1-5-07 SB 361 Program-Based Funding Emergency Regulations Adopted

Volume 20 For Publication Date: January 5, 2007 No. 1

SB 361 Program-Based Funding
Emergency Regulations Adopted

Senate Bill 361 (Chapter 631/2006) established, as of October 1, 2006, a new community college funding system. This bill, authored by State Senator Jack Scott, replaces the current system of program-based funding for the California Community Colleges with new methodologies for allocating general apportionments and determining Board of Governors’ budget requests. It also establishes a new category of noncredit courses (as eligible) for enhanced funding and implements the 2006‑07 Budget Act appropriations for equalization and noncredit instruction.

The bill requires the Board of Governors (Board) to develop criteria and standards to effectuate this system in accordance with prescribed statewide minimum requirements. In addition to other provisions, the statute repeals the program-based funding provisions contained in the Education Code, provides each district a foundation grant based on the number of colleges and centers in the district, stipulates that all credit, full-time equivalent students (FTES) shall be funded at a target rate of $4,367 and a uniform noncredit instruction rate of $2,626 per FTES as adjusted for the change in the cost-of-living in subsequent annual budget acts, and establishes a new enhanced noncredit rate of $3,092 for the newly proposed instructional category of “career development and college preparation.”

With the adoption of SB 361, the Chancellor’s Office was charged with developing and replacing the existing program-based funding regulations contained in Title 5 with new regulations in time for the December 2006 apportionment. However, the December deadline was missed when the Department of Finance intervened for additional amendments. On December 21, 2006, the Consultation Council signed off on the regulations, and they will go forward for adoption at the January 2007 Board meeting.

The emergency regulations consist of four main areas: Standards and Criteria for Courses and Classes, Approval of Noncredit Courses and Programs, Career Development and College Preparation Noncredit Courses, and Noncredit Course Funding. The purpose of the emergency regulations is to take the steps needed to implement Education Code Sections 84750.5 and 84760.5 as expeditiously as possible for the 2006-07 fiscal year. It is the intent of the Board to adopt the “final” regulations in May 2007. A summary of the emergency regulations are listed below.

§55002. Standards and Criteria for Courses and Classes.

Under this criteria, collegiate credit courses for the associate degree are defined as a course that has been designated as appropriate to the associate degree in accordance with the requirements recommended by the college and/or district curriculum committee and approved by the district governing board as a collegiate course meeting the needs of the students eligible for admission. Recommended approval for associate degree credit courses will be given if the course meets the following standards: the course must have a grading policy, must grant units, have a scope and intensity of subject matter that requires students to study outside of class time, require prerequisites or corequisites that are established, reviewed, and applied in accordance with the requirements (basic skills requirements are appropriate for credit courses in English and/or mathematics, respectively), call for critical thinking (difficulty), learning skills (level), and vocabulary that is appropriate, are described in a course outline of record maintained in official college files, taught by qualified instructors (conduct of course) in accordance with a set of objectives and defined in the course outline of record. Repeated enrollment is allowed.

Nondegree Credit Course is designated by the Board as not applicable to the associate degree and, at a minimum, is recommended by the college and/or district curriculum committee, is approved by the district governing board, and falls within the following categories: types of courses, precollegiate basic skills, and precollegiate occupational preparation courses designed to provide foundation skills for students preparing for entry into college-level occupational courses or programs.

§55150. Approval of Noncredit Courses and Programs.

Courses or programs offered for noncredit shall be approved by the Chancellor in accordance with Education Code section 55110 on forms provide by the Chancellor's Office. Course outlines for all noncredit courses shall be on file in the community college offering the course. Authorities of each community college maintaining noncredit courses shall keep such current records and reports as may be required by the Chancellor. In order to be eligible for enhanced funding pursuant to Education Code sections 84750.5 and 84760.5, a career development or college preparation noncredit course must be part of a program or sequence of courses approved by the Chancellor pursuant to section 55151.

§55151. Career Development and College Preparation Noncredit Courses.

A noncredit course involving career development or college preparation will be eligible for enhanced funding pursuant to the Education Code. Courses will be approved by the college curriculum committee, the district governing board, and the Chancellor's Office. In making the determination, the Chancellor shall utilize job demand data provided by the Employment Development Department . . . In addition, a sequence of courses, courses in elementary and secondary basic skills, workforce preparation courses in basic skills, courses in English as a Second Language, and Vocational English as a Second Language. The program or sequence of courses is designed to result in one of the following: a noncredit certificate of completion leading to improved employability or job opportunities, a noncredit certificate of competency in a recognized career field articulated with degree-applicable coursework, completion of an associate degree or transfer to a baccalaureate institution. Each program or sequence of courses must be submitted to and approved by the Chancellor. Under no circumstances may a district separate an existing noncredit course which provides less than 110 hours of instruction into two or more courses for the purpose of forming a sequence of courses. Course sequences with the sole objective of satisfying high school diploma requirements are not eligible for enhanced funding under this section.

§58160. Noncredit Course Funding.

Only those noncredit courses that have been approved pursuant to Education Code section 84757 are eligible for funding and may be claimed for purposes of state apportionments. Courses described in section 55151 may not be claimed for enhanced funding if they are not part of a program or sequence of courses previously approved by the Chancellor, but such courses may continue to be offered provided that each individual course has been approved by the Chancellor.

—Jamillah Moore