SECTION 9.1. Definitions

The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

(1) Academic associate degree--An associate degree that will satisfy the lower-division requirements for a baccalaureate degree in a specific discipline.

(2) Academic courses--Semester credit courses included or allowed under the provisions of the Lower-Division Academic Course Guide Manual designed for college transfer to institutions of higher education in completion of associate and baccalaureate degree programs.

(3) Applied associate degree--An associate degree intended to lead directly to employment following graduation and may satisfy the lower-division requirements for a baccalaureate degree in a specific discipline.

(4) Associate degree program--A grouping of courses designed to lead the individual directly to employment in a specific career or to transfer to an upper-level baccalaureate program. This specifically refers to the associate of arts (AA), associate of science (AS), associate of applied arts (AAA), associate of applied science (AAS), and the associate of occupational studies (AOS) degrees. The term "applied" in an associate degree name indicates a program designed to qualify students for immediate employment.

(5) Career Technical/Workforce program--An applied associate degree program or a certificate program for which semester credit hours, quarter credit hours, or continuing education units are awarded and which is intended to prepare students for immediate employment or a job upgrade in a specific occupation.

(6) Board or Coordinating Board--The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

(7) Certificate program--Workforce programs designed for entry-level employment or for upgrading skills and knowledge within an occupation. Certificate programs serve as building blocks and exit points for AAS degree programs.

(8) Commissioner of Higher Education or Commissioner--The chief executive officer of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

(9) Compelling Academic Reason--A justification for an associate's degree program consisting of more than 60 semester credit hours. Acceptable justifications may include, but are not limited to, programmatic accreditation requirements, statutory requirements, and requirements for licensure/certification of graduates.

(10) Concurrent course credit--See "Dual credit."

(11) Continuing education unit or CEU--Ten (10) contact hours of participation in an organized continuing education experience under responsible sponsorship, capable direction, and qualified instruction, as outlined in the Guidelines for Instructional Programs in Workforce Education.

(12) Contract instruction--Postsecondary workforce education and training in which specific instruction is provided by a public two-year college or a non-Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)-accredited organization to a contracting entity. This arrangement is utilized when conventional methodology or instructional systems are difficult or impossible to obtain.

(13) Contractual agreements--Agreements or contracts between public two-year colleges and one of the following:

(A) a non-SACSCOC-accredited organization, for postsecondary instructional services that could not be offered otherwise;

(B) a public secondary school, for instructional services that could not be offered otherwise; or

(C) another SACSCOC-accredited institution of higher education, whether public or independent.

(14) Developmental courses--Courses designed to correct academic deficiencies and bring students' skills to an appropriate level for entry into college.

(15) Distance education--Classes in which the majority of the instruction occurs when the student and instructor are not in the same physical setting. A class is considered a distance education class if students receive more than one-half of the instruction at a distance. Distance education can be delivered synchronously or asynchronously to any single or multiple location(s):

(A) other than the main campus of a senior institution (or "on campus"), where the primary office of the chief executive officer of the campus is located;

(B) outside the boundaries of the taxing authority of a community college district; or

(C) via instructional telecommunications to any other distance location, including electronic delivery of all types.

(16) Dual credit--A process by which a high school student enrolls in a college course and receives simultaneous academic credit for the course from both the college and the high school. While dual credit courses are often taught on the secondary school campus to high school students only, §4.84 of this title (relating to Institutional Agreements) and §4.85 of this title (relating to Dual Credit Requirements), also apply when a high school student takes a course on the college campus and receives both high school and college credit. Dual credit is also referred to as concurrent course credit; the terms are equivalent. However, dual (or concurrent) enrollment refers to a circumstance in which a student is enrolled in more than one educational institution (including a high school and a college).

(17) Governing board--The body charged with policy direction of any public community college district, the technical college system, public state college, public senior college or university, career school or college, or other educational agency including but not limited to boards of directors, boards of regents, boards of trustees, and independent school district boards.

(18) Governing board, Tech-Prep consortium--Consists at a minimum of representatives of each educational entity that participates in a Tech-Prep consortium which determines the policies and operations of the Tech-Prep consortium in accordance with its written by-laws and fiscal agency and personnel agreements. A representative may represent multiple entities as agreed upon by the participating consortium members.

(19) Guidelines for Instructional Programs in Workforce Education (GIPWE)--A Coordinating Board-approved publication containing policies and procedures related to the design, development, proposal, approval, operation, and evaluation of career technical/workforce education courses and programs for Texas public institutions of higher education and career schools and colleges.

(20) Independent institution of higher education--A private or independent college or university that is:

(A) organized under the Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act;

(B) exempt from taxation under Article V, §2, of the Texas Constitution and §501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; and

(C) accredited by the SACSCOC.

(21) Lower-Division Academic Course Guide Manual (ACGM)--A Coordinating Board-approved publication listing academic courses that public two-year colleges can teach and report for contact hour reimbursement from state appropriations without special approval from the Board.

(22) Public community college--Any public junior college or public community college as defined in Texas Education Code, §61.003 and §130.005, and whose role, mission, and purpose is outlined in Texas Education Code, §130.0011 and §130.003.

(23) Public two-year college--Any public junior college, public community college, public technical institute, or public state college as defined in Texas Education Code, §61.003.

(24) Related-instruction--Relates to §9.27 of this title (relating to Related-Instruction for Apprenticeship Programs), organized off-the-job classroom instruction in theoretical or technical subjects required for the completion of an apprenticeship program.

(25) Remedial and compensatory--All courses designated as developmental or remedial in the Lower-Division Academic Course Guide Manual. These courses are designed to address academic deficiencies and may not be offered for college degree credit.

(26) Remedial courses--Courses for high school students designed to correct academic deficiencies and bring students' skills to an appropriate level for graduation from high school.

(27) Voluntary statewide transfer compact--A set of courses, up to the level of an academic associate degree, that will satisfy the lower-division requirements of a baccalaureate degree in a specific discipline. A voluntary statewide transfer compact must:

(A) have the same rigor and content as the equivalent course work in the baccalaureate program offered at a general academic teaching institution;

(B) minimize the time and course work required to complete a baccalaureate degree;

(C) be consistent with the common course numbering system approved by the Board and the recommendations and rules of the Board; and

(D) include only course work directly applicable to the requirements of the baccalaureate degree program(s) with which it is associated.

(28) Technical courses or programs--Workforce education courses or programs for which semester/quarter credit hours are awarded.

(29) Tech-Prep consortium--A collaboration of educational entities and, at local option, employer and labor organizations, and universities defined in the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006, as amended, and the Texas Education Code, Chapter 61, Subchapter T, Tech-Prep Education, which work together to implement a tech-prep program.

(30) Unique need academic course--An academic course created by a two-year college to meet a specific lower-division requirement of a baccalaureate degree program that cannot be met by an existing course in the Lower Division Academic Course Guide Manual.

(31) Workforce continuing education course--A course offered for continuing education units (CEUs) with an occupationally specific objective and supported by state funding. A career technical/workforce continuing education course differs from a community service course offered for recreational or a vocational purposes and is not supported by state funding.

(32) Workforce education--Career technical/workforce courses and programs for which semester/quarter credit hours and/or continuing education units are awarded. Career technical/workforce education courses and programs prepare students for immediate employment or job upgrade within specific occupational categories.

(33) Workforce Education Course Manual (WECM)--An online database composed of the Coordinating Board's official statewide inventory of career technical/workforce education courses available for two-year public colleges to use in certificate and associate degree programs.

Source Note: The provisions of this §9.1 adopted to be effective May 25, 2004, 29 TexReg 5065; amended to be effective November 25, 2009, 34 TexReg 8322; amended to be effective May 24, 2011, 36 TexReg 3185; amended to be effective November 29, 2011, 36 TexReg 8013; amended to be effective November 24, 2013, 38 TexReg 8437; amended to be effective September 4, 2014, 39 TexReg 6845