Whereas, Preparing students to transfer into baccalaureate degree programs is one of the primary missions of the California community colleges;
Whereas, The majority of transfer students are transferring to either a California State University (CSU) or University of California (UC) campus, and colleges must develop courses that satisfy the expectations of and articulate to both systems;
In 2013, California adopted revised standards for education in the natural sciences based on the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). These new standards were designed to move away from an exhaustive list of content toward a greater focus on outcomes that would indicate a deeper understanding of underlying scientific phenomena.
Whereas, Twenty-five of California’s 113 community colleges have been able to meet the legislative mandate to develop Associate Degrees for Transfer as required by California Education Code §66746(b), and the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office requires that courses submitted for the Associate Degree for Transfer demonstrate approval from the California Course Identification Numbering (C-ID) System;
Whereas, C-ID course approval requires review by at least one discipline faculty member from both the California community colleges and the California State University;
Whereas, The Academic Senate of the California State University appointed a Quantitative Reasoning Task Force with broad representation from the California State University, the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges (ASCCC), the California Acceleration Project (CAP), and the University of California Office of the President to address fundamental questions regarding the prerequisite content of the California State University General Education B4 (CSU GE B4) and potential pre-requisite or co-requisite content for quantitative reasoning and mathematical competency (CSU GE B4);
Whereas, On September 4, 2013, the California State Board of Education adopted the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) as the new standards for scientific instruction for all K-12 students in California;
Whereas, The Intersegmental Committee of Academic Senates (ICAS) originally published the Statement on Natural Science Expected of Entering Freshmen in 1988 and had not updated the documents since its initial adoption;
Whereas, Senate Bill (SB) 1440 (Padilla, 2010) defines the Associate in Arts for Transfer and Associate in Science for Transfer Degree as having no more than 60 semester units (or 90 quarter units) eligible for transfer to the California State University (CSU) and California community colleges have missions other than just transfer;
Whereas, Senate Bill (SB) 1440 (Padilla, 2010) defines the Associate in Arts for Transfer and Associate in Science for Transfer degree as having no more than 60 semester units (or 90 quarter units) eligible for transfer to the California State University (CSU);
Whereas, The 60 semester units (or 90 quarter units) include a minimum of 18 semester units (or 27 quarter units) in a major or area of emphasis and an approved general education curriculum, either Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) or CSU General Education Breadth Requirements;
Whereas, The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges has repeatedly noted the essential importance of a robust general education (GE) to becoming a well-rounded, educated citizen, and the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) has established essential learning outcomes for a student's general education experience called the Liberal Education and America's Promise (LEAP) outcomes, defined as:
Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World
Whereas, The recommendations from the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) in their report Guaranteed Regional Access Needed for State Universities recognize the inequitable and discriminatory impact local area access priority to California State Universities (CSU) has on incoming students by acknowledging that “granting preference to local students over out-of-area students could be perceived as inequitable—particularly when the out-of-area student is better qualified, and given that CSU campuses differ in size, campus amenities, program offerings, student bodies, and other characteri
Whereas, California Education Code (CEC) §66748, which outlines the requirements for associate degrees for transfer as created under Senate Bill (SB) 1440 (Padilla, 2010), states that “The California State University may require a student transferring pursuant to this article to take additional courses at the California State University so long as the student is not required to take any more than 60 additional semester units or 90 quarter units at the California State University for majors requiring 120 semester units or 180 quarter units”;