MONTANA BOARD OF REGENTS OF HIGHER EDUCATION

Policy and Procedures Manual

SUBJECT:  ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
Policy 301.10 - General Education Transfer Policies
Revised XXXX

Board policy:

1.             The Montana University System is committed to facilitating the ease of undergraduate student transfer to its campuses, particularly in the area of general education. Therefore, all campuses of the Montana University System will recognize the integrity of general education programs and courses offered by units of the Montana University System and the three publicly-supported community colleges and the seven tribal colleges in Montana.

2.             To ensure adequate student preparation for transfer, campuses will exclude any courses from their general education program that are remedial or developmental in nature. Examples would include Introductory or Intermediate Algebra, Reading Improvement, Vocabulary Building, and so on.

3.             The Montana Board of Regents has adopted four (4) important procedures to implement the intent of this policy. Those procedures are set out below.

Procedures:

1.             The Block Transfer Procedure. An undergraduate student who has completed an approved general education program of between 30 and 45 lower division credit hours at one of the institutions noted above, and who transfers to another of those institutions, will be deemed to have met the lower division general education requirements of the campus to which the student transfers.

a) The student may be required to take additional general education credits at the upper division level, in order to complete the degree and program requirements at the new institution.

2.             The Montana University System Core. An undergraduate student who has completed classes that are part of the Montana University System Core, at one of the institutions noted above, will be deemed to have completed at least part of the lower division general education requirements of the campus to which the student transfers.

a) Under this procedure, the student could complete up to 30 credits.

b) The number of credits that the student has completed at the new campus will depend on the number of credits that student has completed in the Montana University System Core.

c) To insure that a student receives the maximum benefit of this procedure, every institution that makes up the Montana University System will adopt a general education program that includes the Montana University System Core as one route to completing its lower division general education requirements. Campuses may maintain their unique, approved general education programs as long as it is made clear to students how courses taken in those programs transfer into the Montana University System Core.

d) Each Montana University System campus must offer, through registration on its campus, all courses necessary for completion of the Montana University System Core.

e) The Montana University System Core is set out as Appendix 1 of this policy.

3. Other "General Education" Coursework. An undergraduate student, in the following situations, will have his/her classes analyzed on a course-by-course basis to determine how those classes might satisfy the general education program requirements of the student's new campus:

a) a student who completes postsecondary coursework outside of the Montana University System;

b) a student who completes postsecondary coursework in the Montana University System, but those classes do not fall within the programs described in the previous two sections of this policy.

The guarantees set out in the "block transfer procedure" and the "Montana University System Core" do not apply to a student in these situations. The institutions that make up the Montana University System are encouraged to assist that student, as much as possible, however, so the intent of this policy applies to as many students and as many courses as possible.

4. Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) Programs. Associate of Applied Science programs are required to include "related instruction coursework" as part of the degree requirements, to satisfy regional accreditation expectations. As much as possible, those "related instruction" classes should satisfy the Montana University System Core procedures set out in this policy.

5.             Before the courses will be accepted by the new institution, a student will have to earn a grade of "C" or better in each of the classes described in the preceding sections, as required by Montana Board of Regents Policy XXX, Minimum Course Grades.

6.             The Montana University System shall establish a General Education Council to oversee the provisions of this policy. Its responsibilities shall include:

a) periodic review and possible revision of the Montana University System Core;

b)             approval of a list of courses, from each of the institutions described in the first paragraph of this policy, that make up the Montana University System Core on that campus;

c)             periodic assessment of this policy;

d)             other responsibilities, as assigned by the Montana Board of Regents or the Commissioner of Higher Education.

7. Each campus of the Montana University System and the publicly-supported community colleges will provide the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education its approved general education program and update that information whenever changes are made. The Commissioner of Higher Education will make this information available to all campuses of the Montana University System.

8. The tribal colleges and independent colleges in the State of Montana may elect to participate in this reciprocal recognition of general education integrity in the same terms as the campuses of the Montana University System. Those electing to do so will provide the appropriate information to the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education.

Appendix I

Montana University System General Education Core

Natural Sciences (with laboratories) 6 semester credits

Social Sciences 6 semester credits

Mathematics 3 semester credits

English Composition 3 semester credits

Humanities 3 semester credits

Fine Arts 3 semester credits

History 3 semester credits

Cultural Diversity 3 semester credits

TOTAL CREDITS 30 semester credits