G/PPS 02.07 - Transfer Partnership: Memorandums of Understanding, Articulation Agreements, and Transfer Planning Guides

POLICY STATEMENT

Texas State University is committed to maintaining a well-designed, effective process for developing and implementing articulation agreements, transfer planning guides, and reverse transfer processes with lower-division institutions.

1. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

   1. Texas State University recognizes the importance of transfer students in the state higher education system and makes efforts to recruit, retain, and graduate them. This policy summarizes the key elements of these efforts and processes to facilitate articulated transfer coursework.

   2. Texas State will evaluate credits accepted for transfer in terms of level, content, quality, comparability, and degree program relevance, as required by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). This policy is aligned with the Transfer of Academic Credit Policy that expects universities “to review their transfer policies and procedures with a view toward making transfer of credit easier for students while continuing to honor their obligation to maintain academic quality and integrity.”

      Refer to G/PPS No. 02.06, Transfer and Award of Undergraduate Academic Credit, to review Texas State’s policy for evaluating and awarding undergraduate transfer credit.

   3. Texas State will comply with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s (THECB) Transfer of Credit, Core Curriculum and Field of Study Curricula Texas Administrative Code that states: “All successfully completed lower-division academic courses that are identified by the Texas Common Course Numbering System (TCCNS) and published in the Lower Division Academic Course Guide Manual (ACGM) shall be fully transferable among public institutions and shall be substituted for the equivalent course at the receiving institution. Except in the case of courses belonging to a Board-approved Field of Study Curriculum (FOSC), the receiving institution determines applicability of transferred courses to requirements for specific degree programs.”

   4. In 2011, the Texas Legislature established a reverse transfer program, as defined in Texas Education Code, Section 2, Subchapter S, Chapter 61, paragraphs 61.833 (b) and (c), that applies to each student who, no earlier than the 2011 fall semester, transfers to Texas State from or previously attended a lower-division institution of higher education. Transfer students at Texas State who earned at least 30 semester credit hours of coursework at the lower-division institution and a cumulative total of at least 66 semester credit hours for coursework successfully completed, may be considered for an associate’s degree. As soon as the student has met the above criteria, Texas State shall release the student’s transcript to the lower-division institution, which determines if the student has earned the credits required to receive an associate’s degree awarded by the lower-division institution.

2. DEFINITIONS

   1. Articulation Agreement – per Texas Education Code, Title 3, Subtitle A, Chapter 51, Section 51.96853, an articulation agreement is a formal written agreement between a lower-division institution of higher education and a general academic teaching institution identifying courses offered by the lower-division institution that must be accepted for credit toward specific course requirements at the general academic teaching institution. At Texas State, this is an officially approved agreement that is executed at the departmental level.

   2. Field of Study (FOS) – an official block of major program courses that are required by law to be accepted by the major program. These are lower division courses.

   3. Lower-Division Institutions – a public junior college, public state college, or public technical institutions.

   4. Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) – an officially-approved agreement that is executed at the institutional level to develop a partnership between Texas State and a lower-division institution. The MOU constitutes a broad range of initiatives at the university level. MOUs are developed at the discretion of the provost and vice president for Academic Affairs (provost) and the president, and if deemed appropriate, can be executed in a formal signing ceremony. Departments may initiate amendments to existing MOUs in the form of articulation agreements.

   5. Transfer Planning Guides – programmatic-level documents that outline:

      1. course equivalencies such as the course-by-course patterns for articulated transfer work and the Texas FOS courses;

      2. undergraduate admission requirements with contact information for advising centers and undergraduate admissions;

      3. program application deadlines and admission requirements (e.g., grade point averages, minimum hours, prerequisite courses, test scores, auditions, etc.); and

      4. the Texas general education core curriculum and degree plan requirements including prerequisites, co-requisites, specialized core curriculum courses, and depending on the major, sequencing.

      Transfer planning guides exist for all majors. Transfer planning guides are designed to show how equivalent coursework can help students efficiently plan their transfer to Texas State by taking the necessary courses at a lower-division institution that may transfer for credit toward an undergraduate degree program of their choice at Texas State. These guides contain lower-level degree requirements as listed by the TCCNS equivalent.

   6. Reverse Transfer – ensure that credits earned while a student is working toward a baccalaureate degree at Texas State are sent back to the student’s former lower-division institution to be assessed in fulfillment of associate degree requirements.

3. DEVELOPMENT OF MOUS, ARTICULATION AGREEMENTS, AND TRANSFER PLANNING GUIDES

   1. Interest in establishing an MOU or articulation agreements may originate from the lower-division institution, from Texas State, from professional associations, or from external grants.

      MOUs are usually developed because officials desire a formal document that demonstrates a partnership between the lower-division institutions and Texas State to assist the state in meeting goals for student recruitment, retention, and success. MOUs should not be developed to cover standard business operations.

   2. Articulation agreements are typically initiated by academic departments to ensure that lower-division credits from a specified institution transfer and apply to a specified degree plan. Articulation agreements are initially reviewed by the assistant vice provost for Academic Advising and Transitions to ensure that the appropriate Advising Centers are apprised of any developments in transfer policy. Upon notice of any new departmental transfer agreement, Undergraduate Admissions will enter the guidelines into the appropriate transfer catalog and apply specific credits to all applicants from the sending institutions. In the case of specific courses that are not applicable to all applicants from a sending institution, the articulation agreement should state students need to meet with an academic advisor for the course to apply toward degree requirements. After receipt of an executed Articulation Agreement from the associate vice president of Enrollment Management, the assistant vice provost for Academic Advising and Transitions will distribute final articulation agreements to advising centers.

   3. Transfer planning guides are developed and maintained because:

      1. they facilitate the timely earning of bachelor’s degrees at Texas State for transfer students and high school students enrolled in dual credit course work;

      2. they reduce student confusion and promote greater transparency regarding credit transfer and applicability to degree programs at Texas State from a lower-division institution;

      3. there are degree programs that are sequenced or have additional admission requirements that require careful planning to ensure timely graduation from Texas State;

      4. they prevent transfer students from taking unnecessary or duplicative course work and expending time and financial resources;

      5. they are an essential component to Texas State’s MOU, Articulation Agreements, and transfer partnerships;

      6. there is a strategic interest to maximize course transfer and enrollments in identified high needs areas for the state of Texas; and

      7. they reflect the faculty-developed degree plans in the catalog.

4. PROCEDURES AND APPROVALS

   1. If an MOU is desired, the initial request, justification, and draft MOU, if available, should be submitted to the associate vice president for Enrollment Management. If an MOU is deemed appropriate, the provost will consult with the president for final approval. MOUs must be signed by the provost. If the agreement is approved, a formal signing of the agreement is arranged. If so desired by the provost and the president, a signing ceremony may be arranged, or the signing may be handled through the mail.

   2. If a program-level articulation agreement is desired, the initial request, justification, and draft agreement should be routed through the department or school and the chair or director (deans must be copied on this agreement) and submitted to the associate vice president for Enrollment Management. The associate vice president for Enrollment Management will work with the assistant vice provost for Academic Advising and Transitions to ensure advising centers are apprised to the developing agreement and consulted for potential issues with the degree audit, graduation requirements, and course sequencing. The articulation agreement will then be sent to the dean for approval. Once approved by the dean, a copy will be provided to the provost and to Undergraduate Admissions to update the transfer catalog of the sending institution.

   3. Transfer MOUs, Articulation Agreements, and Partnerships will be documented in an online repository on the Transfer Center website. The following materials will be used to develop new and update existing transfer planning guides:

      1. current undergraduate catalogs (Texas State’s included), degree plans, and websites for the lower-division institution;

      2. Texas general education core curriculum and the Texas Core Webcenter;

      3. Texas field of study;

      4. transfer course equivalencies;

      5. TCCNS;

      6. samples of completed transfer planning guides from the same academic discipline; and

      7. DegreeWorks.

   4. The Curriculum Specialist in the Department of Curriculum Services will generate and distribute Transfer Planning Guides to the assistant vice provost for Academic Advising and Transitions in June. The Transfer Center will then review, add any necessary information, and organize the Transfer Planning Guides to prepare them for final review. Transfer Planning Guides will then be sent to the Advising Directors for final approval. Approved Transfer Planning Guides will be sent to the assistant director of Marketing and Communications in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions to post to the Admissions website, no later than August 1.

5. PROCEDURE FOR REGULAR REVIEWS

   1. Every MOU and articulation agreement will be reviewed by the director of Transfer Initiatives to evaluate whether they reflect current policies and practices. The associate vice president of Enrollment Management will initiate MOU renewals. A department will initiate articulation agreement renewals. Transfer planning guides will be reviewed annually. Reverse transfer processes will be reviewed and executed by the Office of the University Registrar at the end of each term.

6. REVIEWERS OF THIS PPS

   1. Reviewers of this PPS include the following:

      Position	Date
      Director, Undergraduate Admissions	April 1 E2Y
      Assistant Vice President, Curriculum and Academic Programs	April 1 E2Y
      University Registrar	April 1 E2Y

7. CERTIFICATION STATEMENT

   This PPS has been approved by the following individuals in their official capacities and represents Texas State Global policy and procedure from the date of this document until superseded.

   Director, Undergraduate Admissions; senior reviewer of this PPS

   Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management

   Vice President for TXST Global