By: West S.B. No. 2122
 
 
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to authorization by the Texas Higher Education
  Coordinating Board to develop and implement transfer policy for
  lower division courses among Texas public institutions of higher
  education.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 61.822, Education Code is amended by
  amending Subsections (a), (a-1), (b), and (c) and adding
  Subsections (a-2), (f) and (g) to read as follows:
         (a)  The board shall encourage develop and implement policy
  regarding the transferability of lower division course credit among
  institutions of higher education.
         (a-1)  The board, with the assistance of advisory committees
  composed of representatives of institutions of higher education,
  shall develop a recommended core curriculum of at least 42 39
  semester credit hours, including a statement of the content,
  component areas, and objectives of the core curriculum. At least a
  majority of the members of any advisory committee named under this
  section shall be faculty members of an institution of higher
  education. An institution shall consult with the faculty of the
  institution before nominating or recommending a person to the board
  as the institution's representative on an advisory committee.
         (a-2)  The 39 semester credit hour core curriculum provides
  the knowledge and academic competencies foundational for all future
  learning. Courses in the core curriculum shall be general education
  courses, broad in scope, and shall not narrowly focus on knowledge
  and competencies specific to a particular occupation or profession. 
         (b)  Each institution of higher education shall adopt a core
  curriculum of no less than 39 semester credit hours, including
  specific courses comprising the curriculum. The core curriculum
  shall be lower division courses, consistent with the common course
  numbering system, and approved by the board according to the
  statement, recommendations, and rules issued by the board. An
  institution may have a core curriculum of other than semester
  credit hours only if approved by the board.
         (c)  If a student successfully completes the 39 42-hour core
  curriculum at an institution of higher education, that block of
  courses may be transferred to any other institution of higher
  education and must be substituted for the receiving institution's
  core curriculum. A student shall receive academic credit for each
  of the courses transferred and may not be required to take
  additional core curriculum courses at the receiving institution
  unless the board has approved a larger core curriculum at the
  institution.
         (f)  The Coordinating Board will annually identify in a
  database determined by the Coordinating Board the state's top 25
  majors among transfer students. General academic teaching
  institutions will identify for each of the majors described above
  the following:
               (1)  Required lower-division courses for which
  equivalencies exist in the Academic Course Guide Manual (ACGM).
               (2)  Required courses in the top 25 majors that would
  satisfy Core Curriculum requirements at that institution. 
               (3)  Required lower-division courses that are not in
  the ACGM for the top 25 majors.
         (g)  Courses identified shall be applied to the appropriate
  major for a time period equal to the period students may utilize any
  given catalog to graduate at a receiving institution. For this
  purpose the time period would start when a student first entered
  college, but no more than three years after first entering college.
         SECTION 2.  Section 61.823, Education Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
         (g)  A public junior college and a technical institute as
  described in 61.003 must adopt board approved fields of study for
  any disciplines where they have similar programs. 
         SECTION 3.  Section 51.9685, Education Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (b) and (c) to read as follows:
         (b)  Except as otherwise provided by Subsection (c), each
  student enrolled in an associate or bachelor's degree program at an
  institution of higher education shall file a degree plan with the
  institution not later than the end of the first second regular
  semester after initially enrolling, or term immediately following
  the semester or term in which the student earned a cumulative total
  of 45 or more has accumulated a total of 15 semester credit hours
  and immediately following the term in which a student has
  accumulated 30 semester credit hours for coursework attempted
  coursework successfully completed by the student, including
  transfer courses, international baccalaureate courses, dual credit
  courses, and any other course for which the institution the student
  attends has awarded the student college course credit, including
  course credit awarded by examination.
         (c)  A student to whom this section applies who begins the
  student's first semester or term at an institution of higher
  education with 30 45 or more semester credit hours of course credit
  for courses described by Subsection (b) shall file a degree plan
  with the institution not later than the end of the student's first
  second regular semester or term at the institution.
         SECTION 4.  Section 61.059, Education Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (p) by adding paragraph (4) to read as follows:
         (p)  In its instruction and operations formula applicable to
  an institution of higher education, the board may not include any
  semester credit hours earned for dual course credit by a high school
  student for high school and college credit at the institution
  unless those credit hours are earned through any of the following:
               (1)  a course in the core curriculum of the institution
  providing course credit;
               (2)  a career and technical education course that
  applies to any certificate or associate 's degree offered by the
  institution providing course credit; or
               (3)  a foreign language course.
               (4) a course from a Board approved Field of Study or
  Programs of Study offered by the institution providing course
  credit.
         SECTION 5.  Section 61.832, Education code is amended by
  adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
         (e)  the Board is authorized to monitor the use of the Texas
  Common Course Numbering System by general academic teaching
  institutions to ascertain benefits and problems and provide a
  report for implementation and a timeline for full compliance with
  statute.
         SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.