SECTION 9.73. General Provisions

(a) State funding shall be provided for lower-division academic courses at public community colleges, public technical colleges, or public state colleges if such courses:

(1) are approved for inclusion in the Lower-Division Academic Course Guide Manual (ACGM);

(2) have been reviewed and approved by Board staff in accordance with the criteria for unique need courses; and

(3) are consistent with the Texas Common Course Numbering System (TCCNS).

(b) An advisory committee established by, and in accordance with, Board rules Chapter 1, Subchapter P, §§1.192 - 1.198 of this title (relating to Lower-Division Academic Course Guide Manual Advisory Committee), shall recommend to the Board appropriate courses to be added to, revised, or deleted from the ACGM, as well as their proper assignment of Texas common course numbers. The Coordinating Board staff shall provide the committee with information regarding course enrollments, frequency of offerings, transferability, and other relevant information for the purpose of considering revisions to the ACGM.

(c) Procedures for revising the ACGM.

(1) Addition of courses. A new course may be approved by Board staff for inclusion in the ACGM if there is sufficient documented need for the course. In order to make recommendations to Board staff on course additions, the ACGM advisory committee may consider the following information:

(A) Unique need approval history. The unique need course has been offered frequently for three or more years with adequate enrollments;

(B) A course to be added to the ACGM must either satisfy a discipline-specific requirement in the major, or satisfy a prerequisite requirement of the major, of a baccalaureate program at five or more Texas public universities;

(C) Frequency of similar course offerings at the lower-division level at Texas public universities;

(D) Letters of support from five or more community colleges, public technical colleges, or public state colleges indicating those colleges would utilize the course if it was added to the ACGM;

(E) Course descriptions and learning outcomes;

(F) Application to the TCCNS. Approval may be contingent upon the assignment of a common course number;

(G) Information provided from appropriate academic, professional, credentialing or accrediting organizations; and

(H) Other information provided by Coordinating Board Staff.

(2) Deletion of courses. Courses offered by three or fewer community colleges, public technical colleges, or public state colleges during the previous academic year, or courses which have been rendered obsolete by changes in the discipline, will be reviewed by the committee for deletion unless other factors indicate a need to retain such courses.

(3) Revisions to courses in the ACGM may be considered upon request of a sponsoring institution; by information provided from appropriate academic, professional, credentialing or accrediting organizations; or by Board staff.

(4) Courses in a Board-approved field of study curriculum as outlined under §4.32 of this title (relating to Field of Study Curricula), or a statewide transfer compact shall automatically be added to the ACGM.

Source Note: The provisions of this §9.73 adopted to be effective May 25, 2004, 29 TexReg 5067; amended to be effective November 29, 2011, 36 TexReg 8013; amended to be effective December 2, 2013, 38 TexReg 8667