|
OFFICIAL
|
|
Policy and Procedure
Statement 2.15
|
Articulation Agreements
|
|
Issued: Feb. 15, 2005
|
(22 paragraphs)
|
|
Review Cycle: Apr. 1,
E2Y
|
|
|
Review Date: 4/01/08
|
|
|
Reviewer: Director of
Curriculum Services
|
|
|
GENERAL INFORMATION
|
1. Texas State is committed to maintaining a
well-designed, effective process for developing and implementing articulation
agreements with two-year institutions to ensure orderly transfer of academic
credit. This PPS summarizes the key elements of that process and provides
guidance for the preparation of transfer planning guides to be used to
facilitate articulated transfer work.
|
|
DEFINITIONS
|
2. Articulation Agreements are concluded
at the institutional level between Texas
State and a two-year
institution. The agreements constitute broad frameworks for the more specific
transfer planning guides that define articulation of baccalaureate degree
program requirements at the programmatic level.
3. Transfer
planning guides are the programmatic level agreements that outline specific
admission and degree requirements such as course-by-course patterns for
articulated transfer work, application deadlines, and grade point
requirements. Transfer planning guides may be developed and exist in the
absence of a more general articulation agreement or they may be an appendix
to a broader articulation agreement.
|
|
CIRCUMSTANCES PROMPTING AN ARTICULATION AGREEMENT
|
4. Interest in establishing an
articulation agreement may originate from the two-year institution, from Texas State or from a third entity such as
the Round Rock Higher Education Center (RRHEC).
5. Articulation agreements are usually
developed because officials want to improve the advising of their students
regarding what courses, or combination of courses should be taken each
semester to ensure that the completed courses will satisfy designated
baccalaureate degree program requirements.
6. When the interest originates at Texas
State, it is typically because Texas State officials have recognized that
there are significant numbers of transfers in a particular degree program
from a designated institution or that there are significant opportunities to
increase the number of transfer students, and have an interest in formalizing
an articulation agreement to maximize course transfer and better serve the
needs of prospective students.
|
|
STEPS IN THE PREPARATION OF ARTICULATION AGREEMENTS
AND/OR TRANSFER PLANNING GUIDES
|
7. An individual interested in developing
a formal articulation agreement and/or transfer planning guide contacts the
Director of Curriculum Services (Director) in the Office of Provost and Vice
President for Academic Affairs and identifies the particular program(s) in
which a formal articulation agreement or transfer planning guide is desired.
8.The Director prepares a summary of the level of
transfer activity between the designated institution and Texas State
during the previous five-year period. The Curriculum Coordinator reviews this
summary with the Dean and the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
(Provost) to determine the priority for development of articulation
agreements and/or transfer planning guides. When the Dean and Provost
conclude that an articulation agreement and/or transfer planning guides are
needed, the Director, in consultation with the Associate Director of
Admissions, contacts the senior academic official at the designated
institution to discuss this need.
9. In consultation with the Dean, the
Director identifies the appropriate administrative official at the designated
institution and at Texas
State who will serve as
the institutional representative in the development of one or more transfer
planning guides. At Texas
State, this is normally
the program chair/department chair/school director. At the designated
institution, it is also usually the department chair, although sometimes it
is a division coordinator or an administrative official responsible for a
larger number of academic programs. The Texas State
representative serves as the main contact person regarding course equivalency
discussions.
10. Once the representatives have been
identified, the Director corresponds with the two representatives to review
the steps to be followed in the development of the agreement and guides. The
Director, working with the Associate Director of Admissions, provides copies
of the following materials to the representatives.
a. The most
recent institutional catalogs.
b. The Core
Curriculum Guide
c. Equivalency
guides, or other equivalency materials (if applicable)
d. The Texas Common Course
Numbering List
e. Samples of
completed transfer planning guides from the same institution, and/or from
similar academic disciplines at other institutions.
11. The institutional representatives
identify non-common courses for possible equivalent transfer. By reviewing
course information, they determine if there are courses offered at the
designated institution (not part of the Texas Common Course Numbering System)
that provide equivalent course experiences, in their judgment, to courses
offered in Texas State's program. This review may involve examination of
course descriptions in the catalog, course syllabi, examples of out-of-class assignments
and exercises, as well as discussions with appropriate faculty. The Texas State representative is responsible
for directing the discussions about possible course equivalencies and for
keeping the Director informed of the discussions.
12. The institutional representatives may
also identify lower-level courses that could be substituted for upper level
credit in the designated baccalaureate degree program. These potential course
substitutions are identified by a careful review of the requirements of the
baccalaureate degree program and a thorough analysis of the nature of the
course experiences offered at the designated institution. Again, course
syllabi and specific examples of in-class and out-of-class assignments and
exercises may be required to conduct the analysis. The Texas State
representative is responsible for directing the discussions about possible
courses equivalencies and for keeping the Director informed of the
discussions.
13. The Texas State representative may also
consult with faculty in the related degree program and then obtain approval
from the respective college dean of all non-common courses or lower level
course substitutions that are being recommended to apply toward the
completion of the designated baccalaureate degree program.
14. The Texas State representative contacts the
Texas State Admissions Office to schedule a meeting with the Transcript
Evaluator. This is a working meeting between the Transcript Evaluator and the
Texas State representative, and may also include the designated institutional
representative, the Associate Director of Admissions and the Director of
Curriculum Services. The purpose of this meeting is to draft a transfer
planning guide which is a four (or five) year degree outline or course
schedule that lists by semester or by year what courses are recommended. Care
is taken to ensure that all admission, pre-requisites, general education, and
field of study requirements are met in addition to the major and minor
requirements associated with the particular degree program.
15. The Transcript Evaluator submits the
revised draft transfer planning guide to the Director for review by the
Provost and the institutional representative.
|
|
APPROVAL OF THE ARTICULATION AGREEMENTS AND
TRANSFER PLANNING GUIDES
|
16. The Directory submits the revised
draft to the Dean for approval as a final transfer planning guide.
17. At Texas State, the Provost has final
approval of the transfer planning guide and, in consultation with the
University Attorney, the articulation agreement. Under direction of the
Provost, the Director works with the institutional representatives to secure
approval from respective academic deans or supervisors for the articulation
agreements and transfer planning guides.
18. Once approved by both institutions,
the Director notifies the Admissions Office of the approval of the transfer
planning guide.
19. The Director contacts the senior
academic official at the designated institution and arranges for the formal
signing of the articulation agreement and transfer planning guide(s) by the
respective institutional presidents. If so desired by the Provost and
President, a signing ceremony may be arranged, or if not necessary, the
signing may be handled through the mail. If a formal articulation agreement
already exists between Texas
State and the
designated institution, then the new program transfer planning guide is added
as an addendum to the original formal agreement, with signature approval by
the two respective senior academic officials.
20. Once
final approval is completed, the Director distributes copies of the final
guides and/or agreements to the Admissions Office, to Texas State
academic deans, chairs and directors, and to officials at the designated
institution. The Admissions Office will post the final transfer planning
guide to the university website.
|
|
BIENNIAL REVIEW OF TRANSFER PLANNING GUIDES
|
21. Each
articulation agreement is reviewed on a biennial basis and each transfer
planning guide on an annual basis. The Director will work in consultation
with the Associate Director of Admissions and the college deans to determine
the further development of transfer planning guides or their discontinuance
on an individual basis.
|
|
CERTIFICATION STATEMENT
|
22. This PPS has been approved by the
reviewer listed below and represents Texas State's
Division of Academic Affairs policy and procedure from the date of this
document until superceded.
|
|
Review Cycle:
_____________________________
|
Review Date:
_______________________
|
|
Reviewer:
________________________________
|
Date:
_____________________________
|
|
Approved:
________________________________
|
Date:
_____________________________
|
|
|
Perry Moore
|
|
|
|
Provost and Vice
President for Academic Affairs
|
|
|
|
|
|
Texas
State University-San Marcos
|
|
Provost
and Vice President for Academic Affairs
|
|
Last
Updated: July 11, 2006
|
|
Send
comments and questions to: sr27@txstate.edu
|
|
|
|
|