Uniform course numbering and the transfer of course credits among technical colleges and University of Wisconsin System schools, and eliminating certain restrictions on the respective educational roles of the University of Wisconsin System and the Technical College System. (FE)

Collegiate transfer programs may not comprise more than 25 percent of the approved credit hours offered in any technical college district.

The TCS Board and the Board of Regents may agree to designate courses as transferable for credit between the TCS and UWS, and must enter into an agreement identifying at least 72 credits of core general education courses that are transferable between the UWS and TCS. The TCS Board and the Board of Regents must also enter into an agreement to identify, promote, support, and prioritize “program-to-program articulation agreements” that articulate how the completion of requirements for a specified program of study at one institution transfers toward the completion of requirements for a specified program of study at another educational institution. Private colleges and tribal colleges may also participate in agreements related to course credit transfers and the program-to-program articulation agreements. The Board of Regents must establish policies for the appropriate transfer of credits between UWS institutions, and may establish policies for the appropriate transfer of credits with other educational institutions. The Board of Regents must further establish and maintain a computer-based credit transfer system.

This bill requires the TCS Board and the Board of Regents to implement a universal course numbering and credit transfer system under which credits for courses with the same universal course number are automatically transferable among UWS institutions and technical colleges. If a UWS institution or technical college offers a course, other UWS institutions or technical colleges must award academic credit to a student who has successfully completed a course with the same universal course number at any other UWS institution or technical college; the course credit awarded must be applied toward degree requirements, as applicable.

This bill also eliminates the following prohibitions relating to the respective educational roles of the UWS and the TCS: 1) that the Board of Regents not broaden the UWS mission to include training for semiprofessional or skilled-trade occupations beyond that offered during the 1972-73 academic year unless the TCS Board approves; and 2) that the TCS Board not broaden TCS collegiate transfer program offerings beyond those in existence during the 1972-73 academic year unless the Board of Regents approves.