Support for Allowing Exceptions to Senate Bill 440 Degree Creation Mandates

Fall
2014
Resolution Number
09.12
 
Contact
Assigned to
C-ID Leadership
Category
Curriculum
Status
Completed

Whereas, When Transfer Model Curricula (TMCs) were first created in response to Senate Bill 1440 (Padilla, 2010), no expectation existed that all colleges would be mandated to develop Associate Degrees for Transfer (ADTs) for all TMCs in which they possessed an existing local degree in the same TOP Code;

Whereas, The California Community College System consists of 112 colleges in 72 districts with unique priorities, resources, and populations, yet the Board of Governors’ method of requiring locally determined goals as a means of encouraging development of ADTs has resulted in over 1500 new degree options for students as of November 5, 2014;

Whereas, Associate degrees with a program goal of “transfer” are distinguished from those with a program goal of “Career Technical Education” and “Career Technical Education and transfer” in the Curriculum Inventory, as these degrees are subject to different approval processes and are often significantly different in design and purpose; and

Whereas, The California Community Colleges have made great progress in responding to the degree obligations established by both the Board of Governor’s goals and the legislated mandates established by Senate Bill 440 (Padilla, 2013), yet instances remain in which some colleges, although under legislative mandate, may not be able to develop degrees based on a specific TMC because of local circumstances such as a lack of faculty expertise for required curriculum, unresolvable unit issues, or lack of resources to offer required courses;

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges urge the Chancellor’s Office to specify in policy that the degree development mandate created by Senate Bill 440 only applies when the college has a local degree in the TOP Code associated with a TMC and that local degree has a program goal of transfer; and

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges urge the Chancellor’s Office to establish a process to exempt a college from being required to develop a specific Associate Degree for Transfer if the college meets established criteria, including lack of faculty expertise for required curriculum, unresolvable unit issues, or lack of resources to offer required courses, and the college provides evidence of sufficient depth and scope to warrant granting the exception. 

MSC