(a) As used in this section:
(1) “Designated transfer degree” means one (1) of the following associate degrees that is eligible for the full transfer under this section of credits earned and hours completed:
(A) Associate of arts;
(B) Associate of science; or
(C) Associate of arts in teaching;
(2) “Lower-division credits” means freshman and sophomore level course credits;
(3) “Public institution of higher education” means an Arkansas state-supported two-year or four-year college or university;
(4)
(A) “State minimum core curriculum” means sixty (60) semester hours of lower-division coursework that include the thirty-five-hour general education core, major program prerequisites, and elective requirements that satisfy the requirements of an associate of arts degree, an associate of science degree, an associate of arts in teaching degree, and selected baccalaureate degrees at all public institutions of higher education as determined by the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
(B) The board, in collaboration with state-supported institutions of higher education, shall select the baccalaureate degree programs of study that shall be included in the state minimum core curriculum based on the demand for the program of study, both in terms of the number of students enrolled in the program of study and the need for students to enroll in a program of study to meet the economic development needs of the state.
(C) The completed state minimum core curriculum may vary for each student depending on his or her program of study; and
(5) “Transfer student” means a student transferring from a completed designated transfer degree program or a completed state minimum core curriculum to a baccalaureate program at a four-year public institution of higher education.
(b)
(1) The purpose of this section is to eliminate obstacles to transfers of credits among public institutions of higher education in Arkansas by providing a seamless transfer of academic credits from a completed designated transfer degree program or a completed state minimum core curriculum to a baccalaureate degree program without the loss of earned credits and without the receiving public institution of higher education requiring additional lower-division general education credits.
(2) All public institutions of higher education shall provide comprehensive academic advising to all students regarding transfer options available under this section.
(c) The board shall develop a statewide transfer agreement that:
(1) Designates the following as transfer degrees at public institutions of higher education in Arkansas:
(A) Associate of arts;
(B) Associate of science; and
(C) Associate of arts in teaching;
(2) Requires a four-year public institution of higher education to accept all hours completed and credits earned for a designated transfer degree or a completed state minimum core curriculum upon a student's transfer to a baccalaureate degree program at the four-year public institution of higher education;
(3) Contains the transfer curriculum for each designated transfer degree that is approved by the board under subsection (d) of this section;
(4)
(A) Requires a four-year public institution of higher education to admit a transfer student to junior status in a baccalaureate degree program at the four-year public institution of higher education.
(B)
(i) A four-year public institution of higher education receiving a transfer student shall not require additional lower-division credits for the transfer student if the additional course is considered a general education lower-division course.
(ii) The receiving four-year public institution of higher education only may require the additional lower-division course if the additional lower-division course is:
(a) A prerequisite for courses in the transfer student's baccalaureate degree program;
(b) A discipline-specific course that is required by the transfer student's baccalaureate degree program and the student has not completed a course at the two-year public institution of higher education that is comparable to the discipline-specific course at the four-year public institution of higher education in the Arkansas Course Transfer System; or
(c) A requirement of an independent licensing or accrediting body.
(C) This subsection does not remove the requirement that a transfer student must meet total baccalaureate degree program credit-hour and course requirements in order to be eligible for a baccalaureate degree.
(D) The receiving four-year public institution of higher education shall determine whether to accept a grade of “D” for academic course credit for a student transferring from a public institution of higher education; and
(5)
(A) Allows public institutions of higher education to develop transfer guidelines and articulation agreements for degree programs not otherwise covered under this section.
(B) Transfer guidelines are only for the purpose of student advising and do not exempt a four-year public institution of higher education from the requirements of subdivision (c)(4) of this section.
(d)
(1) The board, with the assistance and cooperation of the public institutions of higher education, shall develop:
(A) A transfer curriculum for each designated transfer degree;
(B) Policies and procedures for reviewing and updating the statewide transfer agreement; and
(C)
(i) Policies and procedures for the Division of Higher Education to collect data from public institutions of higher education to ensure that:
(a) All public institutions of higher education comply with this section; and
(b) The statewide transfer agreement is fostering both a seamless transfer process and the academic success of transfer students at Arkansas public institutions of higher education.
(ii) The division shall determine annually the data to be collected and shall establish by rule the procedures for a public institution of higher education to provide the data requested.
(2) The board, in collaboration with public institutions of higher education and faculty advisory panels of public institutions of higher education, shall identify:
(A) Degree programs offered by public institutions of higher education;
(B) Postsecondary career education programs offered by two-year public institutions of higher education, including those designated as college-credit courses applicable toward a certificate or degree;
(C) Courses that meet the thirty-five-hour general education core requirements within the subject areas of communication, mathematics, social sciences, humanities, and natural sciences that shall be accepted at all public institutions of higher education as general education courses;
(D) Lower-division courses offered by four-year public institutions of higher education accepted for credit toward a degree and identify those courses as either general education or required as a prerequisite for a degree; and
(E)
(i) Common prerequisite courses and course substitutions for degree programs across all public institutions of higher education.
(ii) Required thirty-five-hour general education core courses shall be offered and accepted by all public institutions of higher education.
(3) All public institutions of higher education shall collaborate to form four-year faculty advisory panels and two-year faculty advisory panels that recommend major program prerequisites, course substitutions, and elective requirements for programs of study that shall be included in the state minimum core curriculum.
(e)
(1) The board shall publish an internet-based student manual that identifies the state minimum core curriculum and describes how the state minimum core curriculum transfers to other public institutions of higher education within Arkansas.
(2) General information concerning the state minimum core curriculum, including the web-page link, shall be published in all versions of course catalogs of all public institutions of higher education.
(f)
(1) The state minimum core curriculum shall be fully implemented no later than July 1, 2012.
(2) A public institution of higher education that is not in full compliance with this section shall not be eligible to accept state aid from the Higher Education Grants Fund Account on behalf of a student.
(g) A not-for-profit institution of higher education may participate in the statewide transfer agreement if the not-for-profit institution of higher education is:
(1) Accredited by a national or regional accrediting entity;
(2) Certified by the board; and
(3) Recognized by the United States Department of Education as eligible to receive Title IV financial aid funding under the Higher Education Act of 1965, Pub. L. No. 89-329.