CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT

ENGROSSED SENATE BILL 5974

Chapter 3, Laws of 2011

62nd Legislature
2011 2nd Special Session



COLLEGE-LEVEL SKILLS--STEM EXAMINATIONS



EFFECTIVE DATE: 03/14/12

Passed by the Senate December 14, 2011
  YEAS 47   NAYS 0

BRAD OWEN
________________________________________    
President of the Senate
Passed by the House December 14, 2011
  YEAS 87   NAYS 8

FRANK CHOPP
________________________________________    
Speaker of the House of Representatives


 
CERTIFICATE

I, Thomas Hoemann, Secretary of the Senate of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is ENGROSSED SENATE BILL 5974 as passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on the dates hereon set forth.

THOMAS HOEMANN
________________________________________    
Secretary
Approved December 20, 2011, 3:19 p.m.








CHRISTINE GREGOIRE
________________________________________    
Governor of the State of Washington
 
FILED
December 21, 2011







Secretary of State
State of Washington


_____________________________________________ 

ENGROSSED SENATE BILL 5974
_____________________________________________

Passed Legislature - 2011 2nd Special Session
State of Washington62nd Legislature2011 2nd Special Session

By Senators Tom, Litzow, Kilmer, Fain, Hewitt, Chase, and Kohl-Welles; by request of Governor Gregoire

Read first time 12/07/11.   Referred to Committee on Ways & Means.



     AN ACT Relating to demonstrating college level skills; and amending RCW 28B.10.053.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 28B.10.053 and 2011 c 77 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) By December 1, 2011, and by June of each odd-numbered year thereafter, the institutions of higher education shall collaboratively develop a master list of postsecondary courses that can be fulfilled by taking the advanced placement, international baccalaureate, or other recognized college-level proficiency examinations, including but not limited to examinations by a national multidisciplinary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics program, and meeting the qualifying examination score or demonstrated competencies for lower division general education requirements or postsecondary professional technical requirements. The master list of postsecondary courses fulfilled by proficiency examinations or demonstrated competencies are those that fulfill lower division general education requirements or career and technical education requirements and qualify for postsecondary credit. From the master list, each institution shall create and publish a list of its courses that can be satisfied by successful proficiency examination scores or demonstrated competencies for lower division general education requirements or postsecondary professional technical requirements. The qualifying examination scores and demonstrated competencies shall be included in the published list. The requirements to develop a master list under this section do not apply if an institution has a clearly published policy of awarding credit for the advanced placement, international baccalaureate, or other recognized college-level placement exams and does not require those credits to meet specific course requirements but generally applies those credits towards degree requirements.
     (2) To the maximum extent possible, institutions of higher education shall agree on examination qualifying scores and demonstrated competencies for the credits or courses under subsection (3) of this section, with scores equivalent to qualified or well-qualified. Nothing in this subsection shall prevent an institution of higher education from adopting policies using higher scores for additional purposes.
     (3) Each institution of higher education, in designing its certificate, technical degree program, two-year academic transfer program, or freshman and sophomore courses of a baccalaureate program or baccalaureate degree, must recognize the equivalencies of at least one year of course credit and maximize the application of the credits toward lower division general education requirements that can be earned through successfully demonstrating proficiency on examinations, including but not limited to advanced placement and international baccalaureate examinations. The successful completion of the examination and the award of credit shall be noted on the student's college transcript.
     (4) Each institution of higher education must clearly include in its admissions materials and on its web site the credits or the institution's list of postsecondary courses that can be fulfilled by proficiency examinations or demonstrated competencies and the agreed-upon examination scores and demonstrated competencies that qualify for postsecondary credit. Each institution must provide the information to the higher education coordinating board and state board for community and technical colleges in a form that the superintendent of public instruction is able to distribute to school districts.


         Passed by the Senate December 14, 2011.
         Passed by the House December 14, 2011.
         Approved by the Governor December 20, 2011.
         Filed in Office of Secretary of State December 21, 2011.