Assembly Bill 91, authored by Assemblymember David Alvarez, establishes a 5-year pilot program to allow low-income students who have residence within 45 miles of the California-Mexico border. Participating students will be eligible for in-state tuition rates at a San Diego and Imperial Counties Community College Association (SDICCCA) member college.
“This will reduce tuition expenses from over $300 to under $50 per unit, removing a significant financial barrier for our students,” said SDCCD Acting Chancellor Gregory Smith.
SDICCCA will be establishing a working group to develop the uniform policy that will address income and residency requirements, as well as an appeal process. Up to 150 students per SDICCCA college are expected to participate annually, increasing the number of skilled workers that can meet the unique and growing industry needs of the Cali Baja mega region.
Also signed by Governor Newsom was Assembly Bill 634, authored by Assemblymember Chris Ward. AB 634 updates the definition of certain noncredit courses; specifically, Career Development and College Preparation (CDCP) courses. In addition, it modernizes how these courses are able to be offered and still have the community college district collect apportionment.
“Noncredit courses open educational pathways to people who may never have never considered college before, and it was patently unfair for noncredit courses to be held to a different standard of funding,” said College of Continuing Education President Tina M. King in an email. “Noncredit programs are typically the only alternative for underrepresented, disproportionately impacted students to train for immediate employment in a field with career advancement or transition to college.”
A CDCP course has traditionally been defined as a noncredit course in a series of courses that leads to a certificate, college enrollment, improved employability, and job placement opportunities. Some examples of these courses are basic skills, short-term vocational, and English as second language (ESL). These courses are proven to provide students with the necessary skills to gain immediate employment, improve workplace wages or transition to college-level work. However, under the current definition of CDCP courses students must complete one course prior to enrolling in the next course in the sequence. This slows a student’s advancement into the workplace or college level courses. AB 634 would allow students to take courses in a program simultaneously, thus decreasing time to completion and increasing employability more quickly.
Beyond its legislative priorities, the district has been strongly advocating for continued expansion of the state’s Baccalaureate Degree Program, which has been challenged by the Academic Senate of the California State University. Earlier this month, San Diego Miramar College was provisionally approved to offer a bachelor’s degree in Public Safety Management. A few days later, Mesa College received conditional approval for a bachelor’s degree in Physical Therapy Assistant. Already approved are programs in Health Information Management at Mesa College and Cyber Defense and Analysis at City College.
“The SDCCD will be the first multi-college district in California to have each of its credit colleges offering a 4-year degree,” said SDCCD Director of Communications and Public Relations, Jack Beresford. “We will continue to be active working with our system colleagues and Sacramento representatives to ensure California students have access to affordable baccalaureate programs in high-demand fields.”