BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 1943

By: Ramos

Higher Education

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Concerns have been raised regarding the efficiency of undergraduate credit transfer among public institutions of higher education, and it has been suggested that the transfer process should be more transparent to minimize the potential for students to unnecessarily take credit hours in excess of those needed to complete a degree program and to improve completion rates and average time to degree completion. H.B. 1943 seeks to address these concerns by requiring each general academic teaching institution to develop and publish transfer pathways for certain frequently selected majors at the institution.

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

H.B. 1943 amends the Education Code to require each general academic teaching institution to include in the guidelines for course credit transfers published on its website a transfer pathway for each major in the top 25 majors for which students most frequently transfer to the institution. The bill requires a transfer pathway to identify the lower division course requirements for the major and each course that may be transferred to the institution from a public junior college for course credit applied toward the major or the core curriculum. The bill requires a general academic teaching institution to develop and publish the transfer pathways not later than January 1, 2020, and to review annually and, if necessary, update each pathway.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2019.