WHEREAS, The California Community Colleges system is committed to combating economic and social inequality by providing students with a “clear path” to transfer to a 4 year university[1], as 90% of students within the UC System that come from the lowest income households, will achieve incomes that surpass their parents[2];
WHEREAS, Of California Community College students who intend to transfer to a four-year university, only 19% transferred within 4 years, and with only 10% transferring within the community college promise of two years, with underrepresented student’s transfer rates falling significantly below average[3];
WHEREAS, In 2017, the California Community Colleges system established the goal of transferring 120,000 students a year to a UC or CSU, where in 2021, they failed to reach this goal by 21,000 students[4], signalling a shortage in transfer support and the need for further investments; and
WHEREAS, Some Community College Districts, like Foothill-De Anza, offer a college guidance transfer course which provides “a global perspective about the transfer process from a California community college to a four-year university, including transfer exploration, transfer policies, academic requirements, transfer planning and process, and available tools and services in support of transfer goals”[5]; Now, therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Student Senate for California Community Colleges advocate through the Legislature and the Chancellor's Office for the implementation of a Transfer Success course at every California Community College outlined as, including but not limited to, a review of higher education options, the process for determining a major, applications and admissions timelines, and the criteria for establishing educational goals; and
RESOLVED, That the Student Senate for California Community Colleges support future bills like AB 9 (Quirk-Silva)[6] of the 25-26 legislature which will aim to “establish a formal process for identifying the specific disciplines, programs, or majors where capacity increases for community college transfer students at individual campuses would be most valuable”.
Citations:
[1] https://www.cccco.edu/About-Us/About-California-Community-Colleges
[2]https://www.ucop.edu/institutional-research-academic-planning/_files/CLIMB-a-mobility-analysis.pdf
[3] https://www.ppic.org/publication/strengthening-californias-transfer-pathway/
[4]https://calmatters.org/education/higher-education/2023/07/community-college-transfer/
[5] https://catalog.foothill.edu/course-outlines/CNSL-8/
[6]https://ct3k1.capitoltrack.com/Bills/25Bills/asm/ab_0001-0050/ab_9_99_I_bill.pdf