READ FIRST TIME 02/06/04.   

     AN ACT Relating to improving articulation and transfer between institutions of higher education; amending RCW 28B.80.290; adding new sections to chapter 28B.80 RCW; and creating new sections.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that community and technical colleges play a vital role for students obtaining baccalaureate degrees. In 2002, more than forty percent of students graduating with a baccalaureate degree had transferred from a community or technical college.
     (2) The legislature also finds that demand continues to grow for baccalaureate degrees. Increased demand comes from larger numbers of students seeking access to higher education and greater expectations from employers for the knowledge and skills needed to expand the state's economy. Community and technical colleges are an essential partner in meeting this demand.
     (3) However, the legislature also finds that current policies and procedures do not provide for efficient transfer of courses, credits, or prerequisites for academic majors. Furthermore, the state's public higher education system must expand its capacity to enroll transfer students in baccalaureate education. The higher education coordinating board must take a leadership role in working with the community and technical colleges and four-year institutions to ensure efficient and seamless transfer across the state.
     (4) Therefore, it is the legislature's intent to build clearer pathways to baccalaureate degrees, improve statewide coordination of transfer and articulation, and ensure long-term capacity in the state's higher education system for transfer students.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   (1) The higher education coordinating board must convene work groups to develop transfer associate degrees that will satisfy lower division requirements at public four-year institutions of higher education for specific academic majors. Work groups must include representatives from the state board for community and technical colleges and the council of presidents, as well as faculty from two and four-year institutions. Work groups may include representatives from independent four-year institutions.
     (2) Each transfer associate degree developed under this section must enable a student to complete the lower-division courses or competencies for general education requirements and preparation for the major that a direct-entry student would typically complete in the freshman and sophomore years for that academic major.
     (3) Completion of a transfer associate degree does not guarantee a student admission into an institution of higher education or admission into a major, minor, or professional program at an institution of higher education that has competitive admission standards for the program based on grade point average or other performance criteria.
     (4) During the 2004-05 academic year, the work groups must develop transfer degrees for elementary education, engineering, and nursing. Each year thereafter, the higher education coordinating board must convene additional groups to identify and develop additional transfer degrees. The board must give priority to majors in high demand by transfer students and majors that the general direct transfer agreement associate degree does not adequately prepare students to enter automatically upon transfer.
     (5) The higher education coordinating board, in collaboration with the intercollege relations commission, must collect and maintain lists of courses offered by each community and technical college and public four-year institution of higher education that fall within each transfer associate degree.
     (6) The higher education coordinating board must monitor implementation of transfer associate degrees by public four-year institutions to ensure compliance with subsection (2) of this section.
     (7) Beginning January 10, 2005, the higher education coordinating board must submit a progress report on the development of transfer associate degrees to the higher education committees of the house of representatives and the senate. The first progress report must include measurable benchmark indicators to monitor the effectiveness of the initiatives in improving transfer and baseline data for those indicators before the implementation of the initiatives. Subsequent reports must be submitted by January 10 of each odd-numbered year and must monitor progress on the indicators, describe development of additional transfer associate degrees, and provide other data on improvements in transfer efficiency.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   (1) The higher education coordinating board must create a statewide system of course equivalency for public institutions of higher education, so that courses from one institution can be transferred and applied toward academic majors and degrees in the same manner as equivalent courses at the receiving institution.
     (2) The board must convene a work group including representatives from the state board for community and technical colleges and the council of presidents, as well as faculty from two and four-year institutions, to:
     (a) Identify equivalent courses between community and technical colleges and public four-year institutions and among public four-year institutions, including identifying how courses meet requirements for academic majors and degrees; and
     (b) Develop strategies for communicating course equivalency to students, faculty, and advisors.
     (3) The work group may include representatives from independent four-year institutions. The work group must take into account the unique nature of the curriculum of The Evergreen State College in developing the course equivalency system.
     (4) The higher education coordinating board must make a progress report on the development of the course equivalency system to the higher education committees of the senate and house of representatives by January 10, 2005. The report must include options and cost estimates for ongoing maintenance of the system.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   (1) The higher education coordinating board must conduct a gap analysis of upper division capacity in the public higher education system to accommodate transfer students. The analysis must address the total number of enrollment slots, specific academic majors, and geographic location of demand and supply of upper division capacity.
     (2) The board must examine the full range of options, including costs, to close the gap between demand and supply of upper division capacity. Options include expansion of main campuses, branch campuses, off-campus education centers, distance learning, and other strategies.
     (3) The board must make a progress report by January 10, 2005, and a final report by December 10, 2006, with recommendations to the higher education committees of the senate and house of representatives for how the state should expand upper division capacity in various locations across the state.

Sec. 5   RCW 28B.80.290 and 1983 c 304 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     The statewide transfer of credit policy and agreement ((shall)) must be designed to facilitate the transfer of students and the evaluation of transcripts, to better serve persons seeking information about courses and programs, to aid in academic planning, and to improve the review and evaluation of academic programs in the state institutions of higher education. The statewide transfer of credit policy and agreement ((shall)) must not require ((nor)) or encourage the standardization of course content ((and shall not)) or prescribe course content or the credit value assigned by any institution to the course. Policies adopted by public four-year institutions concerning the transfer of lower division credit must treat students transferring from public community colleges the same as students transferring from public four-year institutions.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   Sections 2 and 3 of this act are each added to chapter 28B.80 RCW.