SECTION 4.36. Evaluation of Field of Study Curricula

(a) Every five years, following the same timetable as the regular accreditation reports sent to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges or its successor, each public institution of higher education shall review and evaluate its policies and practices regarding the acceptance and application of credit earned as part of a Board-approved Field of Study Curriculum, and report the results of that evaluation to the Board. The evaluation should include:

(1) the extent to which the institution's compliance with the acceptance of transfer credit through Field of Study Curricula is being achieved;

(2) the extent to which the institution's application to the appropriate degree program of credit earned as part of a Board-approved Field of Study Curriculum facilitates academic success; and

(3) the effectiveness of Field of Study Curricula in the retention and graduation of transfer students in those degree programs that have Board-approved Field of Study Curricula.

(b) Each institution's evaluation report must contain at least the following:

(1) a listing of the institution's degree programs or tracks that have Board-approved Field of Study Curricula;

(2) a description of the institution's policies and practices regarding applicable Board-approved field of study curricula, including admission-point evaluation of transfer credit, advising practices (including catalogue and website information on existing Field of Study Curricula and advising/counseling practices for enrolled students), and transcripting practices to show Field of Study Curriculum participation and completion; and

(3) a chart or table showing the number of total transfer students for each degree program that has a Board-approved Field of Study Curriculum, for each of the last five years; the chart should indicate year-by-year the percentage of students who transferred having completed the applicable Field of Study Curriculum, the percentage of students who transferred without having completed the applicable Field of Study Curriculum, and any information about progress toward graduation or graduation rates that can compare transfer student performance with non-transfer student performance during the evaluation period.

(c) The Texas Transfer Advisory Committee shall review all Field of Study Curricula approved on or after March 1, 2021, every four years from their date of Board approval. In developing a schedule of review as set out in Chapter 1, Subchapter V, §1.239, the Texas Transfer Advisory Committee shall consider reasonable factors, including prioritizing development of frameworks in high enrollment and high need disciplines. The Texas Transfer Advisory Committee may review a Field of Study Curricula more frequently if the Commissioner or Texas Transfer Advisory Committee identifies a need, including but not limited to, discipline changes of subject matter content, emerging and/or changing technologies or business/industry standards, changes in credentialing and/licensure requirements, or changes in programmatic accreditation.

Source Note: The provisions of this §4.36 adopted to be effective April 8, 2021, 46 TexReg 2209