Beth Smith, Grossmont College Michelle Grimes-Hillman, Mt. San Antonio College Christie Jamshidnejad, Diablo Valley College Associate Degree for Transfer A degree with a guarantee? SB 1440 – Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act (STAR) California Community Colleges Transfer Associate Degree Program A New Pathway to the CSU

Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act (SB 1440) To earn an “associate degree for transfer” a student must complete 60 semester units... that are eligible for transfer... that consist of: IGETC (CSU) or CSU GE Breadth a major or area of emphasis of at least 18 transferable units, as defined by community colleges No additional local graduation requirements required Minimum GPA of 2.0 is required

Where are we now? 16 TMC available as of Fall new ones expected this spring: Music, Elementary Teacher Education, Geography and Journalism 7 more under development: Biology, CIS, Anthropology, Radio/TV/Film, IS, Philosophy, Spanish C-ID Descriptors being finished for all courses in TMCs 313 degrees approved by Chancellor’s Office ( )

Local Steps to Develop the Degree AOs  Discipline Faculty Colleges are looking at their existing degrees and GE courses Stand-alone Courses Eliminate local requirements (no additional courses, cannot prohibit double counting)

Benefits of the Degree Combines two desirable outcomes for students: earn an associate degree AND prepare for transfer Establishes a clear pathway for transfer Provides degree “portability” Admissions priority

The CSUs Guaranteed Admission to the CSU System (no guarantee of campus) The guarantee of “Junior” status when admitted to a similar degree major and Complete similar BA/BS in no more than 60 semester (90 qtr.) units

The CSUs Transfer associate degrees deemed similar align to the CSU degree majors Eliminates the need for AA-T and AS/T students to repeat courses taken at the community college

Are we meeting the intent of SB1440? What’s next? Graduate more students Shift the authority for defining lower division major preparation to the community colleges Attempt to align the major preparation requirements for the CCC and CSU degrees Eliminate confusion (clear pathway to degree) Reduce unnecessary units/reducing cost Reduce time to the degree

Marketing Campaign The California Community Colleges and California State University Chancellor’s Offices have worked together to develop a logo and tagline for the Associate Degree for Transfer program (SB 1440). The guidelines are provided to help determine when and how the logos and taglines are to be used. The logo and tagline should be used whenever referencing the Associate Degree For Transfer program so people know immediately what it is.

Web Resources for AA-T and AS-T ns/AcademicAffairs/tabid/229/Default.aspx