(A) Each academic associate degree program shall contain
a general education component consisting of at least twenty (20) semester
credit hours or thirty (30) quarter credit hours. Each applied associate
degree program shall contain a general education component of at least
fifteen (15) semester credit hours or twenty-three (23) quarter credit
hours. Each baccalaureate degree program shall contain a general education
component consisting of at least twenty-five (25) percent of the total
hours required for graduation from the program.
(B) This component shall be drawn from each of the
following areas: Humanities and Fine Arts, Social and Behavioral Sciences,
and Natural Sciences and Mathematics. It shall include courses to
develop skills in written and oral communication and basic computer
instruction.
(C) The applicant institution may arrange to have all
or part of the general education component taught by another institution,
provided that:
(i) the applicant institution's faculty shall design
the general education requirement;
(ii) there shall be a written agreement between the
institutions specifying the applicant institution's general education
requirements and the manner in which they will be met by the providing
institution; and
(iii) the providing institution shall be accredited
by a Board-recognized accrediting agency or hold a Certificate of
Authority.
(16) Credit for Work Completed Outside a Collegiate
Setting.
(A) An institution awarding collegiate credit for work
completed outside a collegiate setting (outside a degree-granting
institution accredited by a recognized agency) shall establish and
adhere to a systematic method for evaluating that work, shall award
credit only in course content which falls within the authorized degree
programs of the institution or, if by evaluative examination, falls
within the standards for awarding credit by exam used by public universities
in Texas, in an appropriate manner shall relate the credit to the
student's current educational goals, and shall subject the institution's
process and procedures for evaluating work completed outside a collegiate
setting to ongoing review and evaluation by the institution's teaching
faculty. To these ends, recognized evaluative examinations such as
the Advanced Placement program (AP) or the College Level Examination
Program (CLEP) may be used.
(B) No more than one half of the credit applied toward
a student's associate or baccalaureate degree program may be based
on work completed outside a collegiate setting. Those credits must
be validated in the manner set forth in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.
No more than fifteen (15) semester credit hours or twenty-three (23)
quarter credit hours of that credit may be awarded by means other
than recognized evaluative examinations. No graduate credit for work
completed outside a collegiate setting may be awarded. In no instance
may credit be awarded for life experience per se or merely for years
of service in a position or job.
(17) Learning Resources. The institution shall maintain
and ensure that students have access to learning resources with a
collection of books, educational material and publications, on-line
materials and other resources and with staff, services, equipment,
and facilities that are adequate and appropriate for the purposes
and enrollment of the institution. Learning resources shall be current,
well distributed among fields in which the institution offers instructions,
cataloged, logically organized, and readily located. The institution
shall maintain a continuous plan for learning resources development
and support, including objectives and selections of materials. Current
and formal written agreements with other institutions or with other
entities may be used. Institutions offering graduate work shall provide
access to learning resources that include basic reference and bibliographic
works and major journals in each discipline in which the graduate
program is offered. Applied associate degree programs shall provide
adequate and appropriate resources for completion of course work.
(18) Facilities. The institution shall have adequate
space, equipment, and instructional materials to provide education
of good quality. Student housing owned, maintained, or approved by
the institution, if any, shall be appropriate, safe, adequate, and
in compliance with applicable state and local requirements.
(19) Academic Records. Adequate records of each student's
academic performance shall be securely and permanently maintained
by the institution.
(A) The records for each student shall contain:
(i) student contact and identification information,
including address and telephone number;
(ii) records of admission documents, such as high school
diploma or GED (if undergraduate) or undergraduate degree (if graduate);
(iii) records of all courses attempted, including grade;
completion status of the student, including the diploma, degree or
award conferred to the student, designation of the major course of
study; and
(iv) any other information typically contained in academic
records.
(B) Two copies of said records shall be maintained
in separate secure places. Records of students who are no longer enrolled
at the institution for any reason, including graduation, must be maintained
in accordance with §7.15 of this chapter (Academic Records Maintenance,
Protection, and Repository of Last Resort).
(C) Students in good standing will be provided transcripts
upon request, subject to the institution's obligation, if any, to
cooperate with the rules and regulations governing state and federally
guaranteed student loans.
(20) Accurate and Fair Representation in Publications,
Advertising, and Promotion.
(A) Neither the institution nor its agents or other
representatives shall engage in advertising, recruiting, sales, collection,
financial credit, or other practices of any type which are false,
deceptive, misleading, or unfair. Likewise, all publications, by any
medium, shall accurately and fairly represent the institution, its
programs, available resources, tuition and fees, and requirements.
(B) The institution shall provide students, prospective
students prior to enrollment, and other interested persons with a
printed or electronically published catalog. Institutions relying
on electronic catalogs must ensure the availability of archived editions
in order to serve the needs of alumni and returning students. The
catalog must contain, at minimum, the following information:
(i) the institution's mission;
(ii) a statement of admissions policies;
(iii) information describing the purpose, length, and
objectives of the program or programs offered by the institution;
(iv) the schedule of tuition, fees, and all other charges
and expenses necessary for completion of the course of study;
(v) cancellation and refund policies;
(vi) a definition of the unit of credit as it applies
at the institution;
(vii) an explanation of satisfactory progress as it
applies at the institution, including an explanation of the grading
or marking system;
(viii) the institution's calendar, including the beginning
and ending dates for each instructional term, holidays, and registration
dates;
(ix) a complete listing of each regularly employed
faculty member showing name, area of assignment, rank, and each earned
degree held, including degree level, degree designation, and institution
that awarded the degree;
(x) a complete listing of each administrator showing
name, title, area of assignment, and each earned degree held, including
degree level, degree designation, and institution that awarded the
degree;
(xi) a statement of legal control with the names of
the trustees, directors, and officers of the corporation;
(xii) a complete listing of all scholarships offered,
if any;
(xiii) a statement describing the nature and extent
of available student services;
(xiv) complete and clearly stated information about
the transferability of credit to other postsecondary institutions
including two-year and four-year colleges and universities;
(xv) any such other material facts concerning the institution
and the program or course of instruction as are reasonably likely
to affect the decision of the student to enroll therein; and
(xvi) any disclosures specified by the Board or defined
in Board rules.
(C) The institution shall adopt, publish, and adhere
to a fair and equitable cancellation and refund policy.
(D) The institution shall provide to each prospective
student, newly-enrolled student, and returning student, complete and
clearly presented information indicating the institution's current
graduation rate by program and, if required by the Board, job placement
rate by program for applied associate degree programs.
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