| TO: | Honorable Judith Zaffirini, Chair, Senate Committee on Higher Education |
| FROM: | John S O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB3025 by Branch (Relating to measures to facilitate the transfer of students within the public higher education system and the timely graduation of students from public institutions of higher education.), As Engrossed |
Under provisions of the bill, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), in collaboration with institutions of higher education or qualified degree-granting career schools or colleges, would be required to develop transfer compacts that identify learning objectives for coursework in major degree fields that are acceptable across institutions. A general academic teaching institution designated as a research institution that elects not to participate in an applicable transfer compact would be required to publish a detailed description of atleast 12 courses for which credit is frequently transferred to the institutions and establish honors articulation agreements with atleast two public junior colleges.
The bill includes a provision whereby a student may not be required by an institution of higher education to complete more than the minimum number of semester credit hours required by the institution's board-recognized accrediting agency or professional licensure requirements. This section would not apply to a student enrolled prior to the 2013 fall semester.
This bill would require each governing board to certify that the institution does not prohibit, or suggest in any published materials, that the acceptance of transfer credit based solely on the accreditation of the sending institution when submitting its annual required list of courses removed or added for the current academic year to the THECB.
The bill would also require students to file a degree plan beginning at an institution with 45 or more semester credit hours. The degree plan is a statement of the course or study requirements that an undergraduate student at a general academic teaching institution must complete in order to graduate from the institution. This section would apply to undergraduate students who initially enroll in general academic teaching institutions for the 2011 fall semester.
Provisions of this bill would be absorbed within current resources.
| Source Agencies: | 781 Higher Education Coordinating Board, 710 Texas A&M University System Administrative and General Offices, 720 The University of Texas System Administration, 758 Texas State University System, 769 University of North Texas System Administration, 783 University of Houston System Administration, 768 Texas Tech University System Administration
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| LBB Staff: | JOB, SDE, KK, GO, RT
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