CSU General Education requirements undergo legislation overhaul

Assembly Bill 928 aims to simplify the transfer process for community college students.

By Star Eisenberg, Editor-in-Chief

Assembly Bill 928 will revise California State University’s General Education guidelines starting fall 2025, allowing students to complete their lower-division requirements at any CSU campus.

AB 928, also known as the “Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act,” is a bill introduced by Assemblymember Marc Berman and approved in 2021.  The legislation seeks to streamline the transfer process for students moving from California community colleges to four-year postsecondary institutions.

“[The bill] is an important issue that is being addressed,” said Valley College President Barry Gribbons.  “For California community college students who are not yet sure which university they want to transfer to, it can add units for them in preparing for both pathways.”

AB 928 creates a singular, lower-division general education pattern for both California State University and University of California transfer admissions.  Historically, more than 40 percent of CSU undergraduates are transfer students, arriving primarily from the California Community Colleges system.  

CSU spokesperson Hazel Kelly wrote in an email, “The California Community Colleges are a primary access point and launching pad for CSU undergraduate students, particularly those who are low-income, first-generation, or from historically underrepresented communities. Aligning general education for all students provides an equitable set of degree requirements and will provide a clear roadmap for all undergraduates who pursue a CSU baccalaureate degree.”

While the bill aims to help students in the transfer process, some community college faculty members have expressed concerns about potential disruptions in enrollment patterns due to the elimination of Area E, which includes courses such as kinesiology, counseling, health education, and others.

Valley College Head Men’s Basketball Coach and Professor of Kinesiology and Health Education Virgil Watson wrote in an email, “[AB 928 is] making us just feeder schools for general education courses with little to no major classes taught at this level.  Students can take community college courses for one academic year and the UC and CSU majors for three to four years.  When you look for answers, follow the money.  Less need for us, and more students for them, widening the gap for the haves and the have-nots.”

Assemblymember Berman stated he received direct feedback from students regarding their transfer experience.  According to Berman, their message was “loud and clear: the transfer process is overly complex, confusing, and challenging to navigate.”

Seventy percent of first-time community college students said they want to transfer to a four-year institution.  However, data shows that only 4 percent of students with a stated transfer goal do so within two years, 19 percent do so within four years, and 28 percent do so within six years, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.

Berman wrote in an email, “These transfer numbers were shocking and unacceptable. This is why I authored AB 928, the Student Transfer Achievement Reform Act of 2021, to make it easier for community college students to transfer and achieve their higher education dreams.  With the goals of increasing degree attainment, improving time to degree, and closing racial equity gaps, AB 928 would reimagine transfer from the student perspective.”