JEFFERSON CITY — With more than 100 measures filed during the 2012 legislative session pertaining to education in the Show-Me State, the issue of providing Missouri students with a quality learning experience, both in elementary and secondary and higher education, remains a top priority for lawmakers in the General Assembly.  House Bill 1042, handled in the upper chamber by the Senate Education Committee chairman, makes numerous changes to how students transfer between higher education institutions and obtain their degrees.

The act requires the Coordinating Board for Higher Education within the Department of Higher Education to require all two- and four-year public higher education institutions to identify and eliminate practices that have been found to be ineffective in preparing for or delay students from enrolling in college-level courses.

The legislation also makes the board responsible for, with assistance from the Committee on Transfer and Articulation, requiring these two- and four-year institutions to create a statewide core transfer library of at least 25 lower-division courses that are transferable among all public higher education institutions.  This library must be created by July 1, 2014.

House Bill 1042 makes it easier for reverse transfer students who have earned a certain amount of credit hours to transfer from one four-year institution to a two-year school.  The measure requires the Coordinating Board for Higher Education to develop a policy that would award any student with a degree as long as he or she has accumulated sufficient hours in combination from more than one public institution that grants an associate degree.

The measure also, among other provisions:

• Allows the Coordinating Board for Higher Education to charge and collect fees from out-of-state public institutions for the costs of reviewing and assuring the quality of programs they offer.
• Requires the board to include in its annual report to the governor and the General Assembly campus-level data on student persistence and progress toward implementing revised remediation, transfer and retention practices.
• Addresses the makeup of and term limits for various boards for state universities.
• Makes various changes to laws regarding the coordinating board’s responsibility regarding for-profit businesses which provide vocational skills and training; creates the Proprietary School Certification Fund; and allows the Department of Higher Education to take action against any violation of certain proprietary school laws.

House Bill 1042 is set to become law Aug. 28 along with a majority of the measures passed by the General Assembly and sent to the governor for his signature this year.

To see a complete list of the bills delivered to the governor for his approval, visit www.senate.mo.gov and click on the “Truly Agreed Bills” link under the “Legislation” tab.  To contact the Senate Newsroom, call (573) 751-3824 or email: newsroom@senate.mo.gov.