AGENDA ITEM BACKGROUND
TO: GOVERNING BOARD
DATE
FROM: PRESIDENT
January 10, 2011
SUBJECT:
SB 1440 Update
REASON FOR BOARD CONSIDERATION
INFORMATION
ENCLOSURE(S)
ITEM NUMBER
Page 1 of 2
D.8
Background:
Senate Bill 1440 was signed by the governor on September 29, 2010, and it requires the California
community colleges to develop new associate degrees, “associate degrees for transfer,” for implementation in
the 2011-2012 academic year. It also requires the California State Universities to accept students who
complete these degrees. The following summarizes the key provisions of the bill:
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A 60-unit transferable associate degree based on the IGETC or CSU GE Breadth pattern for transfer that
guarantees admission with junior standing to the CSU system.
A degree including 18 units in a major or area of emphasis.
Priority admission for students to their local CSU campus and to a program or major that is similar to
their major or area of emphasis at the community college.
Prohibition against the CSU requiring students to repeat courses that are similar to courses completed as
part of the associate degree for transfer at the community college.
Prohibition against the CSU from requiring students to take more than 60 units to complete a 120-unit
baccalaureate degree.
If a student completes an “associate degree for transfer” with a minimum GPA of 2.0, the CSU shall
guarantee admission with junior status. The CSU campus receiving the student may require a transferring
student to take additional courses at the CSU so long as the student is not required to take any more than 60
additional semester units or 90 quarter units at the CSU for majors requiring 120 semester units or 180
quarter units.”
The benefit to the students is that the CSUs will recognize the associate degree as a measure of preparation
and readiness for transfer to upper-division course work at their institutions. As a result, students will not be
forced to take additional courses at the lower division level after transferring to the university. This should
shorten their time to degree completion and consequently reduce their educational costs at all levels. In
addition, it will eliminate the confusion currently caused by different major preparation requirements for
each CSU campus.
Administrator Initiating Item:
Renée M. Kilmer, Vice President, Instruction
Academic and Professional Matter
If yes, Faculty Senate Agreement
Senate President Signature
x Yes  No
x Yes  No
Final Disposition
There are still some issues to be resolved prior to full implementation of SB 1440. They include:
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How “similar majors” will be defined
What “local CSU campus” will mean
The details of the priority admissions process
The list of “high unit” majors and how they will be handled
There is a plan at the state level for implementing these new SB 1440 degrees statewide. Because the content of
degrees is an academic matter, the responsibility for addressing these issues lies with the Academic Senate for
California Community Colleges (ASCCC) in conjunction with the CSU Academic Senate. Within a month of
the approval of the legislation, they jointly recommended a concerted, statewide response in the form of a
“transfer model curriculum” (TMC), which will define the major component of a degree and will consist of a
common “core” for the major of at least 6 units and then delineate options that colleges can select from as they
design a degree that meets local needs. The goal is to effectively establish common major preparation, while
also allowing for some local flexibility. In this way, students will know what is expected in each major, and
CSU faculty can be confident that incoming transfer students who receive priority admission have a certain
minimum level of preparation for the major.
To date there are a number of Transfer Model Curricula that are in the process of being drafted and vetted. It is
anticipated that most of the disciplines on this list will have a TMC available for local adoption by early spring.
The TMCs in the process of being drafted include: Accounting, Art History, Biology, Chemistry,
Communication Studies, Criminal Justice/Administration of Justice, Early Childhood Education, Economics,
Geology, Kinesiology, Math, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, and Theatre.
Faculty, counselors, and the articulation officers from all 112 colleges in the system have been encouraged to
visit the website pages for their discipline listserv to remain informed regarding any progress made in their
discipline. At Cabrillo the Vice President, Instruction has made a presentation on this topic to Instruction
Council and will make a presentation to the Curriculum Committee during spring flex. This topic is also on the
Faculty Senate agenda for further discussion in spring 2011.
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