BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	S.B. 2058
86R13866 KJE-F	By: Men�ndez
	Higher Education
	3/25/2019
	As Filed

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

Over 700,000 Texans at all stages of their lives enter community colleges with the intention to take foundational courses, and many of these students intend to transfer these credits toward education at a four-year university. The primary motivations for individuals who attend community college are often the convenience of attending class locally and the relative affordability of community colleges. It is therefore critical that the transfer of credit between community colleges and four-year public institutions of higher education be seamless and provide minimal need for retaking courses.

However, similar to the issue faced by many students with dual-credit courses from high school, four-year institutions do not always allow for the direct transfer of community college credits. Sometimes courses that students took with the intention of gaining credit for their degree plan only count toward general education or elective requirements, meaning students must then retake similar courses at their four-year university. Beyond the waste of time this forces students to undertake, students are faced with paying for essentially the same course twice: once in community college and one at their four-year institution.

S.B. 2058 requires that, if a student from a sending institution earned credit hours that the accepting institution does not accept toward the student's degree plan, the accepting institution of higher education may not charge the admitted student tuition for an equivalent course at the accepting institution that would satisfy the appropriate requirement.

As proposed, S.B. 2058 amends current law relating to the enforcement of certain requirements regarding the transfer of course credit between public institutions of higher education.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

Rulemaking authority previously granted to Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is modified in SECTION 2 (Section 61.827, Education Code) of this bill.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter S, Chapter 61, Education Code, by adding Section 61.8233, as follows:

Sec. 61.8233. WAIVER OF TUITION AND FEES FOR COURSES NOT TRANSFERRED TOWARD DEGREE PROGRAM. Requires an institution of higher education that admits a student transferring from another institution of higher education, notwithstanding any other provision, to waive the tuition and required fees that would otherwise be imposed for the student for a number of semester credit hours equal to the number of semester credit hours earned by the student in the core curriculum or a field of study curriculum of the sending institution for which the receiving institution does not award the student academic credit toward the student's degree program or awards only elective credit.

SECTION 2. Amends Section 61.827, Education Code, as follows:

Sec. 61.827. RULES. Authorizes the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to adopt rules implementing provisions of this subchapter (Transfer of Credit), including rules to ensure compliance with this subchapter.

SECTION 3. Provides that this Act applies beginning with the 2019�2020 academic year.

SECTION 4. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2019.