Office of Instruction and Student Development Update March 28, 2014
Update on Associate Degrees of Transfer and the Educational Pathway Task Force
In my November report to the Board of Trustees I said that low completion and transfer rates at
California Community Colleges were a significant factor in the legislature passing SB 1440, the
Student Transfer Achievement Reform (STAR) Act. Under SB 1440 students would take a set of
courses that would enable them to attain an Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) that guarantees
them admission with junior standing into the California State University (CSU) system. Under SB
1440, community colleges had a choice on which Transfer Model Curriculum (TMC) outlines they
wanted to develop into an ADT. College of the Redwoods (CR) committed to implement nine ADTs
out of a possible twenty-five TMC outlines that were available last year.
Our faculty colleagues are working hard to make sure the college meets its commitment to the Board
of Governors and the Chancellor’s Office. It is anticipated that with the Board’s action on the
curriculum recommendation on April 1, we will meet the number of Associate Degrees for Transfer
CR committed to make available in the 2014-15 catalog.
There is very little argument that the college, and our students, will benefit by having an ADT. An
ADT will provide a clear academic pathway from CR to a CSU. Having Associate Degrees of
Transfer also has the potential of increasing enrollment, changing enrollment trends and increasing
student completion. There are several challenges related to the SB 1440 mandate.
While the community college system has seen an increase in the number of students holding an ADT,
the CSU’s still have some work to do to expand capacity to accommodate students with the
guaranteed transfer degree. We have to turn our attention now to answering several questions related
to sustainability and financial support. Will we be able to support all the ADTs to which we have
committed? We can’t predict the future, but I would say maybe not. Our financial situation, coupled
with low enrollment and the rural nature of the district, will challenge our ability to offer a sufficient
number of courses on a consistent basis to maintain a particular ADT. Can we predict which ADT
will be successful? No, we cannot guarantee that any degree will be successful. The administration is
aware that there is some discussion linking development of an ADT with faculty positions. Making
this linkage, while understandable, is mistaken.
Do we have to change all the degrees at CR under the SB 1440 and SB 440 mandates? No, we do not
have to stop granting existing degrees. The ADT is an additional option for students who plan to
transfer to a CSU and want the guarantees it offers. However, we have eighty-four degrees and
certificates listed in the 2013-14 catalog. The question asked by both the administration and
Enrollment Management Committee is: How many degrees and certificates should a college with our
enrollment size reasonably expect to offer? This conversation is very similar to the discussion we are
having relative to finding CR’s optimal enrollment level.
Now that the college will meet the obligatory number of Associate Degrees for Transfer that we
committed to the Chancellor’s Office and the Board of Governors to implement, we recognized more
work needed to be done to develop a methodology that would provide a strategic decision-making
framework to discuss the merit, benefit and fiscal sustainability of our degrees. We joined with the
Academic Senate to form an Educational Pathways Task Force (EPTF) to provide a recommended
strategic framework that faculty and administrators may use as a guide for the review of current
degrees and certificates and for the development of future Associate Degrees for Transfer.
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Office of Instruction and Student Development Update March 28, 2014
The ETPF has completed its initial work and is in the process of developing a list of recommended
strategic decision-making criteria along with a list of potential Associate Degrees for Transfer to
target for online delivery. . The results of the recommendations will be sent to the Academic Senate
and the Cabinet for discussion.
I’d like to share some of the recommendations going to the Senate. It’s important to note the task
force cautioned that the decision to develop an ADT should not be predicated on past or current
enrollment or student education plan data since having an ADT may impact enrollment trends for a
particular discipline.
Recommendation 1: Criteria to use in deciding future ADTs
The task force recommends that faculty and administrators use the following criteria in determining
whether to move forward with developing an Associate Degree for Transfer. Criteria 1-4 must be
satisfied. Criteria 5-7 (in italics) are optional.
1. If one of our main feeder CSUs (HSU, Chico State, Sacramento State) has a specific
baccalaureate degree and a TMC exists
2. If approximately 75% of courses called for in the TMC already exist
3. If courses in an ADT support enrollment in other courses/disciplines/areas (e.g. the
ADT in Kinesiology supports enrollment in biology, chemistry)
4. If the ADT has courses that “ overlap” with other degrees for multiple “on ramps and
off ramps” for students to select other degree pathways
5. If students are taking a concentration of a particular ADT’s courses within a current
local degree that provides evidence of student interest/demand
6. If the FTES/FTEF is projected to be above the district average
7. If the ADT aligns with local and/or regional job market expectations
Recommendation 2: Strategic approach to satisfying SB 440
The task force recognizes that guidelines related to implementing SB 440 remains unclear. Therefore
the task force recommends that it remain active to develop recommendations that will influence how
the college develops SB 440 related ADT once guidance is received from the Chancellor’s Office.
Recommendation #3: Link review of the ADT to Program Review and the AP 4021 Process
The task force recommends that determining the relevant need or demand of established local degrees
or Associate Degrees of Transfer should be treated the same as any other degree or “program” and
should be reviewed in the program review or the AP 4021 process if appropriate.
Recommendation #4: Discuss relevance of localized degrees when an ADT is approved for
development
The task force recommends that faculty and administrators should include the following data and
criteria in reviewing localized degrees for relevance (with or without a corresponding ADT):
1. the number of degrees and certificates available
2. the number of completers
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Office of Instruction and Student Development Update March 28, 2014
3. the potential number of completers based on SEP and/or selection of a major data from the
orientation process
4. whether market data/employment data support continuation of a degree and/or certificate
Recommendation #5: Consider ADTs to target for 50% or more Online
The task force recognizes that even though a degree is targeted for online development, the right of
the faculty to make the final decision is sacrosanct. The task force recommends that faculty and
administrators review the following ADTs for relevance for online or hybrid delivery. The task force
further recommends that substantive change proposals be submitted once the 50% threshold is
reached.

ADT Psychology

ADT ECE

ADT Sociology

ADT Business

ADT History

ADT Anthropology

ADT English
Recommendation #6: Build awareness among students about the degrees
The task force recommends faculty and administrators work collaboratively to build awareness of the
degrees to current and prospect students.
The members of the Educational Pathways Task Force are to be commended for the time and effort
they put into developing the recommendations. I believe that the above recommendations and the
recommendations to follow related to SB 440, will set into motion the action needed to make
significant progress in our effort to bolster CR’s academic planning. The members include: Jay
Dragten, Peter Blakemore, Erin Wall, MaryGrace McGovern, Keith Snow-Flamer, Erik Kramer,
Tracey Thomas, Joe Hash, Bob Brown, Mark Renner, Dan Calderwood, George Potamianos, Dave
Bazard, and Angelina Hill.
Update on AP 4021
I’ve asked the Deans and Directors to analyze their program review data with the purpose of
identifying potential programs that may be recommended to the President for the AP 4021 program
revitalization, suspension, or discontinuance analysis process. On March 31, the Instructional Council
will review the potential list of programs developed by the Deans and Directors using the criteria in
the Program Analysis Request (Appendix A). I will consult with the Academic Senate Co-Presidents
on the programs the Deans and Directors recommend moving forward with on April 6. Our intention,
if the President approves moving a program forward for analysis, is to have the work of the task force
completed in enough time to link with the faculty prioritization process next fall.
Faculty within a particular discipline interested in submitting their program to the AP 4021 review
process can do so by submitting a Program Analysis Request (Appendix A) to the appropriate
division Dean who will then forward it to me. I will consult with the Academic Senate Co-Presidents
before submitting them to the President for approval to move forward.
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