AN ACT
RELATING TO HIGHER EDUCATION ARTICULATION; REQUIRING A COMMON COURSE NAME AND NUMBERING SYSTEM FOR LOWER-DIVISION COURSES IN PUBLIC POST-SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS; REQUIRING ACCEPTANCE OF TRANSFER MODULES; REQUIRING INSTITUTIONS TO REIMBURSE STUDENTS FOR COSTS OF COURSES NOT ACCEPTED FOR TRANSFER; REQUIRING REPORTS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. Section 21-1B-1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1995, Chapter 224, Section 1) is amended to read:
"21-1B-1. SHORT TITLE.--Chapter 21, Article 1B NMSA 1978 may be cited as the "Post-Secondary Education Articulation Act"."
Section 2. Section 21-1B-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1995, Chapter 224, Section 2) 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;
B. "commission" means the commission on higher education;
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 commission for transfer and that are accepted by all institutions for transfer purposes;
E. "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 commission for which credit is accepted for transfer from one institution to another."
Section 3. Section 21-1B-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1995, Chapter 224, Section 3) is amended to read:
"21-1B-3. ARTICULATION PLAN--DEVELOPMENT-- IMPLEMENTATION--ESTABLISHMENT OF TRANSFER MODULE.--
A. The commission shall establish and maintain a comprehensive statewide plan to provide for the articulation of educational programs and facilitate the transfer of students between institutions.
B. In establishing a statewide articulation plan, the commission shall:
(1) establish a common course naming and numbering system for courses identified as substantially equivalent lower-division courses; provided that the commission 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 course work in that field; and
(3) define, publish and maintain modules 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.
C. The commission 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."
Section 4. Section 21-1B-4 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1995, Chapter 224, Section 4) is amended to read:
"21-1B-4. USE OF TRANSFER MODULE--TRANSFER OF CREDITS.--
A. Each 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. An institution shall not increase requirements for degree-granting programs as a result of the use of a transfer module or acceptance of a course that is part of a transfer module. An institution may specify additional lower-division or upper-division requirements not included in a discipline 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 5. Section 21-1B-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1995, Chapter 224, Section 5) is amended to read:
"21-1B-5. OVERSIGHT OF ARTICULATION PROGRAMS--COMPLAINT PROCEDURES.--
A. The commission 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 shall establish a complaint procedure for transfer students who fail to receive credit for courses contained in a transfer module taken at another institution. The commission 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. The commission 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 shall summarize all articulation complaints filed with the commission and the decisions of the commission 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 courses contained in a 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 6. A new section of the Post-Secondary Education Articulation Act is enacted to read:
"ARTICULATION COMPLAINT PROCESS--NOTIFICATION.--The receiving institution shall publish in the student handbook or otherwise notify transfer students of the complaint process to be followed in the event that a transfer module course is not accepted for credit. The notification shall include the remedy available to the student if the complaint is upheld."
Section 7. Section 21-1B-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1995, Chapter 224, Section 6) is amended to read:
"21-1B-6. REPORTING.--
A. Prior to December 31 of each year, the commission 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 shall include 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, the progress 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 with regard to those complaints.
E. All institutions shall provide articulation information required by the commission 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."