if such a pathway exists for their intended major. To the extent that this provision would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program. This bill would authorize community colleges to use funds appropriated in the Budget Act of 2021 or subsequent budget acts to support the continued implementation of the California Community College Guided Pathways Grant Program to implement the bill. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.