The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board adopts an amendment to §4.28(d), (j) and (k), concerning core curriculum implementation, with changes to the proposed text as published in the May 26, 2006, issue of the Texas Register (31 TexReg 4310).

Specifically, the amendments to subsection (d) would provide clarification to institutions of higher education regarding the institutional core curriculum a student must follow. The new subsections (j) and (k) would provide clarification to institutions of higher education regarding the specific prohibition of institutional representatives allowing exemptions or waivers for any core curriculum course or component area requirements. It would also establish a limited procedure for Board staff to approve certain accommodations to the core curriculum requirements at a specific institution on a case-by-case basis. Several institutions have indicated that there is confusion about how to determine whether a student is a "degree-seeking" student. The proposed amendment to subsection (d) clarifies an existing rule and provides guidance to institutions as they develop policies about identifying enrolled students as "degree-seeking." The addition of subsections (j) and (k) will ensure consistency and quality in the implementation of core curricula at the diverse institutions of higher education in Texas. Since 1997, institutional decisions regarding substitutions and/or waivers of core curriculum requirements have been discouraged as a matter of policy. These clarifications and the establishment of a procedure for requesting an accommodation to an institution's core curriculum should reflect consistency and fairness while protecting the integrity of the exemplary educational outcomes for each component area of the core curriculum. The matter of waivers or exemptions to the core curriculum is not specifically addressed in the statutory requirement concerning the statewide transfer of undergraduate core curriculum, but the matter is frequently brought to Board staff by institutional representatives requesting clarification and guidance.

The following comments were received regarding the amendments:

Comment: North Harris Montgomery County College District commented that subsection (j) might be interpreted to exclude the application of incoming transfer credit from independent or out-of-state institutions to fulfillment of the core curriculum.

Response: As a result of this comment, subsection (j) was changed to clarify core curriculum requirements.

Comment: Texas Association of Community Colleges commented that administrators at colleges should be able to authorize course substitutions, citing specifically that transfer students from out-of-state institutions need to be accommodated in the application of their courses earned outside the Texas public university system of higher education to completion of core curriculum requirements.

Response: Because administrators or faculty at any public higher education institution have never been authorized to make course substitutions or waive core curriculum requirements for students already enrolled at their institutions, and because that modification addresses the specific concern addressed in each comment, no changes were made as a result of this comment.

The amendments are adopted under the Texas Education Code, §61.827, which provides the Coordinating Board with the authority to adopt rules to implement the subchapter regarding core curriculum and other transfer curricula.