BILL REQ. #: H-4292.1
State of Washington | 60th Legislature | 2008 Regular Session |
Read first time 01/16/08. Referred to Committee on Higher Education.
AN ACT Relating to transfer and articulation between institutions of higher education; adding new sections to chapter 28B.10 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 28B.76 RCW; and creating new sections.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 The legislature finds that students are
accessing higher education differently than they have in previous
years. Rather than attending a single institution and attaining their
degree, many students now attend multiple institutions, sometimes
simultaneously.
The legislature also finds that learning occurs throughout a
person's lifetime. Whether citizens need different training to change
careers or need further education to move into management, people exit
and reenter institutions of higher education multiple times and for
various reasons.
The legislature also finds that current policies and practices do
not provide clear, consistent, easily accessible information to ease
transition in and among the state's colleges and universities. Often,
courses taken at some career and technical schools as well as private
for-profit institutions are not accepted in transfer because these
schools are not accredited by a regional accrediting body. Students
often do not understand that these courses are not transferrable.
Students must retake courses once they have transferred into a
regionally accredited institution, costing the student additional time
and money.
Therefore, it is the legislature's intent to improve statewide
communication and coordination of transfer and articulation policies
and practices. Students should be provided clear, consistent
information regarding the courses required for their degrees and how
those courses will be treated when a student moves between colleges and
universities. This information should be communicated to students and
their families in one easily accessible place in a format that is
common among all colleges and universities in the state.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 A new section is added to chapter 28B.10 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) The higher education coordinating board shall convene a work
group of representatives from the state board for community and
technical colleges, the council of presidents, and two-year and four-year institutions of higher education to develop a list of rights
guaranteed to students who have earned a transfer associate degree
under the direct transfer agreement. The work group may be an existing
work group that addresses policy issues related to transitions among
public and private institutions of higher education and may also
include representatives from the independent colleges of Washington.
(2) The list in subsection (1) of this section shall be known as
the transfer student bill of rights and shall include student rights
regarding, but not limited to:
(a) Admission to each public and private two-year and four-year
institution of higher education that participates in the direct
transfer agreement;
(b) The number of credits that will transfer;
(c) Academic requirements fulfilled by the degree at the receiving
institution;
(d) Acceptance of credit earned in dual enrollment and accelerated
programs such as advanced placement, running start, and international
baccalaureate;
(e) Acceptance of credits earned at nonregionally accredited
institutions as defined in section 7 of this act; and
(f) Advance knowledge of selection criteria for limited access
programs.
(3) The work group shall determine which elements in this section
are guaranteed to students entering a four-year institution of higher
education and which elements differ based on admission requirements at
a specific institution or program. The work group must determine the
clearest manner in which to communicate this information to students
and their families as part of the transfer student bill of rights.
(4) The transfer student bill of rights shall be displayed
prominently in a user-friendly area of each institution's web site.
Admissions offices, transfer planning offices, recruiting offices and
other relevant offices at public and private institutions of higher
education shall also make the transfer student bill of rights available
to prospective and enrolled students. The transfer student bill of
rights shall be published by public institutions of higher education by
September 2009. The transfer student bill of rights may also be used
by private institutions of higher education participating in direct
transfer agreements.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3 A new section is added to chapter 28B.10 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) The work group identified in section 2(1) of this act shall
develop a common set of course numbers for lower division general
education courses that are generally accepted in transfer between two-year and four-year institutions of higher education as well as between
four-year institutions of higher education. The independent colleges
of Washington may participate in this process.
(2) The common course number shall include the same course
abbreviation, course number, and course title shared among four-year
institutions of higher education for equivalent courses. To the extent
possible, common course numbers within four-year institutions of higher
education should match common course numbers used in the community and
technical college system.
(3) Common course numbering at the four-year level does not require
standardized course content but does require each four-year institution
of higher education to use only the common number. The work group must
take into account the unique nature of the curriculum of The Evergreen
State College in developing the common course numbering system.
(4) The system of common course numbering must be implemented by
September 2011.
(5) The higher education coordinating board, in collaboration with
the work group and four-year institutions of higher education, shall
provide a progress report to the appropriate committees of the
legislature by December 2009.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4 A new section is added to chapter 28B.10 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) The work group identified in section 2(1) of this act shall
develop a system of identification that distinguishes the lower
division general education courses that are generally transferrable
from two-year institutions of higher education to four-year
institutions of higher education from courses that do not generally
transfer outside an academic transfer degree in order to enable
students to identify generally transferable courses at the time of
registration.
(2) The system may include an intermediate identifier for courses
that may transfer to particular institutions of higher education or
programs. Whether and to what extent each lower division, general
education course published in an institutional catalog is transferrable
must be identified in a manner mutually agreed upon by the two-year
institutions of higher education and four-year institutions of higher
education.
(3) Institutions of higher education must publish this information
both in physical course catalogs and those published on the internet.
(4) The system of identification in this section shall be
implemented by September 2011.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5 A new section is added to chapter 28B.76 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) The higher education coordinating board must convene a work
group including representatives from the state board for community and
technical colleges, the workforce training and education coordinating
board, the council of presidents, two-year institutions of higher
education, and four-year institutions of higher education to develop a
plan to monitor the progress and success of transfer students. The
workgroup may be an existing work group that addresses policy issues
related to transitions across institutions of higher education.
(2) The plan shall contain data that measures student progress
through the higher education system that can be monitored over time.
This information shall include, but not be limited to:
(a) The number of students who indicate their intent to transfer at
the time of enrollment and the percentage of those students who
actually transfer or earn an associate degree within three years;
(b) Educational outcomes for students who declare their intent to
transfer, earn at least fifteen academic credits, and transfer within
three years;
(c) The percentage of students who earn their four-year degree
within three years of earning their associate degree;
(d) The average time and credits to completion of an academic
transfer degree including the direct transfer agreement, the associate
of science-transfer, and all major related programs; and
(e) The average grade point average for students who attain their
transfer associate degrees displayed by intended transfer destination.
(3) The plan shall also include analysis regarding the barriers
that transfer students face in pursuit of their four-year degree and
recommendations to address those barriers.
(4) The higher education coordinating board, in collaboration with
the work group and the state board for community and technical
colleges, shall report to the appropriate committees of the legislature
by January 2009, and every two years thereafter on the data and
recommendations contained in this section.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6 (1) The higher education coordinating board
shall convene a work group that includes representatives from the
workforce training and education coordinating board, the state board
for community and technical colleges, institutions of higher education,
the independent colleges of Washington, the center for information
services, and the office of the superintendent of public instruction to
create a detailed plan for developing and implementing a statewide web-based academic planning tool. The web-based academic planning tool
would be used by current, prospective, and returning students to plan
their path from high school through the attainment of their higher
education goals.
(2) The plan shall contain information including, but not limited
to;
(a) Functions that will be included in the web site;
(b) Options for development including, but not limited to:
Purchasing the entire system from a vendor; purchasing parts of the
system from a private vendor; building parts of the system with
Washington informational technology resources; and building the entire
system with Washington information technology resources; and
(c) Costs associated with each of the options in this subsection.
(3) The higher education coordinating board shall report to the
appropriate committees of the legislature by December 15, 2008. The
report shall include recommendations on the most robust yet cost-effective options for the web-based academic planning tool.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7 A new section is added to chapter 28B.10 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) Institutions of higher education must publish a list of all
courses that will be accepted in transfer from nonregionally accredited
institutions. The institutions of higher education shall designate
whether the course will transfer into academic or workforce education
programs, whether the course must have been taken as part of a transfer
associate degree, and whether the course is transferrable into an
applied bachelor's degree program. If an institution of higher
education does not accept credits from nonregionally accredited
institutions, the institution of higher education must explicitly state
the policy in a manner that is easily accessed by prospective students
and their families.
(2) For purposes of this section, "nonregionally accredited
institutions" means only those institutions that are fully accredited
by a national accrediting agency recognized by the United States
department of education.