BILL ANALYSIS
By: Brown, Fred
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Most training provided to members of the United States Armed Forces meets or exceeds what colleges and universities require of their students before they receive academic credit for relevant courses. Organizations such as the American Council on Education have established a system in which extensive guidelines and procedures are in place to assign college credit for military training. Ensuring that colleges and universities award academic credit for equivalent military training could mean a savings for both students and the institutions. Eliminating the duplication of teachings would serve to decrease the total amount of time a student spends in an institution of higher education. HB 133 would require universities to consider a student's relevant military training when awarding academic credit.
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
SECTION 1. States that an institution of higher education, in determining whether to award to a student course credit for the student's completion of certain military training, will consider any official military record that describes the substance of the training completed by the student and verifies the student's successful completion of that training. The institution may determine whether that training satisfies the purpose of the course for which a student is seeking to be awarded credit.
SECTION 2. Effective date.
EFFECTIVE DATE
This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a two-thirds vote of all members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2005.