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, Montana s three publicly supported community colleges, the seven tribal colleges and regionally accredited independent colleges in the State of 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 at one of the institutions noted above, and who transfers to another of those institutions, will be deemed to have met the general education requirements of the campus to which the student transfers.

2.      The Montana University System Core. An undergraduate student who has completed courses identified as part of the MUS Core courses will be governed by the following rules:

a)       If that student has completed less than 20 general education credits, that student will be required to complete the general education program at the campus to which he/she transfers. All general education transfer credits that are part of the MUS Core will be reviewed for possible application in the approved general education program at the campus.

b)       If that student has completed 20 or more MUS core credits, but does not satisfy the general block transfer policy described in the preceding section, that student may choose to complete either the MUS general education core or the approved general education program at the campus to which he/she transfers. The student should make that decision in consultation with a faculty advisor.

c)       The MUS 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 that does not fall within the MUS Core described in the previous two sections of this policy.

The guarantees set out in the block transfer procedure and the MUS Core do not apply to students in these situations. The institutions that make up the Montana University System are encouraged to assist those students 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 Arts and Associate of Science Degrees. A student who has completed an Associate of Arts or an Associate of Science degree with an approved general education component package at another unit of the Montana University System, as defined under Regents policy 301.12 has satisfied the requirements of this policy.

5.       Before the new institution will accept the courses, a student will have to earn a grade of C- or better in each of the classes described in the preceding sections.

6.       The Montana University System will [B1] establish a General Education Council to oversee the provisions of this policy. Its responsibilities shall include:

a)       Periodically review and recommend possible revision of the Montana University System Core to the Board of Regents;

b)       Approve by January of each year a list of general education courses, from each of the institutions described in the first paragraph of this policy, that satisfy the Montana University System Core criteria on that campus;

c)       Periodically assess and recommend revision of this policy;

d)       Perform 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 regionally accredited independent colleges in the State of Montana may elect to participate in this reciprocal recognition of general education integrity on 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

REPEALED:

MONTANA BOARD OF REGENTS OF HIGHER EDUCATION
 Policy and Procedures Manual

SUBJECT:  ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
Policy 301.10 - General Education Block Transfer Policy
Revised March 3, 2003; Issued March 11, 2003

Board Policy:

1. The Montana University System is committed to facilitating the ease of undergraduate student transfer to its campuses. Therefore, all campuses of the Montana University System will recognize the integrity of general education programs 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 from their general education core courses that are remedial or developmental in nature such as Introductory or Intermediate Algebra, Reading Improvement, Vocabulary Building, etc.

3. Undergraduate students who have completed, with a cumulative grade-point average of 2.0 (C) on a four-point scale, an approved general education program of between 30 and 45 lower division credit hours at one of the institutions noted above and who transfer to another of those institutions will be deemed to have met the lower division general education requirements of the campus to which the students have transferred.

4. Students who have not completed such an approved general education program will have their transcript evaluated for transfer purposes using the Statewide Core Curriculum and Community College Transfer Guide. Note: College-level courses shall be defined as those that are applicable to an associate of arts, associate of science or baccalaureate degree. The receiving institution will determine in advance of a student's enrollment which courses within an associate of applied science degree program will be credited toward a given associates or baccalaureate degree. In all cases, such courses shall not include remedial or developmental courses.

5. Depending upon the major program the student selects, there may still be additional lower division courses required to meet published major program prerequisites.

Procedures:

1. Each campus of the Montana University System and the publicly supported community and tribal 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.

2. The tribal colleges and independent colleges in the State of Montana may elect to participate in this reciprocal recognition of general education integrity on 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.

History:

Item 89-001-R1195, General Education Transfer Policy; Montana University System, approved by the Board of Regents on March 29, 1996, as revised March 3, 2003 (Item 117-105-R1102). 

Page: 2
 [B1]Use will for guidance about future practice, and shall to designate required procedures/behaviors I m not sure if this sentence indicates a deviation from the others, or if they need to all read shall, or what