IMPAC and Mathematics



Excerpt from

Report of the Meeting of the
CSU Board of Trustees

July 13-14, 2004
Kathleen Kaiser, Faculty Trustee


Committee on Educational Policy- Approval of minutes of May 18 was by consent. The one action item, Modification of CSU Admission Policy for Upper-Division Transfer Students (known in the Academic Senate CSU (ASCSU) parlance as the 45/15 transfer package), involved Title 5 changes and, as a result, had a public comment section. The intention is to design with the ASCSU's leadership two items: 1) a degree-major core transfer pattern that would hold for the entire CSU (i.e. all sociology majors transferring to the CSU would have a specified 45 unit package, including General Education Breadth (GE) which would be accepted as meeting the GE and lower division core requirements at their institution). 2) A degree-major campus specific transfer pattern: this would include up to 15 units which may be campus specific (region) that cover all the requirements up to 60 units that a transfer student would need to achieve to receive the highest priority in transfer to the CSU (i.e. now the student transferring to CSU Chico would know exactly what else was required to achieve parity with native students entering that same major at CSU Chico). An amendment to the earlier language was the inclusion of the statement "Highest Priority" as used herein means a guarantee of admission subject to enrollment demands, available space, and satisfactory, completion of any impaction criteria for that campus and major. This was added in response to issues raised by the California Community College representatives in earlier meetings.

Several of the public speakers were giving prepared remarks and had not received notice of the language change in time to alter their remarks, but all cited this as a welcomed addition. Public speakers were: Marjorie Lewis, Vice President of California Community Colleges, Chief Executive Officers; Dr. Tom Clark, Trustee of Long Beach Community College District; Daniel L. Nannini, President, Transfer Center Directors Association; and Kate Clark, President of the Academic Senate for the California Community Colleges. While their focus varied based on their representative role, as a group they were disturbed about: 1) the designation of the party to be responsible for funding and providing the academic counseling to implement 45/15, 2) the need to increase systemwide articulation particularly through funding (Articulation System Stimulating Inter-institutional Student Transfer (ASSIST) and 3) how the 'high demand' majors, for whom the first efforts to identify the 45/15 transfer pattern would be selected.

The CSU admits 55,000 transfers every year and two thirds of our annual graduates are transfer students. Studies completed by the CSU show 30 excess units on average taken by a transfer student between the two systems, i.e. this is not a singular problem belonging to only one system. Reducing the number of excess units will allow thousands more students access to the CSU, but the pathway has to be clearly defined by faculty so that students who transfer have the same options for a successful and timely completion of their degree as do native students. ASCSU Chair, David McNeil spoke about the faculty's full involvement in establishing the 45/15 processes, including passing a supporting resolution, which was not unanimous. The BOT passed this resolution unanimously.