The state of California has taken a decent step in the right direction for its community college students and its higher education system.

On Sept. 29, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed two pieces of legislation that will offer an easy way for California Community College students to transfer to California State Universities and Universities of California: SB 1440 and AB 2302.

SB 1440, The Student Transfer Achievement Reform (STAR) ammended by Senator Alex Padilla was designed to clarify and streamline the transfer process from a community college to a CSU.

According to Padilla, despite the fact that preparing students to transfer to four-year universities is one of the key functions of community colleges, only 25 percent of students hoping to transfer achieve their goal. 

One of the main reasons is divergent and inconsistent coursework requirements at each school. The fact that requirements for a certain major vary with different colleges causes students to take excess units, which also requires excess money, time and energy. In fact, the average units of coursework that a transfer student completes are 120 quarter units, when only 90 units are required, according to a study by the community college chancellor’s office. 

SB 1440 will solve this problem by mandating that community colleges create new established associate degrees for transfer to a state university with areas of emphasis. A student who achieves an associate’s degree and graduates with a C average or better will have guaranteed admission to CSU as a junior. 

The other legislation signed is AB 2302, the focus of which is to facilitate more direct transfer pathways for students hoping to transfer to UCs. Amended by California assembly member Paul Fong, AB 2302 will request the UCs to join the new transfer reform movement initiated by SB 1440.

Students who want to transfer are inclined to apply to more than one college. Since each UC campus requires different prerequisites, students usually end up taking unnecessary classes or not completing requirements. In addition, because they are concentrating on transfer requirements, a significant number of students leave their community college without an associate’s degree. The inefficiency must end. 

The bills are expected to have two beneficiaries: community college students and the state of California. Simplified course requirements will reduce the money and time students invest. Students staying longer at community colleges financially supported by taxpayers is not  goods news to the state, either, which is currently concerned about a shortage of one million baccalaureate degrees they will face by 2025.

 Fong stated that an efficient transfer system from community colleges to four-year universities will be a key to meeting the state’s workforce demand for more educated workers. 

According to Padilla, some states such as Arizona, Florida, North Carolina and Oregon have already clarified their transfer programs. Therefore, more students have successfully transferred to four-year universities, and the money saved allows the higher education system to serve more students.

 The bills just passed last Wednesday, so they won’t affect students planning to apply for fall 2011. But for those who intend to transfer to CSUs or UCs in the future, SB 1440 and AB 2302 are delightful news.