BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

 

C.S.S.B. 1963

By: West

Higher Education

Committee Report (Substituted)

 

 

 

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

 

Although general academic teaching institutions and public junior colleges are required to provide to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the legislature certain information relating to transfer students and nontransferable credit for transfer students, it has been suggested that public accessibility to information relating to transferability of academic credit may be helpful to higher education students. C.S.S.B. 1963 seeks to address this issue by providing for the creation and posting of transferability report cards by general academic teaching institutions and public junior colleges.

 

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

 

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

 

ANALYSIS

 

C.S.S.B. 1963 amends the Education Code to extend from March 1 of each year to August 1 of each year the deadline for each general academic teaching institution to provide to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) and the legislature a report describing any courses in the Lower-Division Academic Course Guide Manual for which a student who transfers to the institution from another public institution of higher education is not granted academic credit or academic credit toward the student's major, as applicable, at the receiving institution. The bill requires each general academic teaching institution to annually post on the institution's website a transferability report card using specified data reported by the institution. The report card must be designed to provide information to students in a concise manner and include a summary of the data, and the initial report card must be posted not later than August 1, 2023.

 

C.S.S.B. 1963, with respect to the report of nontransferable credit, requires the THECB to do the following:

·         in consultation with general academic teaching institutions, develop a model transferability report card; and

·         post on the THECB website each general academic teaching institution's transferability report card and post the initial report card not later than September 1, 2023.

 

C.S.S.B. 1963 extends from March 1 of each year to August 1 of each year the deadline for each public junior college to provide to the THECB and the legislature a report on courses taken by students who, during the preceding academic year, transferred to a general academic teaching institution or earned an associate degree at the college. The bill requires each college to annually post on the college's website a transferability report card that is designed to provide information to students in a concise manner and includes a summary of the reported data, including the percentage of courses attempted and completed at the college, disaggregated by specified categories. The initial report card must be posted not later than August 1, 2023.

 

C.S.S.B. 1963, with respect to the report of courses taken at public junior colleges, requires the THECB to do the following:

·         in consultation with colleges, develop a model transferability report card; and

·         post on the THECB website each college's transferability report card and post the initial report card not later than September 1, 2023.

 

EFFECTIVE DATE

 

September 1, 2021.

 

COMPARISON OF SENATE ENGROSSED AND SUBSTITUTE

 

While C.S.S.B. 1963 may differ from the engrossed in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the engrossed and committee substitute versions of the bill.

 

The substitute does not include provisions that appeared in the engrossed requiring a general academic teaching institution, not later than March 1 of each year, to post on the institution's website a transferability report card that indicates the following for the preceding academic year:

·         the total number of semester credit hours or the equivalent for which undergraduate students transferring to the institution applied for transfer credit; and

·         the percentage of the semester credit hours or the equivalent for which students received transfer credit.

 

The substitute does not include the requirement in the engrossed for the THECB, not later than April 1 of each year, to post on the THECB website a list stating the transferability percentage of the semester credit hours or the equivalent for which students received transfer credit of each general academic teaching institution other than a public state college. Accordingly, the substitute also does not include the provision establishing April 1, 2023, as the deadline for the posting of the initial list.

 

The substitute includes the following provisions absent from the engrossed:

·         a requirement for each general academic teaching institution and public junior college to annually post on the institution or college website, as applicable, a transferability report card and setting out the report requirements;

·         a requirement for the THECB to post on the THECB website the transferability report card of each general academic teaching institution and public junior college;

·         provisions that require the THECB to develop a model transferability report card in consultation with public junior colleges; 

·         a provision changing from March 1 of each year to August 1 of each year the date by which each general academic teaching institution must provide to the THECB and the legislature a report relating to the transferability of academic credit for transfer students; and

·         a provision changing from March 1 of each year to August 1 of each year the date by which each public junior college must provide to the THECB and the legislature a report on courses taken by students who, during the preceding academic year, transferred to a general academic teaching institution or earned an associate degree at the college.

 

The substitute changes from not later than March 1, 2023, as in the engrossed, to not later than August 1, 2023, the deadline for posting an initial transferability report card by the applicable entity. The substitute includes a provision not in the engrossed that sets the deadline for the THECB to post the initial transferability report cards as not later than September 1, 2023.