Oppose the Inclusion of Local and State-mandated CSU Graduation Requirements

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”;

Whereas, CEC §66746 establishes that a student shall be deemed eligible for transfer into a California State University baccalaureate program when the student has completed 60 semester units or 90 quarter units that are eligible for transfer to the California State University (CSU), including both of the following:

1. The Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) or the CSU General Education-Breadth Requirements.
2. A minimum of 18 semester units or 27 quarter units in a major or area of emphasis, as determined by the community college district;

Whereas, While Senate Bill (SB) 1440 (Padilla, 2010) and CEC §§66745 - 66749 have been interpreted to mandate that California community colleges are not permitted to require students to complete additional courses as local graduation requirements, both those that are locally determined and those established to meet existing Title 5 mandates, but no formal determination has been made with respect to the CSU system; and

Whereas, CSU has a Title 5 mandate that includes a six-unit American History and Institutions graduation requirement, and some CSU campuses impose additional lower-division local graduation requirements, such as competency in a foreign language;

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges acknowledge the legislative intent of Senate Bill (SB) 1440 as it seeks to simplify transfer pathways by establishing a 60-unit community college degree as a means of gaining priority access to the CSU;

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges welcome the participation of the CSU Academic Senate and faculty representatives in the identification of the components of a degree intended for transfer but maintain the primacy of the California community college faculty in determining the content of community college degrees; and

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, in keeping with the intent of the Legislature in passing SB 1440 (Padilla, 2010), oppose any efforts by the CSU to force the inclusion of local and state-mandated CSU graduation requirements into the units to be completed at the California community colleges and deem the need to fill such requirements as an inappropriate reason for determining that a California community college degree is not “similar” to a CSU degree.

MSC Disposition: CSU Academic Senate, Local Senates