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All lower-division academic courses shall be fully transferable among public institutions in Texas. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board rules (Texas Administrative Code, Title 19, Part 1, Chapter 4, Subchapter B, Rule 4.25) state:
Requirements and Limitations
- Each institution of higher education shall identify in its undergraduate catalog each lower-division course that is substantially equivalent to an academic course listed in the current edition of the Lower-Division Academic Course Guide Manual.
- Each institution of higher education that offers lower-division courses must offer at least 45 semester credit hours of academic courses that are substantially equivalent to courses listed in the Lower Division Academic Course Guide Manual including those that fulfill the lower-division portion of the institution’s core curriculum.
- Each institution of higher education must accept for credit successfully completed courses identified in the first two bullets above as applicable to an associate or baccalaureate degree in the same manner as credit awarded to non-transfer students in that degree program.
- Each institution must accept the same number of lower-division semester credit hours from transfer students as required for non-transfer students in the same baccalaureate program; however,
- An institution is not required to accept in transfer more semester credit hours in the major area of a degree program than the number set out in any applicable Board-approved Field of Study Curriculum for that program.
- In any degree program for which there is no Board-approved Field of Study Curriculum, an institution is not required to accept more lower-division course credit in the major applicable to a baccalaureate degree than the institution allows their non-transfer students in that major.
- An institution of higher education is not required to transfer credit in courses in which the student earned a “D” in the student’s Field of Study Curriculum courses, Core Curriculum course, or major.
- Each institution of higher education in Texas that admits undergraduate transfer students shall provide support services appropriate to meet the needs of transfer students. These support services should be comparable to those provided to non-transfer students regularly enrolled at the institution, including an orientation program similar to that provided for entering freshman enrollees.
- An institution of higher education is not required to accept in transfer, or apply toward a degree program, more than sixty-six (66) semester credit hours of lower-division academic credit. Institutions of higher education, however, may choose to accept additional semester credit hours.
- Each institution of higher education shall permit a student who transfers from another Texas public institution of higher education to choose a catalog for the purpose of specifying graduation requirements, based upon the dates of attendance at the receiving institution and at the transferring institution, in the same manner that a non-transfer student may choose a catalog. Each Texas public institution of higher education shall include information about graduation requirements under a particular catalog in its official publications, including print and electronic catalogs.
Resolution of Transfer Disputes for Lower-Division Courses
The following procedures shall be followed by public institutions of higher education in the resolution of credit transfer disputes involving lower-division courses:
- If an institution of higher education does not accept course credit earned by a student at another institution of higher education, the receiving institution shall give written notice to the student and to the sending institution that it intends to deny the transfer of the course credit and shall include in that notice the reasons for the denial. The receiving institution must attach the procedures for resolution of transfer disputes for lower-division courses as outlined in this section of the notice. The notice and procedure must include:
- clear instructions for appealing the decision to the Commissioner; and
- the name and contact information for the designated official at the receiving institution who is authorized to resolve the credit transfer dispute.:
- A student who receives notice as specified in the first paragraph of this subsection may dispute the denial of credit by contacting a designated official at either the sending or the receiving institution.
- The two institutions and the student shall attempt to resolve the transfer of the course credit in accordance with this section.
- If the student or the sending institution is not satisfied with the resolution of the credit transfer dispute, the student or the sending institution may notify the Commissioner in writing of the request for the transfer dispute resolution. A receiving institution that denies course credit for transfer shall notify the Commissioner in writing of its denial and the reasons for the denial not later than the 45th day after the date the receiving institution provided the required notice of the transfer credit denial under subsection (a)(1) of this section.
The Commissioner or the Commissioner’s designee shall make the final determination about a credit transfer dispute and give written notice of the determination to the student and institutions. The decision is not a contested case. The Commissioner’s decision is final and may not be appealed.
If a receiving institution has cause to believe that a course being presented by a student for transfer from another institution is not of an acceptable level of quality, it should first contact the sending institution and attempt to resolve the problem. In the event that the two institutions are unable to come to a satisfactory resolution, the receiving institution may notify the Commissioner who may investigate the course. If its quality is found to be unacceptable, the Board may discontinue the funding for the course.
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