| 1 | 1 | | By: González H.B. No. 3498 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to the development of transfer associate degree programs |
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| 7 | 7 | | to facilitate the transfer of students from public junior colleges |
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| 8 | 8 | | to general academic teaching institutions. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Education Code, is |
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| 11 | 11 | | amended by adding Section 61.05125 to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | Sec. 61.05125. TRANSFER ASSOCIATE DEGREE PROGRAMS. (a) The |
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| 13 | 13 | | board, in collaboration with public junior colleges and general |
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| 14 | 14 | | academic teaching institutions, shall: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (1) develop and approve transfer associate degree |
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| 16 | 16 | | programs to be offered by public junior colleges in a variety of |
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| 17 | 17 | | fields reflecting the diversity of degree programs offered by |
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| 18 | 18 | | general academic teaching institutions; and |
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| 19 | 19 | | (2) subject to admissions space availability, require |
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| 20 | 20 | | each general academic teaching institution to offer any applicant |
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| 21 | 21 | | for transfer admission to the institution who successfully |
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| 22 | 22 | | completed a transfer associate degree program under Subdivision |
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| 23 | 23 | | (1): |
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| 24 | 24 | | (A) priority consideration in admission to the |
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| 25 | 25 | | institution as a junior-level transfer student with academic credit |
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| 26 | 26 | | for the semester credit hours of course work completed by the |
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| 27 | 27 | | student under the transfer associate degree program; and |
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| 28 | 28 | | (B) priority consideration in admission to a |
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| 29 | 29 | | specific college or degree program at the institution that is |
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| 30 | 30 | | related to the student's associate degree field. |
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| 31 | 31 | | (b) Each transfer associate degree program approved by the |
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| 32 | 32 | | board under this section must require a student to successfully |
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| 33 | 33 | | complete 60 semester credit hours of academic course work at a |
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| 34 | 34 | | public junior college, including the public junior college's core |
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| 35 | 35 | | curriculum adopted under Section 61.822(b), with a cumulative grade |
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| 36 | 36 | | point average of at least 2.0 on a four-point scale or the |
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| 37 | 37 | | equivalent. |
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| 38 | 38 | | SECTION 2. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board |
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| 39 | 39 | | shall develop and approve transfer associate degree programs under |
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| 40 | 40 | | Section 61.05125, Education Code, as added by this Act, as soon as |
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| 41 | 41 | | practicable following the effective date of this Act, but not later |
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| 42 | 42 | | than January 31, 2016. |
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| 43 | 43 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |
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