COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH
OVERSIGHT DIVISION
FISCAL NOTE
L.R. No.:0931S.01I Bill No.:SB 69 Subject:Higher Education; Department of Higher Education and Workforce DevelopmentType:Original Date:January 20, 2025Bill Summary:This proposal modifies provisions of the higher education core curriculum
transfer act.
FISCAL SUMMARY
ESTIMATED NET EFFECT ON GENERAL REVENUE FUNDFUND AFFECTEDFY 2026FY 2027FY 2028General Revenue*($308,011)($365,074)($293,338)Total Estimated Net
Effect on General
Revenue($308,011)($365,074)($293,338)
*Oversight reflects estimates from DHEWD for Section §§178.786 and 178.787 – Higher
Education Core Curriculum Transfer Act. Oversight notes, according to DHEWD to establish
new software, hire one FTE for the added workload, and bring in a consultant costs will exceed
$250,000.
ESTIMATED NET EFFECT ON OTHER STATE FUNDSFUND AFFECTEDFY 2026FY 2027FY 2028College &
University*(Unknown)(Unknown)(Unknown)
Total Estimated Net
Effect on Other State
Funds(Unknown)(Unknown)(Unknown)
* Unknown costs/losses are assumed to exceed $250,000 annually.
Numbers within parentheses: () indicate costs or losses. L.R. No. 0931S.01I
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ESTIMATED NET EFFECT ON FEDERAL FUNDSFUND AFFECTEDFY 2026FY 2027FY 2028Total Estimated Net
Effect on All Federal
Funds $0$0$0
ESTIMATED NET EFFECT ON FULL TIME EQUIVALENT (FTE)FUND AFFECTEDFY 2026FY 2027FY 2028General Revenue1 FTE1 FTE1 FTETotal Estimated Net
Effect on FTE1 FTE1 FTE1 FTE
☒ Estimated Net Effect (expenditures or reduced revenues) expected to exceed $250,000 in any
of the three fiscal years after implementation of the act or at full implementation of the act.
☐ Estimated Net Effect (savings or increased revenues) expected to exceed $250,000 in any of
the three fiscal years after implementation of the act or at full implementation of the act.
ESTIMATED NET EFFECT ON LOCAL FUNDSFUND AFFECTEDFY 2026FY 2027FY 2028Local Government$0$0$0 L.R. No. 0931S.01I
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FISCAL ANALYSIS
ASSUMPTION
§§178.786 and 178.787 – Higher Education Core Curriculum Transfer Act
Officials from the Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development (DHEWD)
state the proposed legislative changes will cause a fiscal impact to the DHEWD. DHEWD
projects the following costs for Section 178.786 (4):
(1) To create clear transfer pathways, including common course numbering matrices, across
Missouri’s public institutions in five degree program areas (general business, elementary
education and teaching, psychology, registered nursing, and biology), they will need to gather
degree program data from all institutions, analyze it, and work with faculty and senior leadership
to make proposed changes to the programs. To accomplish this, they will need to secure a
national expert to provide analysis and technical assistance. DHEWD estimates consultant costs
at approximately $70,000, based on similar work done in Louisiana.
(2) The OPP will need 1.0 FTE at the Program Specialist level (estimated salary of $50,000 +
$33,774.97 fringe = $83,774.89) to handle the increased workload resulting from creation of the
pathways (including meeting preparation, creating common course equivalencies, additional
course reviews, IT management, etc.).
(3) The Core Curriculum Advisory Committee, or similar committee established to handle the
project, will need to meet monthly for the 18 months prior to the launch of the pathways, and
then on an ongoing basis to manage the work each academic year. The committee would begin
meeting in September 2025, and meet monthly until February 2027, at which time the new
courses would be due for publication in institutional catalogs for the AY 2028 academic year.
There are currently 37 members of the CCAC, and lunch per diem is $11 in Jefferson City,
costing $407 per meeting and $7,326 over the course of the 18 months.
(4) The recently launched CORE 42 submission portal will need to be enhanced to accommodate
additional requirements from the expanded transfer pathways. This will include building a new
model to handle pathways instead of courses, and accommodations for different components
including review structures and timelines. The DHEWD worked with Accenture to build the
current system using Service Now software. ITSD projects cost $150,000 for the first year and
$200,000 in the second and third years, for a total of $550,000.
Oversight has no information to the contrary. Therefore, Oversight will present the fiscal impact
to the General Revenue Fund provided by DHEWD as $308,011 for FY 2026; $365,074 for FY
2027 and $293,338 for FY 2028.
Officials from the University of Missouri System (UM) state this legislation would require
significant investment of resources to develop a 60-hour core curriculum for each of the five L.R. No. 0931S.01I
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identified academic programs, including reaching consensus on the core across Missouri’s 14
public community colleges and 13 public universities. These investments in faculty and staff
resources would be necessary to expand the existing CORE 42 program to 60 credits, which may
include modifications to the curricula of many programs to accommodate all credit hours into
specific programs. To the extent the additional 18 credits are in areas unrelated to the student’s
degree, this new requirement would increase the educational costs for the student.
Officials from the University of Central Missouri
fiscal impact at UCM.
Oversight has no information to the contrary. Oversight will present (Unknown) costs/losses as
the fiscal impact to College and University Funds. It is assumed the impact could exceed
$250,000 annually. In addition, Oversight assumes these core classes would be classes
potentially transferred from community colleges. The proposal will have no fiscal impact on
local governments but would represent a loss in fees to four-year colleges and universities.
Oversight only reflects the responses received from state agencies and political subdivisions;
however, other colleges and universities were requested to respond to this proposed legislation
but did not. A listing of political subdivisions included in the Missouri Legislative Information
System (MOLIS) database is available upon request. L.R. No. 0931S.01I
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FISCAL IMPACT – State GovernmentFY 2026
(10 Mo.)
FY 2027FY 2028GENERAL REVENUE FUNDCosts – DHEWD (§§178.786 and
178.787) p.3
Personal service($41,667)($51,000)($52,020) Fringe benefits($29,860)($36,233)($36,642) Equipment and expense($12,414)($4,585)($4,676)Total Costs - DHEWD($83,941)($91,818)($93,338) FTE Change - DHEWD1 FTE1 FTE1 FTECosts – ITSD/Other - DHE (§§178.786
and 178.787) p.3
CCAC Meeting Expenses ($4,070)($3,256)$0 Consultant – Analysis & Technical($70,000)($70,000)$0 CORE 42 ITSD Enhancements($150,000)($200,000)($200,000)Total Costs – ITSD/DHE($224,070)($273,256)($200,000)ESTIMATED NET EFFECT ON
THE GENERAL REVENUE FUND($308,011)($365,074)($293,338)
Estimated Net FTE Change on the
General Revenue Fund1 FTE1 FTE1 FTE
COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY
FUNDS
Costs – College & Universities
(§§178.786 and 178.787) – Expansion
of core curriculums from 42 to 60
classes p.3(Unknown)(Unknown)(Unknown)
Losses – College & Universities
(§§178.786 and 178.787) – Reduction
in fees p.4(Unknown)(Unknown)(Unknown)
ESTIMATED NET EFFECT ON
COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY
FUNDS(Unknown)(Unknown)(Unknown) L.R. No. 0931S.01I
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FISCAL IMPACT – Local GovernmentFY 2026
(10 Mo.)
FY 2027FY 2028$0$0$0
FISCAL IMPACT – Small Business
No direct fiscal impact to small businesses would be expected as a result of this proposal.
FISCAL DESCRIPTION
The act provides that the Coordinating Board for Higher Education shall, with the assistance of
an advisory committee composed of representatives from each public community college and
public four-year institution of higher education, approve a 60 credit-hour, transferable, lower-
division course curriculum and a common course numbering equivalency matrix for degree
programs in the following subjects: general business, elementary education and teaching, general
psychology, registered nursing, and general biology or biological science, or both. Each public
community college and public four-year institution of higher education that offers the applicable
degree programs shall include in such degree programs the common course numbering
equivalency matrix approved by the Coordinating Board. The Coordinating Board shall complete
its work with the advisory committee before June 30, 2027, and the transferable courses and
common course numbering equivalency matrix shall be implemented at all public institutions of
higher education for the 2028-29 academic year. No institution of higher education shall be
required to adopt the transferable lower-division course curriculum for degree programs not
offered at the institution.
If a student successfully completes the transferable lower-division courses at a community
college or other public institution of higher education, those courses may be transferred to any
other public institution of higher education in this state and shall be substituted for the receiving
institution's core curriculum for the same degree program. A student shall receive academic
credit toward his or her degree for each of the courses transferred and shall not be required to
take additional core curriculum courses at the receiving institution for the same degree program.
If a student transfers from one public institution of higher education to another public institution
of higher education without completing all of the transferable lower-division courses of the
sending institution, such student shall receive academic credit toward the same degree program
from the receiving institution for each of the courses that the student has successfully completed.
Following receipt of credit for these courses, the student may, if the student has not completed all
of the transferable lower-division courses, be required to satisfy further course requirements in
the core curriculum of the receiving institution. L.R. No. 0931S.01I
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The Coordinating Board shall report to the House Committee on Higher Education and the
Senate Committee on Education regarding progress made toward fulfilling the requirements of
the act before December 31, 2026.
This legislation is not federally mandated, would not duplicate any other program and would not
require additional capital improvements or rental space.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION
Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development
University of Missouri Systems
University of Central Missouri
Julie MorffJessica HarrisDirectorAssistant DirectorJanuary 20, 2025January 20, 2025