Students’ Right to Choose to Take a Pre-Transfer Level English or Mathematics Course

Spring
2022
Resolution Number
06.04
 
Assigned to
Executive Committee
Category
State and Legislative Issues

Whereas, The right of students to enroll in a transfer level English or mathematics course resulting from AB 705 should not require that students forfeit their right to take a pre-transfer level English or mathematics course for the purpose of academic preparation, meeting non-transfer degree/certificate requirements [1], re-skilling, or life-long education [2];

Whereas, AB 705 requires colleges to maximize the probability that students will complete transfer-level English and mathematics within a one-year timeframe but does not explicitly prohibit colleges from offering pre-transfer level English and mathematics courses as an option for students;

Whereas, Concluding that pre-transfer level English and mathematics courses should no longer be offered runs counter to the intent of AB 705 given data suggesting otherwise [3] or widening of equity gaps [4] that require further exploration; and

Whereas, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges has urged stakeholders to address COVID-19 related learning disruption by providing students with access to a community college education by offering adequate English and mathematics courses to serve the needs of all students, especially those who have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic [5];

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges support the right of any student to choose to take pre-transfer level English or mathematic courses for the purpose of academic preparation, meeting non-transfer degree/certificate requirements, reskilling, or life-long education;

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges recommend that the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office and Board of Governors encourage colleges to offer the option of pre-transfer level English and mathematics courses for students interested in such courses for the purpose of academic preparation, meeting non-transfer degree/certificate requirements, reskilling, or life-long education; and

Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges, working with system partners, urge the California legislature not to adopt reform measures that would deprive students of their right to choose to take pre-transfer English or mathematics courses for the purpose of academic preparation, meeting non-transfer degree/certificate requirements, reskilling, or life-long education.

MSC


1. Intermediate Algebra satisfies mathematics competence for the Associate Degree per CCR, Title 5, § 55063.
2. “There is a broad consensus among economists and higher education experts that re-skilling and life-long learning are central to the future of work.” Page 26, The Master Plan for Higher Education in California and State Workforce Needs (2018), https://opr.ca.gov/docs/20181226-Master_Plan_Report.pdf
3. Data from the Los Angeles Community College District’s Office of Institutional Effectiveness https://go.boarddocs.com/ca/laccd/Board.nsf/files/CBY5UU11FD33/$file/Success%20Rates%20in%20English%2C%20Math%20and%20Stat%20-%20disaggregated%20-%20Fall%202021%20-%2001-31-2022%20v1.pdf found that students who recently completed intermediate algebra had a higher rate of success in transfer level mathematics in Fall 2019, Fall 2020, and Fall 2021.
4. PPIC, A New Era of Student Access at California’s Community Colleges Technical Appendices, 2022, https://www.ppic.org/wp-content/uploads/1120mcr-appendix.pdf, found that while throughput grew for all student groups, there has been a widening of the equity gap in throughput for Black and LatinX students.
5. ASCCC Fall 2021 Plenary Resolution 20.01, Improve Mathematics and English Outcomes by Expanding Access and Addressing COVID-19 Related Learning Disruption, https://asccc.org/resolutions/improve-math-and-english-outcomes-expanding-access-and-addressing-covid-19-related