SENATE BILL 103
53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2017
INTRODUCED BY
Gay G. Kernan
AN ACT
RELATING TO HIGHER EDUCATION; AMENDING THE POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION ARTICULATION ACT TO ESTABLISH AND CLARIFY CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH STUDENTS MAY TRANSFER EARNED CREDITS BETWEEN AND AMONG NEW MEXICO INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. Section 21-1B-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1995, Chapter 224, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read:
"21-1B-2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Post-Secondary Education Articulation Act:
A. "articulation" means the transfer of [course credit from one institution to another] courses that fulfill a graduation requirement for a student's chosen degree program;
B. "department" means the higher education department;
[C. "discipline module" means lower-division courses, including the general education core, that meet the lower-division college-level requirements for a specific degree;
D. "general education core" means the grouping of lower division general education courses of at least thirty-five hours that are established by the department for transfer and that are accepted by all institutions for transfer purposes;]
C. "general education core curriculum" means the group of lower-division courses approved by the department as fulfilling general education requirements;
[E.] D. "institution" means an accredited, public post-secondary educational institution operating in the state; [and
F. "module" or "transfer module" means a standardized list of courses established by the department for which credit is accepted for transfer from one institution to another.]
E. "meta-major" means fifteen credits of lower- division courses that are established by the department and that include general education courses and prerequisite courses and that can articulate to multiple degree programs;
F. "transfer" means the transfer of course credits from one institution to another; and
G. "transfer module" means a list of lower-division courses established by the department that fulfill graduation requirements for a specific degree program."
SECTION 2. Section 21-1B-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1995, Chapter 224, Section 3, as amended) is amended to read:
"21-1B-3. ARTICULATION PLAN--DEVELOPMENT-- IMPLEMENTATION--ESTABLISHMENT OF META-MAJOR AND TRANSFER MODULE.--
A. The department shall establish and maintain a comprehensive statewide plan to provide for the articulation of educational programs and facilitate the transfer of [students] course credits between institutions.
B. In establishing a statewide articulation plan, the department shall:
(1) by August 1, 2017, establish a common course naming and numbering system for courses identified as substantially equivalent lower-division courses; provided that the department shall establish an interim mechanism of a statewide equivalency table that uses a universal taxonomy to identify substantially equivalent courses until the common system is in place;
(2) establish a process to identify courses as substantially equivalent. The process shall:
(a) include a procedure for each course whereby faculty members from each segment teaching the academic discipline will reach mutual agreement on the material to be taught and the competencies to be gained;
(b) ensure that the content of each course is comparable across institutions offering that course;
(c) ensure that substantially all the content agreed to among the institutions as the content to be covered by a course is in fact covered in that course and that students successfully completing the course will achieve like competencies with respect to the content covered; and
(d) ensure that the content requirements for each course will be sufficient to prepare students for upper-division coursework in that field; [and]
(3) [define, publish and] maintain [modules] a list of lower-division courses [accepted for transfer at all institutions and meeting requirements for lower-division requirements established for associate and baccalaureate degree-granting programs] offered at higher education institutions in New Mexico. All courses assigned the same number shall transfer between institutions as that course name and number; and
(4) develop a process for reviewing, updating and maintaining the common course numbering system.
C. The department shall [ensure that institutions develop transfer modules that include approximately sixty-four hours of lower-division college-level credit.
D. Transfer modules shall include a common general education core component of not less than thirty-five semester hours. This general education core shall include a comprehensive array of lower-division college-level courses designed to demonstrate skills in communication, mathematics, science, social and behavioral science, humanities, fine arts or comparable areas of study coordinated for the purpose of providing a foundation for a liberal education for all programs normally leading to a baccalaureate degree. The general education core shall transfer as a block and count as required lower-division coursework toward a degree, and any course in the core shall be transferable and shall count as credit hours toward fulfilling an institution's general education core requirements.
E. Any course in the general education core may be offered for dual credit to secondary school students and, upon successful completion, the course shall be transferable to any institution and shall count as fulfilling a required lower-division course.
F. A discipline module shall consist of an agreed-upon number of hours and courses, including the general education core, of approximately sixty-four hours applicable to the discipline and any course within the discipline module is transferable and shall count toward fulfilling degree requirements at a four-year institution] facilitate the development and approval of statewide meta-majors.
D. The department, in consultation with faculty, shall develop a statewide general education core curriculum of not less than fifteen hours for an associate in applied science degree, twenty-four hours for an associate in arts or associate in science degree and thirty hours for a bachelor of arts or bachelor of science degree. The statewide general education core curriculum shall include a comprehensive array of lower-division college-level courses designed to provide a foundation for a liberal education. The department shall develop a process for maintaining and updating the statewide general education core curriculum. The department shall review and approve proposed statewide general education core curriculum requirements. For every institution, each approved course in the general education core curriculum shall be transferable, and its credit hours shall count toward fulfilling general education core curriculum requirements at any institution to which they are transferred."
SECTION 3. Section 21-1B-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1995, Chapter 224, Section 4, as amended) is amended to read:
"21-1B-4. [USE OF TRANSFER MODULE] TRANSFER OF CREDITS.--
A. [Each] Courses that have a New Mexico common course number shall be accepted as the equivalent courses offered at the receiving institution [shall accept for transfer course credits earned by a student at any other institution that are included in a transfer module. Transfer credits shall be accepted to meet lower-division graduation requirements of an institution's degree-granting programs. This provision also applies to any course that is part of a transfer module].
B. Courses taken as part of an approved meta-major or transfer module shall be accepted to meet lower-division graduation requirements of a degree-granting program to which the meta-major or transfer module articulates.
[B.] C. An institution shall not increase requirements for degree-granting programs as a result of the use of a meta-major or transfer module or acceptance of a course that is part of a meta-major or transfer module. An institution may specify additional lower-division or upper-division requirements not included in a [discipline] meta-major or transfer module for one or more programs of study; provided that those requirements apply equally to transfer students and students originating their study at the institution.
[C. Each institution shall accept completed transfer modules in total as a block and shall count the modules, whether they are the general education core or a specific discipline module, as fulfilling required lower-division coursework. Upon transfer of a completed discipline module, a student shall be granted admission to the upper-division program, except in limited access programs.]"
SECTION 4. Section 21-1B-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1995, Chapter 224, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read:
"21-1B-5. OVERSIGHT OF ARTICULATION PROGRAMS--COMPLAINT PROCEDURES.--
A. The [commission] department shall establish and maintain a process to monitor and improve articulation through frequent and systematic consultation with institutions. [Institutions shall monitor the progress of each transfer student and provide appropriate information to the student's originating institution.]
B. The [commission] department shall establish a complaint procedure for transfer students who fail to receive credit for courses that have a common course number or are contained in [a] an approved meta-major or transfer module taken at another institution. The [commission] department may set standards for determining bona fide complaints, including a requirement that students follow institutions' internal procedures for resolving complaints prior to submitting them to the [commission] department. The [commission] department shall investigate all articulation complaints and render decisions as to the appropriateness of the actions of the participants.
C. Prior to December 31 of each year, the [commission] department shall summarize all articulation complaints filed with the [commission] department and the decisions of the [commission] department with regard to those complaints. [For those complaints for which the commission finds merit, the commission shall calculate the number of credits refused at the receiving institution and recommend a corresponding reduction of legislative funding to the next session of the legislature.]
D. [When a module becomes effective as provided in Subsection F of Section 21-1B-6 NMSA 1978] If a student's articulation complaint regarding commonly numbered courses or courses contained in a meta-major or transfer module is upheld, the receiving institution shall reimburse the student the complete cost, including tuition, books and fees, of each course the student was required to repeat at the receiving institution."
SECTION 5. Section 21-1B-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1995, Chapter 224, Section 6, as amended) is amended to read:
"21-1B-6. REPORTING.--
A. Prior to December 31 of each year, the [commission] department shall report to the legislative finance committee [the legislative education study committee] and the governor regarding the status of articulation programs and the transfer of students between institutions.
B. The report developed by the [commission] department shall include the statewide meta-major and transfer modules available, an analysis of the number of students transferring between [campuses, the number of credits being requested and accepted for transfer, institutions denying transfer of credits and reasons for denial] New Mexico's higher education institutions, the [progress] graduation rates and time to earn degrees of transfer students at receiving institutions, the average number of credit hours earned by graduating transfer students compared to the average number of credit hours earned by graduates who originated at the institution and a summary of student complaints regarding articulation. The report shall include data and other information obtained on both a statewide and individual institution basis.
C. The report shall look at outcomes with regard to such factors as transfer rates, persistence rates after transfer and graduation rates.
D. The report shall identify each institution against which a meritorious complaint has been filed. The report shall summarize the recommendations of the [commission] department with regard to those complaints.
E. All institutions shall provide articulation information required by the [commission] department for the development of the annual report prior to September 30 of each year.
[F. The general education core, the discipline module for business and early childhood education and the common course numbering and naming system for all courses in those modules shall be effective by spring semester 2006, and the printed materials of all institutions shall conform to the system by fall 2006. A minimum of three additional discipline modules shall be effective not later than fall semester 2007 and an additional three discipline modules by fall semester 2008.]"
SECTION 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2017.
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