California community college students have faced challenges recently in transferring to their preferred California State University (CSU). As a result, legislation has enabled the process of transferring to a four-year university to become an attainable and realistic goal for many community college students in California. Legislation is addressing the issue of transfer admission being difficult by putting forth and passing SB 1440. Many California community college counselors and educators supported the legislation on this as they have seen first hand the challenges students have been facing on their route to a bachelor's degree.
What is known as the Students Transfer Achievement Reform, or STAR Act (SB 1440), has been set in motion and was approved to go into effect as of January 1, 2011. This is a major milestone in that it prepares students to transfer to a CSU and awards an associate degree in the process. Not only does the STAR Act prepare students for transfer, it guarantees admission to the CSU system as junior.
The Student Transfer Achievement Reform (STAR) Act
According to the California Community College Chancellor’s Office, the STAR Act is also known as SB 1440, which “requires a community college district to grant an associate degree for transfer to a student in that student’s field of study once a student has met degree and transfer requirements for a particular major. Upon completion of the transfer associate degree, the student is eligible for transfer with junior standing into the California State University (CSU) system.”
An important aspect of SB 1440 is that it eliminates students having to repeat similar courses at CSU that have already been taken at the community college level to complete the associate degree or transfer requirements.
The Impact on Community College Students
With the passing of SB 1440, students will no longer fear not being admitted to a four-year university after completion of their coursework at a community college. This legislation will honor those students that have completed an associate’s degree with guaranteed acceptance to a CSU.
Additionally, community college students will now be able to save money by completing their lower division course work and have guaranteed admissions to a four-year institution once they earn their associate degree. With the current state of the economy, this will certainly be a viable option for high school students looking for ways to save money. Of course, the traditional ways of saving and paying for school will still be there, such as college scholarships, financial aid, and other forms of student aid. SB 1440 will simply be an additional option for ways to save on a college education.
Nohel Corral - Nohel Corral is an educator that spends a lot of his time freelance writing on many topics of interest. He fills his days with researching ...
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