On Feb. 21, the Delta College Board of Trustees unanimously passed resolution #21-47, opposing Assembly Bill (AB) 928, a statewide bill that would drastically change the way California community colleges operate.
AB 928, or the Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act of 2021 was written by Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park).
The Bill sets up a plan to rework how community colleges will prepare their students to transfer to a four-year institution, such as a California State University (CSU) or a University of California (UC), by automatically placing students on an Academic Degree of Transfer (ADT) pathway.
The bill intends to streamline the transfer process by creating a set of classes that will be transferable to both a UC and CSU.
All students who want to transfer to a UC or CSU will have to take no more than 34 units of classes that fulfill the proposed pathway.
This bill was created, according to the AB928 Committee website, “…for the sole purpose of strengthening the pathway for students and to ensure it becomes the primary transfer pathway in California.”
The issues that the leaders of Delta College, and of the California community colleges have with this plan are numerous. One of the more noted issues is the lack of Area E, or ‘Lifelong Learning and Self Development’ courses.
Currently, in order to transfer to a CSU, a student must take one course of these classes, which falls under Area E in the current transfer path CSU GE.
“These classes, which include physical education, kinesiology, and nutrition, would not be required in order to transfer,” said Becky Plaza, President of the Delta College Academic Senate. “If this plan is accepted, what happens to classes that aren’t part of the planned curriculum?”
The passing of resolution #21-47 also brought up this concern.
“The Delta College Board of Trustees requests that the Chancellor of Community Colleges advocate with the University of California and California State University systems to preserve lifelong learning for California community college students,” was said in the meeting.
The fear is that if Area E classes are deemed unnecessary by the four-year institutions, it will limit what a student can study at a community college.
The elimination of Area E also may lead to professors no longer having classes to teach, which could lead to less faculty supporting a community college.
Community college students who don’t intend to transfer will also be affected by this bill.
“ADTs have been shown to be ineffective and inefficient pathways to transfer, often requiring students to take more units to complete them,” said Trevor Gatz, who is a part of the San Joaquin Delta College Teacher Association. “Forcing all students on the ADT pathway inhibits student exploration. It also potentially disregards students’ personal interests.” Community colleges often serve low-income students, and oftentimes those students are first-time college students.
“Eliminating Lifelong Learning and self-development programs will reduce equitable access to programs historically available to all students and will have a disproportionate effect on BIPOC students,” said Gatz.
Other community college leaders have spoken against the implementation of AB 928 in its current form.
The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges collected responses from 2,169 community college faculty members, and found that many faculty members wanted to keep Area E classes as a graduation requirement for community college students, rather than restricting them to a CSU requirement.
“This will affect low-income students the most,” said Plaza. “A student can take a class at a community college and pay $138 for it. Now, they are going to have to take the same class at a CSU and pay $1,435 for it.”
The community colleges, CSUs, and UCs have to reach an agreement by May 31.
If there is no agreement made, then the academic bodies have to establish a transfer pathway by Dec. 31. The bill will go into effect July 1, 2025.