PETITION OF:

SECTION 1. Chapter 15A of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:

Section 42. As used in this section the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:-

"Career, technical or applied courses", courses usually offered as part of an associate degree curriculum designed to prepare students for entry level professions not for transfer to baccalaureate programs for advanced studies.

"Degree objective courses”, courses required for completion of a major in a subject area.

“Developmental or remedial courses”, courses typically consisting of reading, writing and math designed to prepare students for college-level courses and that are not

transferable.

"Equivalent courses", courses determined to have generally equivalent content and level as determined by the administration or faculty of an institution of higher education consistent with the policy at each institution.

“Foundation courses", courses required to be completed by students that provide an academic foundation for the degree, general education or advanced study in a major.

“Transfer and Articulation Oversight Committee”, the committee established under this section.

(a) Each public institution of higher education shall:

(1) Participate in the development and implementation of equivalency standards and equivalent courses under this section.

(2) Establish and maintain records and data detailing the credits transferred to and received from other public institutions of higher education as the board, in the case of the state and community colleges, or the board of trustees of the university of Massachusetts, in the case of the university of Massachusetts, may prescribe.

(3) Make any reasonable changes and modifications to its foundation courses, including the strengthening of the courses, to ensure equivalency of those credits among

the public institutions of higher education, as recommended by the Transfer and Articulation Oversight Committee.

(4) Agree to accept for transfer foundation courses determined to meet equivalency standards under this section.

(b) A public institution of higher education shall submit to the board a series of interim reports outlining the actions that the public institution of higher education has undertaken or intends to undertake to comply with this section.

Articulation Oversight Committee with copies of all articulation agreements for inclusion in the electronic database or software program and portal provided for under this section.

(d) The following shall apply to reporting requirements:

(1) Each public institution of higher education shall submit to the board a
series of interim reports that describe the status of the institution's articulation agreements, which shall include all of the following:

(i) The number of students who have transferred to the public institution of higher education within the last academic year or since submittal of the institution's last interim report required under this section.

(ii) The total number of credits completed by transfer students at the institution of origin.

(iii) The total number of credits from each institution of origin that transferred to the public institution of higher education for each academic year.

(iv) An explanation of the credit transfer process at the institution.

(v) Any other information related to the credit transfer process as requested by the board including the usability of transfer credits.

(e) There shall be a Transfer and Articulation Oversight Committee for the purpose of developing and implementing equivalency standards and determining equivalent courses as provided for in this section. The committee shall consist of the following members: the chancellor of the system of public higher education, the president of the university of Massachusetts, or their respective designees, who shall serve as co-chairs of the committee; the presidents of each state college, or their designees; the presidents of each community college, or their designees; a faculty member from each campus of the university of Massachusetts appointed by and serving at the pleasure of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, in conjunction with the Massachusetts Federation of Teachers; a faculty member from each state college appointed by and serving at the pleasure of the Massachusetts Teachers Association; and a faculty member from each community college appointed by and serving at the pleasure of the Massachusetts Teachers Association .

The co-chairs of the Transfer and Articulation Oversight Committee shall appoint a dispute resolution subcommittee to develop dispute resolution policies and procedures to be utilized when disputes arise relating to the transfer and application of credits under this section.

The Transfer and Articulation Oversight Committee shall:

(1) Develop, and may from time to time revise, equivalency standards for foundation courses, in consultation with faculty and personnel. Any such standards shall be submitted to the board, the board of trustees of the university of Massachusetts, the boards of trustees of the state and community colleges, and the joint committee on higher education.

(2) Determine, and may from time to time revise, equivalent courses for at least 30 hours of foundation courses, not including developmental or remedial courses or career, technical or applied courses, in consultation with faculty and personnel.

(3) Develop and implement an assessment/evaluation plan and identify appropriate information and collect appropriate data to ensure the effectiveness of this section and make necessary revisions thereto over time.

(4) Review interim reports submitted to the board and, within 90 days of receipt of each report, recommend to the board, the boards of trustees of the state and community colleges, or the board of trustees of the university of Massachusetts actions to be taken by the respective boards to enable the transfer of credits among public institutions of higher education.

(5) Submit an annual report to the General Court through the joint committee on higher education that details the progress made by the public institutions of higher education in furtherance of enabling the transfer of credits between such institutions and which recommends any further action to be taken.

(6) The committee may request information and data from the public institutions of higher education so as to identify foundation courses offered at the institutions and any

articulation agreements currently established between the institutions that include foundation courses.

(f) The board shall provide for an electronic database or software program and portal for the purpose of providing access to the following information on an Internet website:

(i) User friendly listings of courses for which credits are transferable.

(ii) Articulation agreements entered into by public institutions of higher education.

(iii) Such reports required by this section and other information as the Transfer and Articulation Oversight Committee deems relevant.

SECTION 2. Actions required under subsection (a) of section 1 of this act shall be completed by June 30, 2009. Interim reports required under subsection (b) of section 1 of this act shall be filed on December 31, 2007, June 30, 2008, and December 31, 2008, respectively. Articulation agreements required under subsection (c) of section 1 of this act shall be filed within 180 days of the effective date of this act. Initial interim reports required under subsection (d) of section 1 of this act shall be filed with 180 days of the effective date of this act. Equivalency standards required under subsection (e) (1) of section 1 of this act shall be filed within 1 year of the effective date of this act. Equivalent courses required under subsection (e) (2) of section 1 of this act shall be established within 18 months of the effective date of this act.