A controversial bill that would have required California public colleges and universities to award credit for online courses lost the backing of its main supporter, California Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg.
The bill, SB 520, would have required public Calif. universities to award credit to students who have to take online courses if the courses offered through their university are full, according to Daily Bruin archives. Some courses could have come from outside of the universities, including for-profit education companies.
The bill will remain in the assembly’s Committee on Higher Education for the time being, said Rhys Williams, Steinberg’s press secretary.
“Effectively, it sits where it is now,” Williams said. “(Steinberg) can pick it up where it left off at the time of his choosing.”
Steinberg decided in July he would no longer try to advance the measure, because of new online programs by California’s three higher public education systems, the University of California, California State University and California Community Colleges, Williams said.
He said Steinberg is waiting to see if the new online education systems address issues of system-wide consistency and creating inroads into waitlists.
“(Steinberg) is willing to see how the system’s plans for online education develop and evaluate them next year,” Williams said. “This means it’s a two-year bill.”
The bill was opposed by the University of California because of the untested nature of online courses, according to Daily Bruin archives.
Steinberg will decide whether to renew support for the bill around August of next year, after assessing the other online course systems, Williams said.
Compiled by Sam Hoff, Bruin contributor.