MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2010 Regular Session

To: Universities and Colleges

By: Representative Blackmon

House Bill 1036

AN ACT TO ALLOW STUDENTS GRADUATING FROM A MISSISSIPPI PUBLIC COMMUNITY OR JUNIOR COLLEGE WITH AN ASSOCIATE'S DEGREE TO TRANSFER ALL CREDIT HOURS EARNED IN THE COMPLETION OF THEIR DEGREES TO A STATE INSTITUTION OF HIGHER LEARNING; TO REQUIRE THE STATE INSTITUTION OF HIGHER LEARNING ENROLLING THOSE TRANSFER STUDENTS TO ACCEPT ALL CREDIT HOURS EARNED BY THE STUDENT AND TO APPLY THOSE CREDIT HOURS TO THE NUMBER OF CREDIT HOURS NECESSARY FOR GRADUATION FROM THE STATE INSTITUTION OF HIGHER LEARNING; TO REQUIRE THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE STATE BOARD FOR COMMUNITY AND JUNIOR COLLEGES, THE STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING AND COMMUNITY AND JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICTS TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A STATEWIDE AGREEMENT FOR AN ALIGNMENT OF COMMUNITY AND JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICTS' ASSOCIATE OF ARTS AND ASSOCIATE OF SCIENCE COURSEWORK TO BE ACCEPTED AND FULLY CREDITED TO BACHELOR'S DEGREE PROGRAMS BY ALL STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING, AND TO IMPLEMENT CERTAIN OTHER POLICIES TO EFFECTIVELY CARRY OUT THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; TO REQUIRE THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING TO ENSURE THAT ALL POLICIES COMPLY WITH THE RULES AND REGULATIONS ESTABLISHED BY CERTAIN ACCREDITING AGENCIES AS RECOGNIZED BY THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION; TO REQUIRE STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING TO PROVIDE ADVANCE NOTICE TO CERTAIN ENTITIES OF CHANGES IN DEGREE REQUIREMENTS OR LEARNING OUTCOMES SOUGHT BY THOSE INSTITUTIONS THAT IMPACT COMMUNITY AND JUNIOR COLLEGE COURSES, AND TO PROHIBIT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THOSE CHANGES BY COMMUNITY AND JUNIOR COLLEGES BEFORE CERTAIN ASSURANCES ARE VERIFIED; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

     BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. (1)  Students who graduate from a Mississippi public community or junior college with an associate of art or associate of science degree, may transfer all credit hours earned at the community or junior college to any state institution of higher learning, which hours must be accepted by the enrolling state institution of higher learning and applied to the number of credit hours necessary for graduation from the state institution of higher learning in which the student has been admitted and is enrolled.

     (2)  The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, in collaboration with the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges, the state institutions of higher learning and community and junior college districts shall:

          (a)  Facilitate the development and implementation of a statewide agreement for an alignment of community and junior college districts' associate of arts and associate of science coursework to be accepted and fully credited to bachelor's degree programs by all state institutions of higher learning.  The agreement shall specify the general education learning outcomes, program specific prerequisite credit hours, and comparable course titles which shall be accepted for transfer and fully credited within bachelor's degree programs.  The agreement shall direct that courses specified within the agreement shall be accepted for transfer and degree credit whether earned as individual courses or within block programs;

          (b)  Develop, implement and maintain a statewide community and junior college course numbering system for general education and program specific prerequisite courses that include the same learning outcomes;

          (c)  Establish a statewide course classification system and procedures to monitor the transfer and crediting of coursework, including a system of ongoing assessment of that coursework in terms of level, content, quality, comparability and degree program relevance;

          (d)  Establish a procedure for approval of changes in learning outcomes at state institutions of higher learning as described in subsection (4) of this section;

          (e)  Standardize credit-by-exam equivalencies and common passing scores for national exams transferable for general education courses and program specific prerequisite courses;

          (f)  Develop policies to align statewide articulation and transfer procedures across educational institutions, including admissions criteria, student declaration of major, and student guidance and counseling policies designed to ensure that students pursuing an associate of arts or associate of science degree program provide timely notification of their intention to transfer to a state institution of higher learning;

          (g)  Develop uniform data collection and reporting methods to facilitate and ensure statewide and institutional compliance with course transfer and credit requirements;

          (h)  Guarantee that, upon admission to a state institution of higher learning, graduates of an associate of arts or an associate of science degree program approved by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning shall be deemed to have met all general education and program specific course prerequisites.  These students shall be granted admission to related bachelor's degree programs at a state institution of higher learning on the same criteria as those students earning prerequisites at the institution of higher learning to which the student transferred;

          (i)  Provide that graduates of approved associate of arts and associate of science degree programs who transfer to a bachelor of arts or bachelor of science program shall not be required to repeat any course taken on the community or junior college level to fulfill bachelor degree requirements in the same major at a state institution of higher learning;

          (j)  Provide that graduates of approved associate of arts and associate of science degree programs shall receive priority for admission to a state institution of higher learning over out-of-state students if they meet the same admission criteria;

          (k)  Establish a common college transcript to be used in  all state institutions of higher learning;

          (l)  Encourage private colleges and universities to collaborate with state institutions of higher learning in developing programs and agreement to expedite the transfer of students and credits between institutions; and

          (m)  Establish an appeals process to resolve disagreements between transferring students and receiving state institutions of higher learning regarding the transfer and acceptance of credits earned at another institution.

     (3)  The Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning shall ensure that all articulation and transfer policies comply with the rules and regulations established by all appropriate institutional accrediting agencies as recognized by the United States Department of Education.

     (4)  Changes in degree requirements or learning outcomes sought by a state institution of higher learning that impact community or junior college courses shall be communicated to the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning and to the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges six (6) months before the effective date of the change.  However, no community or junior college course changes recommended by a state institution of higher learning shall be implemented until the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, in deliberation with the institution of higher learning proposing the changes and the State Board for Community and Junior Colleges, can verify that there remains a clearly defined path to a bachelor's degree for those students who plan to transfer from a community or junior college to a state institution of higher learning.

     SECTION 2.  This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2010.