86R26295 KJE-D
By: Turner of Tarrant H.B. No. 4018
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 4018:
By: Turner of Tarrant C.S.H.B. No. 4018
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to measures to facilitate the transfer, academic progress,
and timely graduation of students in public higher education.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 51.9685(a)(2), Education Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(2) "Institution of higher education" has [and "public
junior college" have] the meaning [meanings] assigned by Section
61.003.
SECTION 2. Section 51.9685, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (b), (c), and (g) and adding Subsection (c-2)
to read as follows:
(b) Except as otherwise provided by Subsection (c), each
student enrolled in an associate or bachelor's degree program at an
institution of higher education shall file a degree plan with the
institution after the 12th class day but before [not later than] the
end of the [second regular] semester or term immediately following
the semester or term in which the student earned a cumulative total
of 30 [45] or more semester credit hours for coursework
successfully completed by the student, including transfer courses,
international baccalaureate courses, dual credit courses, and any
other course for which the institution the student attends has
awarded the student college course credit, including course credit
awarded by examination.
(c) A student to whom Subsection (b) [this section] applies
who begins the student's first semester or term at an institution of
higher education with 30 [45] or more semester credit hours of
course credit for courses described by Subsection (b) shall file a
degree plan with the institution after the 12th class day but before
[not later than] the end of that [the student's second regular]
semester or term [at the institution].
(c-2) A student enrolled in a dual credit course at an
institution of higher education and to whom Subsection (b) does not
apply shall file a degree plan with the institution not later than:
(1) the end of the second regular semester or term
immediately following the semester or term in which the student
earned a cumulative total of 15 or more semester credit hours of
course credit for dual credit courses successfully completed by the
student; or
(2) if the student begins the student's first semester
or term at the institution with 15 or more semester credit hours of
course credit for dual credit courses successfully completed by the
student, the end of the student's second regular semester or term at
the institution.
(g) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, in
consultation with institutions of higher education, shall [may]
adopt rules as necessary for the administration of this section. In
adopting those rules, the coordinating board shall use the
negotiated rulemaking procedures under Chapter 2008, Government
Code.
SECTION 3. Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is
amended by adding Sections 51.96852, 51.96853, and 51.96854 to read
as follows:
Sec. 51.96852. RECOMMENDED COURSE SEQUENCES. (a) In this
section:
(1) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board.
(2) "Institution of higher education" has the meaning
assigned by Section 61.003.
(b) Each institution of higher education shall develop at
least one recommended course sequence for each undergraduate
certificate or degree program offered by the institution. Each
recommended course sequence must:
(1) identify all required lower-division courses for
the applicable certificate or degree program;
(2) include for each course, if applicable, the course
number or course equivalent under the common course numbering
system approved by the coordinating board under Section 61.832;
(3) be designed to enable a full-time student to
obtain a certificate or degree, as applicable, within:
(A) for an associate degree or certificate
program, two years; or
(B) for a baccalaureate degree program, four
years; and
(4) include a specific sequence in which courses
should be completed to ensure completion of the applicable program
within the time frame described by Subdivision (3).
(c) Each institution of higher education shall:
(1) include the recommended course sequences
developed under this section in the institution's course catalog
and on the institution's Internet website; and
(2) submit the recommended course sequences developed
under this section to the coordinating board as provided by
coordinating board rule.
(d) In adopting rules under this section, the coordinating
board shall consult with institutions of higher education.
Sec. 51.96853. TRANSFER OF CREDIT FROM LOWER-DIVISION
INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION; ARTICULATION AGREEMENTS. (a) In
this section:
(1) "Articulation agreement" means a formal written
agreement between a lower-division institution of higher education
and a general academic teaching institution identifying courses
offered by the lower-division institution that must be accepted for
credit toward specific course requirements at the general academic
teaching institution.
(2) "General academic teaching institution" has the
meaning assigned by Section 61.003.
(3) "Lower-division institution of higher education"
means a public junior college, public state college, or public
technical institute, as those terms are defined by Section 61.003.
(b) Each general academic teaching institution may enter
into an articulation agreement with a lower-division institution of
higher education for a certificate or degree program for which
students transferring from the lower-division institution to the
general academic teaching institution receive transfer credit.
(c) An articulation agreement entered into under Subsection
(b) may use fields of study curricula developed by the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board under Section 61.823.
(d) A general academic teaching institution may extend an
existing articulation agreement entered into under Subsection (b)
to another lower-division institution of higher education with
respect to the transfer of courses from that lower-division
institution of higher education to the general academic teaching
institution, on request by that lower-division institution of
higher education.
(e) An articulation agreement established under this
section may enable a transfer student to receive up to 60 semester
credit hours for courses completed at the lower-division
institution of higher education.
(f) A general academic teaching institution's participation
in an articulation agreement under this section does not affect the
institution's admissions policies.
Sec. 51.96854. DECLARATION OF META MAJOR. (a) In this
section:
(1) "Institution of higher education" has the meaning
assigned by Section 61.003.
(2) "Meta major" has the meaning assigned by Section
61.821.
(b) Each student enrolled at an institution of higher
education in an associate or bachelor's degree program or in a dual
credit course shall file with the institution a declaration of the
meta major under which the student intends to earn a degree after
the 12th class day but before the end of the semester or term
immediately following the semester or term in which the student
earned a cumulative total of 15 or more semester credit hours for
coursework successfully completed by the student, including
transfer courses, international baccalaureate courses, dual credit
courses, and any other course for which the institution the student
attends has awarded the student college course credit, including
course credit awarded by examination.
(c) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, in
consultation with institutions of higher education, shall adopt
rules as necessary for the administration of this section. In
adopting those rules, the coordinating board shall use the
negotiated rulemaking procedures under Chapter 2008, Government
Code.
SECTION 4. Section 61.821, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subdivision (4) to read as follows:
(4) "Meta major" means a collection of programs of
study or academic disciplines that share common foundational
skills.
SECTION 5. Section 61.822, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a-1), (b), (c), and (d) and adding
Subsections (a-2), (a-3), (b-1), (f), and (g) to read as follows:
(a-1) The board, with the assistance of advisory committees
composed of representatives of institutions of higher education or
university systems designated by the applicable institution or
system, shall develop a recommended core curriculum of at least 42
semester credit hours, including a statement of the content,
component areas, and objectives of the core curriculum. At least a
majority of the members of any advisory committee named under this
section shall be faculty members of an institution of higher
education. [An institution shall consult with the faculty of the
institution before nominating or recommending a person to the board
as the institution's representative on an advisory committee.]
(a-2) The recommended core curriculum developed under
Subsection (a-1) must have the following components:
(1) a general core curriculum of at least 24 semester
credit hours that includes:
(A) six semester credit hours in:
(i) American or Texas history; and
(ii) government or political science; and
(B) three semester credit hours in:
(i) communications;
(ii) language, philosophy, or culture;
(iii) creative arts; and
(iv) a component area provided by board
rule; and
(2) for each meta major under Subsection (a-3), an
academic discipline core curriculum of not more than 18 semester
credit hours specific to that meta major and that includes:
(A) six semester credit hours in life sciences or
physical sciences; and
(B) three semester credit hours in:
(i) mathematics;
(ii) behavioral science;
(iii) communications; and
(iv) a component area provided by board
rule.
(a-3) The board shall develop a recommended academic
discipline core curriculum under Subsection (a-2) for each of the
following meta majors:
(1) arts, humanities, communications, and design;
(2) business;
(3) education;
(4) health sciences;
(5) industry, manufacturing, and construction;
(6) public safety;
(7) science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics; and
(8) social and behavioral sciences and human services.
(b) Each institution of higher education shall adopt a core
curriculum of no less than 42 semester credit hours, including
specific courses comprising the curriculum. The core curriculum
shall:
(1) include a general core curriculum and for each
meta major, an academic discipline core curriculum as described by
Subsection (a-2); and
(2) be consistent with the common course numbering
system approved by the board and with the statement,
recommendations, and rules issued by the board.
(b-1) An institution may have a core curriculum of other
than 42 semester credit hours only if approved by the board.
(c) If a student successfully completes the 42-hour core
curriculum or the general core curriculum or academic discipline
core curriculum at an institution of higher education, that block
of courses may be transferred to any other institution of higher
education and must be substituted for the receiving institution's
core curriculum, general core curriculum, or academic discipline
core curriculum, as applicable. A student shall receive academic
credit for each of the courses transferred and may not be required
to take additional core curriculum, general core curriculum, or
academic discipline core curriculum courses, as applicable, at the
receiving institution unless the board has approved a larger core
curriculum at the institution.
(d) A student who transfers from one institution of higher
education to another without completing the core curriculum of the
sending institution shall receive academic credit from the
receiving institution toward that institution's general core
curriculum or academic discipline core curriculum, as applicable,
for each of the courses that the student has successfully completed
in the core curriculum of the sending institution. Following
receipt of credit for these courses, the student may be required to
satisfy any remaining [further] course requirements in the core
curriculum of the receiving institution.
(f) Each institution of higher education shall:
(1) identify in the institution's course catalog and
on the institution's Internet website:
(A) each course offered by the institution that
fulfills a course requirement in the institution's general core
curriculum or academic discipline core curriculum and the specific
course requirement that the course fulfills; and
(B) the meta major with which each degree or
certificate program offered by the institution is associated;
(2) provide to the board in accordance with board rule
the institution's general core curriculum and academic discipline
core curriculum and the information described by Subdivision
(1)(A); and
(3) advise each student enrolled at the institution
regarding the importance of taking coherent sequences of courses in
the core curriculum that are aligned with the student's academic
and career goals.
(g) To assist in advising a student regarding the selection
of coherent sequences of courses in the core curriculum that are
aligned with the student's academic and career goals, the board
shall make available to each institution of higher education and to
school counselors and other postsecondary advisors employed by a
school district or open-enrollment charter school information
regarding:
(1) the general core curriculum and academic
discipline core curriculum required under Subsection (b); and
(2) the transferability of course credit between
institutions of higher education for courses in the core curriculum
as provided by this section.
SECTION 6. Section 61.827, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 61.827. RULES. (a) The board is authorized to adopt
rules implementing the provisions of this subchapter.
(b) In adopting rules regarding the recommended core
curriculum developed under Section 61.822, the board shall use the
negotiated rulemaking procedures under Chapter 2008, Government
Code.
SECTION 7. Sections 130.0104(b) and (c), Education Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(b) A multidisciplinary studies associate degree program
established at a junior college under this section must require a
student to successfully complete:
(1) the junior college's core curriculum adopted under
Section 61.822 [61.822(b)]; and
(2) after completion of the core curriculum under
Subdivision (1), the courses selected by the student in the
student's degree plan completed under Subsection (c).
(c) In complying with the requirements regarding the filing
of a degree plan under [Notwithstanding] Section 51.9685, [before
the beginning of the regular semester or term immediately following
the semester or term in which] a student enrolled [successfully
completes a cumulative total of 30 or more semester credit hours for
coursework] in a multidisciplinary studies associate degree
program established under this section [, the student] must meet
with an academic advisor to complete a degree plan [, as defined by
Section 51.9685(a)(1),] that:
(1) accounts for all remaining credit hours required
for the completion of the degree program; and
(2) emphasizes:
(A) the student's transition to a particular
four-year college or university that the student chooses; and
(B) preparations for the student's intended
field of study or major at the four-year college or university.
SECTION 8. Section 51.9685(c-1), Education Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 9. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
section, this Act applies beginning with the 2019-2020 academic
year.
(b) Sections 51.96852, 51.96853, and 51.96854, Education
Code, as added by this Act, and Section 61.822, Education Code, as
amended by this Act, apply beginning with the 2021-2022 academic
year.
SECTION 10. Not later than May 31, 2021, the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board shall develop a recommended core
curriculum that conforms to the requirements of Section 61.822,
Education Code, as amended by this Act.
SECTION 11. This Act takes effect immediately if it
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2019.