California Senate pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg is carrying CA Senate Bill 520 through the Legislature to amend Education Code provisions relating to student instruction to create an incentive grant program to assist faculty and individual campuses of the University of California (UC), the California State University (CSU), and the California Community Colleges (CCC), to provide increased opportunities for students to take online courses.
In a statement posted at his website, Senator Steinberg offered the following rationale for the proposals in SB 520:
“The need for this online lifeline for students is critical,” said Steinberg. Last fall, 80 percent of the state’s 112 community college campuses reported waitlists for classes. On average, that equates to about 7,000 enrolled students forced onto a waitlist at each campus. Only 16 percent of CSU students, and 60 percent of UC students, are finishing their degrees within four years due in large part to impacted classes.
As last amended on May 28, 2013, SB 520 would accomplish the following:
- Establish the California Online Student Access Incentive Grant programs as three separate programs under the administration of the President of UC, the Chancellor of CSU, and the Chancellor of CCCs, for each segment respectively, in consultation with their respective statewide academic senates.
- Require the President of UC, the Chancellor of CSU, and the Chancellor of CCCs, in consultation with their respective statewide academic senates, to each develop a list of 20 high-demand lower division courses at his or her segment that are deemed necessary for program completion, deemed satisfactory for meeting general education requirements, or in areas defined as transferable lower division courses under the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum. For these courses, the bill would require the president and chancellors, in consultation with their respective academic senates, to each provide up to 15 incentive grants to faculty and campuses to facilitate intersegmental and intrasegmental partnerships and partnerships between online course technology providers and faculty to significantly increase online options for students and high school pupils for the fall term of the 2014-15 academic year.
- Require the online courses supported by incentive grant funds to be placed in the California Virtual Campus. Require that matriculated students of campuses of the UC, CSU, or the CCCs, and California high school pupils, who complete online courses supported by incentive grant funds and achieve a passing score on corresponding course examinations, be awarded full academic credit for the course at the University of California, the California State University, or the California Community Colleges, as applicable.
- Provide that funding for the implementation of this provision be provided in the annual Budget Act, and express the intent of the Legislature that the receipt of funding by the UC for the implementation of this provision be contingent on its compliance with its requirements.
- Prohibit public funds from being used to fund any private aspect of a partnership developed under the bill between faculty of the UC, CSU, or the CCCs, and an online course technology provider. Provide that intellectual property developed by a segment in the implementation of the bill is owned and managed by that segment according to its existing policies.
- Extend the provisions establishing the California Virtual Campus until January 1, 2017. This bill would require the representatives in the stakeholder group meetings from the UC, CSU, and the CCCs to include, but not be limited to, faculty members from these institutions. This bill would make additional nonsubstantive changes in these provisions.
Currently, SB 520 has been referred to the Assembly Committee on Higher Education.
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