Academic Courses
SWTJC guarantees you will be able to transfer any and all college level courses, with Coordinating Board Community College Academic Course Guide Manual approved numbers, to all other public supported Texas colleges and universities. In the event of transfer denial, the student will be allowed to take alternate pre-approved courses at SWTJC tuition free. The student will be charged for all additional costs associated with the alternate courses.
Special Conditions
1. The courses must be listed in the transfer degree plan.
2. Limitations of credits accepted, grades required, relevant grade point average, and duration of transferability is determined by the receiving institution as stated in that institution's undergraduate catalog.
3. To qualify for the guarantee, the student must identify the receiving institution and the degree to be pursued at the time of registering at SWTJC.
4. If the above conditions are satisfied and a course is not accepted by the receiving institution, the student must notify the Registrar at SWTJC within ten days, so the "Transfer Dispute Resolution" process can be initiated.
5. This guarantee became effective August 24, 1992.
Technical Programs
SWTJC guarantees that students will possess the job skills necessary to perform as a productive employee in the occupational field for which they have completed the prescribed course of study. If the employer decides the student is lacking these skills, SWTJC will provide the student with additional training tuition free. The student will be charged for all additional costs associated with the re-training plan.
Special Conditions
1. The student must have satisfactorily completed a technical program listed in the SWTJC catalog. The guarantee will apply to programs listed in the 1992-93 and subsequent catalogs.
2. The student must have completed the program within four years with at least 80 percent of the program content earned at Southwest Texas Junior College.
3. The student must be employed within 12 months of program completion in the area for which training was received.
4. The employer must certify in writing that the student lacks entry-level job skills and must specify the areas of deficiency within 90 days of initial employment.
5. The employer, graduate, Dean of Instructional Services, Director of Technical Programs and appropriate faculty member will develop a written educational plan for re-training.
6. The re-training period will be limited to one semester full-time instruction and must be completed within one calendar year.
7. This guarantee does not imply that the graduate will pass any licensing or qualifying examinations for a particular career.
An Articulation Agreement is a formal, systematic, written collaboration between Southwest Texas Junior College and another college or university. The agreement is designed to identify equivalent courses and clarify requirements for specific degree plans so students can more easily transfer between the two institutions. These agreements are updated periodically to reflect any changes in curriculum or requirements at the institutions.
2 + 2 Degree Plans are the heart of the articulation agreements. A 2 + 2 Degree Plan involves two years of academic study at SWTJC and two years at a university. Articulation Agreements with 2 + 2 Degree Plans are currently in place between Southwest Texas Junior College and the following universities: Angelo State University, Sul Ross State University, Texas A&M University Kingsville (TAMUK), and the University of Texas San Antonio (UTSA).
Southwest Texas Junior College courses are also transferable to other universities. SWTJC Counselors have transfer equivalency guides and catalogs available from most universities in Texas in order to advise students.
TRANSFER DISPUTE RESOLUTION GUIDELINES
The following guidelines and definitions are established to clarify and enhance Paragraph 6 of Chapter 5, Sub-Chapter A, Section 5.4 of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board rule, pertaining to Transfer Curricula and Resolution of Transfer Disputes of Lower-Division Courses.
Definitions
The definitions listed below were established by the Coordinating Board and will serve as criteria to resolve legal questions as specified in Chapter 61, Sub-Chapter C, Section 1.23 of the Education Code Section 61.078. The publications, Transfer of Credit Policies and Curricula of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and Community College General Academic Course Guide Manual: A Manual of Approved General Academic Transfer Courses of State Appropriations for Texas Public Community Colleges, are the references of this issue: The following criteria for lower-division and upper-division course credit were adopted by the Task Force to Update the Academic Courses Guide Manual.
A. Criteria for Lower-Division Course Credit
Lower-Division
(Baccalaureate/Associate Degree) Courses
Courses offered in the first two years of college study are those which:
1. are identified by a majority of public four-year undergraduate institutions in the state as courses intended to comprise the first two years of collegiate study, and
2. stress development of disciplinary knowledge and skills at an introductory level; or
3. include basic principles of verbal, mathematical, and scientific concepts associated with an academic discipline.
B. Criteria for Upper-Division Course Credit
Upper-Division (Baccalaureate) Courses
Courses offered only in the third or fourth year of a baccalaureate program are those which:
1. are identified by a majority of public four-year undergraduate institutions in the state as courses intended to comprise the third or fourth year of post-secondary study, and
2. involve theoretical or analytical specialization beyond the introductory level; or
3. require knowledge and skills provided by previous courses for successful performance by students.
C. Free Transferability
Lower-division courses included in the Academic Course Guide Manual and specified in the definition of "Lower-Division Course Credit" shall be freely transferable to and accepted as comparable degree credit by a Texas public institution of higher education, where the equivalent course is available for fulfilling baccalaureate degree requirements. It is understood that each Texas institution of higher education may have limitations that invalidate courses after a specific length of time.
For Texas community colleges, these freely transferable courses are identified in the latest revised edition of the Coordinating Board publication, Community College General Academic Course Guide Manual -- A Manual of Approved General Academic Transfer Courses for State Appropriations to Texas Public Community Colleges (revised 1991). Specifically excluded are courses designated as vocational, ESL/ESOL, technical, developmental or developmental courses listed as "basic skills."
For senior institutions, lower-division courses that have the same course content and CIP codes as approved by the Coordinating Board shall bear equivalent credit. Specifically excluded are courses designated as ESL/ESOL, technical, developmental or developmental courses. Within the spirit of the law, it is realized that differences in interpretation of "same course content" may generate disputes.
D. Disputes
Transfer disputes may arise when a lower-division course is not accepted for credit by a Texas institution of higher education. To qualify as a dispute, the course(s) in question must be offered by the receiving institution denying the credit, or in the case of upper-level institutions, must be published as a lower-division course accepted for fulfilling lower-level requirements. For community colleges, the course(s) must be listed in the Community College General Academic Course Guide Manual, and be offered at the receiving institution. Additionally, the sending institution must challenge the receiving institution's denial of credit.
Instructions for Completing the "Transfer Dispute Resolution" Form
1. The sending institution whose credit has been denied, or the student working through the sending institution, must initiate the dispute. From the date a student is notified of credit denial (date evaluation is sent by the receiving institution), the law allows a maximum of 45 calendar days for the resolution of the dispute by the sending and receiving institutions.
2. In all disputes, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) form, CB-TDR "Transfer Dispute Resolution," must be completed to initiate dispute action. The form will provide notification and documentation of resolution of the dispute or initiate action on the part of the Commissioner to resolve the dispute.
3. The "Transfer Dispute Resolution" form must be completed and forwarded to the receiving institution within 15 calendar days after the evaluation has been submitted to the student.
4. The forms will be available in the chief academic officer's (CAO) or designee's office. The student and the CAO of the sending institution will complete appropriate sections of the form, retain copies of the form, and forward it to the CAO of the receiving institution.
5. The CAO or designee of the receiving institution will either resolve the dispute and complete the disputed resolved section of the "Transfer Dispute Resolution" or not resolve the dispute and complete other sections of the form. In either case, the receiving institution will forward copies of the form to the student, the sending institution, and the Commissioner of Higher Education.
6. Failure by the receiving institution to notify the Commissioner in writing, as specified above, within five working days after the 45 calendar day requirement, will allow the student or sending institution to send written notification to the Commissioner and may result in "automatic" acceptance of the credit by the institution which originally denied the credit.
7. When it is required that the Commissioner or his/her designee resolve the dispute, the resolution will be so designated on the form and copies sent to all parties. Both institutions will maintain form files and the Coordinating Board will maintain a file of all resolutions by institutions.
Problems that occur during the transfer process will not always be categorized as disputes, and will not follow dispute procedures and guidelines. Problems are clearly within the jurisdiction of the receiving institution. Problems may include, but are not limited to, these situations:
1. A student may lose credit hours or have to take additional lower-level credit hours when he or she changes majors.
2. Students may not decide which upper-level/senior institutions they will attend to complete their degree until after they have completed significant lower-level course work. Courses taken may not apply or transfer to the institution selected.
3. A student may take more than 66 lower-level credit hours.
4. A student may have received unsatisfactory grades in lower-level courses.
5. The student may take vocational, technical, developmental or developmental courses that are not defined as general academic courses.
6. Compliance with external accrediting agencies, newly enacted legislation, and changes in Texas Education Agency or Coordinating Board regulations may invalidate courses students have already completed.
7. Students may take more credit hours in a course category than will transfer. Examples include activity hours in physical education, choir, band, etc.
8. Institutions may not accept work that is considered too old.
9. The student may repeat courses to raise grade point averages. Duplicate credit would not be accepted.