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House Bill 3025 |
House Author: Branch et al. |
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Effective: 6-17-11 |
Senate Sponsor: Zaffirini |
House Bill 3025 amends the Education Code to require each student enrolled in an associate or bachelor's degree program at an institution of higher education to file a degree plan with the institution not later than the end of the second regular semester or term immediately following the semester or term in which the student earned a cumulative total of 45 or more semester credit hours for course work successfully completed by the student. The bill requires such a student who begins the student's first semester or term at an institution of higher education with 45 or more semester credit hours of course credit to file a degree plan with the institution not later than the end of the student's second regular semester or term at the institution.
The bill requires an institution to inform affected students regarding the degree plan filing requirement and the students' options for consultation with an academic advisor and requires a student subject to that filing requirement to verify, at registration for a semester or term, that the student has filed a degree plan and that the courses for which the student is registering are consistent with the degree plan. The bill prohibits a student from obtaining an official transcript from the institution in which the student is enrolled until the student has filed a degree plan. The bill authorizes the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, in consultation with institutions of higher education, to adopt rules as necessary for the administration of these provisions.
The bill requires a general academic teaching institution, as soon as practicable after a student who transferred to the institution from or previously attended a lower-division institution of higher education meets certain criteria, to release the student's transcript to that lower-division institution, with the student's authorization, to determine whether the student has earned the credits for an associate degree awarded by the lower-division institution. The bill authorizes the lower-division institution, on review of the transcript, to award the student the degree if it is determined the student has earned the credits required for such a degree.