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AN ACT relating to postsecondary education. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
ď˘Section 1. KRS 164.2951 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) [Beginning with the 2012-2013 academic year and each academic year thereafter 4
]For first-time students enrolling in a public college or university, postsecondary 5
education institutions shall[are encouraged to] limit the credit-hour requirements to 6
sixty (60) credit hours for each associate [of science or associate of arts ]degree 7
program and to one hundred twenty (120) credit hours for each bachelor [of arts or 8
bachelor of science ]degree program, except in situations in which: 9
(a) [Quality and content of a program would be negatively impacted; or 10
(b) ]A program must comply with specific program standards established by 11
external accreditation bodies; 12
(b) The program has submitted appropriate documentation from the external 13
accreditation body to the council demonstrating the necessity of the 14
additional hours required for the specific program; and 15
(c) The council affirms the necessity of the additional hours required for the 16
specific program. 17
(2) The council[ on Postsecondary Education], in collaboration with the public 18
universities and community and technical colleges, shall: 19
(a) Facilitate the development and implementation of a statewide agreement for 20
alignment of Kentucky Community and Technical College System lower-21
division associate of arts and associate of science coursework that shall be 22
accepted and fully credited to related bachelors degree programs by all public 23
universities. The agreement shall specify the general education learning 24
outcomes and program-specific prerequisite learning outcomes of the 25
coursework. Where applicable, curricula shall be reviewed to determine 26
comparability of core content standards required under KRS 164.302. The 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 837
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agreement shall direct that the associate of arts and associate of science 1
coursework meeting the learning outcomes specified shall be accepted for 2
transfer and degree credit, whether earned as individual courses or within 3
block programs; 4
(b) Develop, implement, and maintain a Kentucky Community and Technical 5
College System statewide course numbering system for lower-division 6
general education and program-specific prerequisite courses that include the 7
same learning outcomes; 8
(c) By July 1, 2026, develop, implement, and maintain statewide transfer 9
pathways consisting of sixty (60) credit hours that shall be applied to the 10
requirements of high-demand baccalaureate degree programs at any 11
institution. 12
1. High-demand baccalaureate degree programs shall be defined by the 13
council based on student and workforce demands. Once a statewide 14
transfer pathway has been developed and implemented by the council, 15
it shall be maintained, even if the council determines the pathway is 16
no longer in a high-demand baccalaureate program. The council shall 17
publish on its website a list of the existing statewide transfer pathways 18
available to students. 19
2. Each statewide transfer pathway shall consist of sixty (60) credit hours 20
that shall be available for transfer and application to degree 21
requirements in the corresponding degree program at each institution. 22
Students may earn credit in statewide transfer pathways through any 23
means prescribed by the institution, including but not limited to credit 24
for prior learning and dual credit as defined by the council. 25
(d) Establish a statewide course classification system and procedures to monitor 26
the transfer and crediting of lower-division coursework, including a system of 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 837
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ongoing assessment that ensures comparability for transfer purposes; 1
(e)[(d)] Establish a procedure for approval of changes in learning outcomes at 2
public universities as described in subsection (3) of this section; 3
(f)[(e)] Standardize credit-by-exam equivalencies and common passing scores 4
for national exams transferable for general education courses and program-5
specific prerequisites courses; 6
(g)[(f)] Develop policies to align statewide articulation and transfer procedures 7
across educational institutions, including admissions criteria, student 8
declaration of major, and student guidance and counseling policies designed 9
to ensure that students pursuing an associate of arts or associate of science 10
degree program provide timely notification of their intention to transfer to a 11
public university; 12
(h)[(g)] Develop uniform data collection and reporting methods to facilitate and 13
ensure statewide and institutional compliance with course transfer and credit 14
requirements; 15
(i)[(h)] Guarantee that, upon admission to a public university, graduates of an 16
associate of arts or an associate of science degree program approved by the 17
council in consultation with public universities shall be deemed to have met 18
all general education requirements; 19
(j)[(i)] Provide that graduates of approved associate of arts and associate of 20
science degree programs of Kentucky public postsecondary institutions who 21
complete the prerequisite learning outcomes for a bachelor of arts or bachelor 22
of science program while fulfilling the requirements for an associate of art or 23
associate of science degree, shall not be required to repeat or to take any 24
additional lower-level courses to fulfill bachelor degree requirements in the 25
same major, and these students shall be granted admission to related upper-26
division bachelors degree programs of a state public college or university on 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 837
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the same criteria as those students earning lower-division credits at the 1
university to which the student transferred; 2
(k)[(j)] Provide that graduates of approved associate of arts and associate of 3
science degree programs shall receive priority for admission to a state public 4
university over out-of-state students if they meet the same admission criteria; 5
(l)[(k)] Establish a commonality in college transcripts to be used in all public 6
colleges and universities to facilitate transfer from community and technical 7
colleges; 8
(m)[(l)] Encourage private colleges and universities to collaborate with public 9
educational institutions in developing programs and agreement to expedite the 10
transfer of students and credits between institutions; 11
(n)[(m)] Establish an appeals process to resolve disagreements between 12
transferring students and receiving educational institutions regarding the 13
transfer and acceptance of credits earned at another institution; 14
(o)[(n)] Ensure that all articulation and transfer policies are consistent with the 15
rules and regulations established by all appropriate discipline-specific 16
accrediting bodies and institutional accrediting agencies as recognized by the 17
United States Department of Education; and 18
(p)[(o)] Facilitate the development and implementation of a statewide 19
standardized articulation agreement to be executed [by July 1, 2021, ]between 20
public colleges and universities and the Kentucky Department of Education 21
for each approved high school career pathway that leads to a postsecondary 22
credential, certification, license, or degree. Upon meeting the requirements of 23
the standardized articulation agreement, a student shall be awarded 24
postsecondary credit for prior learning at any public college or university. 25
(3) When an institution seeks to change learning outcomes for a bachelor of arts or 26
bachelor of science program that affect lower-division courses, the university shall 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 837
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notify the council [on Postsecondary Education and the Kentucky Community and 1
Technical College System ]of the proposed changes at the same time as the 2
initiation of the university's approval process. If it is determined that the proposed 3
change will have an adverse effect on transferability, the university proposing the 4
change shall enter into discussion with the council, the other public universities, 5
and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System to verify there 6
remains a clearly defined path to transfer credits[a bachelor's degree] for those 7
students who plan to transfer from the Kentucky Community and Technical College 8
System or another public university to the public university. 9
(4) Beginning July 1, 2026, any student who transfers among public postsecondary 10
institutions shall be awarded credit by the receiving institution for courses 11
satisfactorily completed by the student at the previous institutions when the credit 12
was part of a statewide transfer pathway available at both the earning institution 13
and the receiving institution. 14
(5) Beginning July 1, 2026, participating institutions receiving transfer course credit 15
within a statewide transfer pathway shall accept and apply general education 16
courses and credit in the equivalent pathway at the receiving institution. The 17
credit shall be applied as first satisfying general education core course credit 18
requirements and program specific general education course credit requirements 19
before applying the course credit as elective credit. 20