(1) Beginning with the 2012-2013 academic year and each academic year thereafter for first-time students enrolling in a public college or university, postsecondary education institutions are encouraged to limit the credit-hour requirements to sixty (60) credit hours for each associate of science or associate of arts degree program and to one hundred twenty (120) credit hours for each bachelor of arts or bachelor of science degree program, except in situations in which:
(a) Quality and content of a program would be negatively impacted; or
(b) A program must comply with specific program standards established by external accreditation bodies.
(2) The Council on Postsecondary Education, in collaboration with the public universities and community and technical colleges, shall:
(a) Facilitate the development and implementation of a statewide agreement for alignment of Kentucky Community and Technical College System lower- division associate of arts and associate of science coursework that shall be accepted and fully credited to related bachelors degree programs by all public universities. The agreement shall specify the general education learning outcomes and program-specific prerequisite learning outcomes of the coursework. Where applicable, curricula shall be reviewed to determine comparability of core content standards required under KRS § 164.302. The agreement shall direct that the associate of arts and associate of science coursework meeting the learning outcomes specified shall be accepted for transfer and degree credit, whether earned as individual courses or within block programs;
(b) Develop, implement, and maintain a Kentucky Community and Technical College System statewide course numbering system for lower-division general education and program-specific prerequisite courses that include the same learning outcomes;
(c) Establish a statewide course classification system and procedures to monitor the transfer and crediting of lower-division coursework, including a system of ongoing assessment that ensures comparability for transfer purposes;
(d) Establish a procedure for approval of changes in learning outcomes at public universities as described in subsection (3) of this section;
(e) Standardize credit-by-exam equivalencies and common passing scores for national exams transferable for general education courses and program- specific prerequisites courses;
(f) Develop policies to align statewide articulation and transfer procedures across educational institutions, including admissions criteria, student declaration of major, and student guidance and counseling policies designed to ensure that students pursuing an associate of arts or associate of science degree program provide timely notification of their intention to transfer to a public university;
(g) Develop uniform data collection and reporting methods to facilitate and ensure statewide and institutional compliance with course transfer and credit requirements;
(h) Guarantee that, upon admission to a public university, graduates of an associate of arts or an associate of science degree program approved by the council in consultation with public universities shall be deemed to have met all general education requirements;
(i) Provide that graduates of approved associate of arts and associate of science degree programs of Kentucky public postsecondary institutions who complete the prerequisite learning outcomes for a bachelor of arts or bachelor of science program while fulfilling the requirements for an associate of art or associate of science degree, shall not be required to repeat or to take any additional lower- level courses to fulfill bachelor degree requirements in the same major, and these students shall be granted admission to related upper-division bachelors degree programs of a state public college or university on the same criteria as those students earning lower-division credits at the university to which the student transferred;
(j) Provide that graduates of approved associate of arts and associate of science degree programs shall receive priority for admission to a state public university over out-of-state students if they meet the same admission criteria;
(k) Establish a commonality in college transcripts to be used in all public colleges and universities to facilitate transfer from community and technical colleges;
(l) Encourage private colleges and universities to collaborate with public educational institutions in developing programs and agreement to expedite the transfer of students and credits between institutions;
(m) Establish an appeals process to resolve disagreements between transferring students and receiving educational institutions regarding the transfer and acceptance of credits earned at another institution;
(n) Ensure that all articulation and transfer policies are consistent with the rules and regulations established by all appropriate discipline-specific accrediting bodies and institutional accrediting agencies as recognized by the United States Department of Education; and
(o) Facilitate the development and implementation of a statewide standardized articulation agreement to be executed by July 1, 2021, between public colleges and universities and the Kentucky Department of Education for each approved high school career pathway that leads to a postsecondary credential, certification, license, or degree. Upon meeting the requirements of the standardized articulation agreement, a student shall be awarded postsecondary credit for prior learning at any public college or university.
(3) When an institution seeks to change learning outcomes for a bachelor of arts or bachelor of science program that affect lower-division courses, the university shall notify the Council on Postsecondary Education and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System of the proposed changes at the same time as the initiation
of the university’s approval process. If it is determined that the proposed change will have an adverse effect on transferability, the university proposing the change shall enter into discussion with the council and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System to verify there remains a clearly defined path to a bachelor’s degree for those students who plan to transfer from the Kentucky Community and Technical College System to the public university.
Effective: July 15, 2020
History: Amended 2020 Ky. Acts ch. 57, sec. 1, effective July 15, 2020. — Created
2010 Ky. Acts ch. 108, sec. 1, effective July 15, 2010.