March 17-18, 2005

ITEM 126-103-R0305                  Outdated Coursework

THAT: The Board of Regents of Higher Education approves the attached policy concerning outdated coursework.

EXPLANATION: The policy was developed in response to recommendation 5 of the Legislative Audit concerning transfer of credit practices within the Montana University System. The proposed policy was shared with faculty representatives from throughout the System, the chief academic officers and Regent Kala French and her student colleagues.

The policy will be effective immediately upon adoption by the Montana Board of Regents.

Data will be collected to monitor the effectiveness of the policy. At this point, the specific data is still being discussed, primarily because each of the transfer audit policies will include an assessment and monitoring piece. The data work group will review all of the possible assessment items, and develop a comprehensive and integrated package, once all of the transfer policies have been presented to the Board. That data piece will be on the May 2005 agenda of the Board. The following assessment information is being considered for this policy:

  • number of transfer students who received credit for coursework outside the guarantee periods, broken down into the three (3) categories described in the first paragraph of the policy; this number will be collected and reported for each institution.
  • number of programs that have requested a stricter standard, under the policy, and the reasons for the request.