New law guarantees admission to California State University for students who graduate from community college
San Francisco Chronicle
September 30, 2010
Community college students who graduate with a C average or better will be guaranteed admission to California State University as juniors beginning next fall under a bill the governor signed Wednesday.
That guarantee "is a monumental step forward for California's higher education system," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said as he signed SB1440 by Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Pacoima (Los Angeles County). Under the new law, public community colleges will also be required to offer associate degrees made up only of courses acceptable for transfer. Currently, students at the two-year schools are often confused about what courses are transferable. While they need only 60 units to transfer, studies show that students complete an average of 80 units, many of them nontransferable.
The goal of the new law is to simplify the complex process, reduce costs by having students take fewer courses and encourage 40,000 more students to transfer to a four-year school. About 50,000 community college students currently transfer each year
