Transfer

Southwest Texas Junior College offers transfer programs for those students who wish to pursue a baccalaureate degree at a senior college or university.  Before enrolling in courses, students should discuss their career goals with a counselor and explore the requirements for meeting those goals.

Students should consider all options and should define the requirements for each option.  Those considerations should include determining whether or not the college or university offers the program of study that they plan to pursue and determining whether or not they are eligible for the program and are able to meet both admission and financial requirements.

Students should discuss test scores with a counselor and understand what they mean and how they may affect the selection of courses.  Notice in the course descriptions section of this catalog that many courses require certain reading, writing, or mathematics skills, which are determined by the placement tests students take upon entry.

Counselors are available to help students determine which courses they should take as well as to plan how many courses they should take.  The normal load in a spring or fall semester is five academic courses.  However, students who work more than ten hours a week, have family obligations, or commute long distances, should take fewer hours.

After talking with a counselor, students should consider other steps involved in selecting courses and completing degree requirements.  Students should consider taking review courses or developmental courses if their background is weak in certain subjects or if a long period of time has passed since they studied a particular subject.  Students should take courses in the proper sequence.  Some courses have prerequisites, meaning that certain courses must be completed prior to enrolling in more advanced courses.

Students who have already completed college credit at another college or university prior to enrolling at Southwest Texas Junior College must submit official transcripts to the Admissions Office.  Students pursuing a degree at Southwest Texas Junior College must request that those transcripts be evaluated in order to determine which courses will transfer and apply to their educational objective, which they have selected at Southwest Texas Junior College.

These courses are organized to meet the special interests of citizens and businesses of the college district.  Courses may be offered in academic or technical areas.  These offerings do not carry academic credit in semester hours; however, the number of clock hours in a non-credit course is recorded in the Registrar’s Office.  The college has adopted the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools’ recommendation of the use of the Continuing Education Unit (CEU).  Under the system, ten clock hours in a short course equals one CEU.

Continuing/workforce courses may be offered in any of the communities in the service delivery area.  These courses may be offered at any time, provided a sufficient number of students register for them.  In state funded courses, ten students are required to make a class.  If the course is funded by tuition and fees only, 15-20 students are required to make a class.

In order to meet the needs of the community, Southwest Texas Junior College is the host for many seminars, workshops, and conferences.  These are conducted in cooperation with other colleges and universities, the public schools, and community organizations.

Academic Courses

SWTJC guarantees that students will be able to transfer any and all college level courses, with Coordinating Board Community College Academic Course Guide Manual approved numbers, to all other public supported Texas colleges and universities.  In the event of transfer denial, the student will be allowed to take alternate pre-approved courses at SWTJC tuition free.  The student will be charged for all additional costs associated with the alternate courses/

Special Conditions

1. The course must be listed in the transfer degree plan.
2. Limitations of credits accepted, grades required, relevant grade point average, and duration of transferability is determined by the receiving institution as stated in that institution’s undergraduate catalog.
3. To qualify for the guarantee, the student must identify the receiving institution and the degree to be pursued at the time of registering at SWTJC.
4. If the above conditions are satisfied and a course is not accepted by the receiving institution, the student must notify the Registrar at SWTJC within ten days, so the “Transfer Dispute Resolution” process can be initiated.
5. This guarantee became effective August 24, 1992

Technical Programs

SWTJC guarantees that students will possess the job skills necessary to perform as a productive employee in the occupational field for which they have completed the prescribed course of study.  If the employer decides the student is lacking these skills, SWTJC will provide the student with additional training tuition free.  The student will be charged for all additional costs associated with the re-training plan.

Special Conditions

1. The student must have satisfactorily completed a technical program listed in the SWTJC catalog. The graduate will apply to programs listed in the 1992-93 and subsequent catalogs.
2. The student must have completed the program within four years of the appeal request with at least 80 percent of the program content earned at Southwest Texas Junior College.
3. The student must be employed within 12 months of program completion in the area for which training was received.
4. The employer must certify in writing that the student lacks entry-level job skills and must specify the areas of deficiency within 90 days of initial employment.
5. The employer, graduate, Vice-President for Academic Affairs, Dean of Applied Sciences and appropriate faculty member will develop a written educational plan for re-training.
6. The re-training period will be limited to one semester of full-time instruction and must be completed within one calendar year.
7. This guarantee does not imply that the graduate will pass any licensing or qualifying examinations or a particular career.

An articulation agreement is a formal, systematic, written collaboration between Southwest Texas Junior College and a high school, another college, or a university.  The agreement is designed to identify equivalent courses and clarify requirements for specific degree plans so students can more easily transfer between the two institutions.  These agreements are updated periodically to reflect any changes in curriculum or requirements at the institutions.

2 + 2 Degree Plans are the heart of the college-level articulation agreements.  A 2 + 2 Degree Plan involves two years of academic study at SWTJC and two years at a university.  Articulation Agreements with 2 + 2 Degree Plans are currently in place between Southwest Texas Junior College and some colleges and universities.  For specific information, call or visit a college counselor/advisor.

Southwest Texas Junior College courses are transferable to colleges and universities.  SWTJC Advisors utilize transfer equivalency guides and catalogs available from most universities in Texas in order to advise students.

The following guidelines and definitions are established to clarify and enhance Paragraph 6 of Chapter 5, Sub-Chapter A, Section 5.4 of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board rule, pertaining to Transfer Curricula and Resolution of Transfer Disputes of Lower-Division Courses.

Definitions

The definitions listed below were established by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and will serve as criteria to resolve legal questions as specified in Chapter 61, Sub-Chapter C, Section 1.23 of the Education Code Section 61.078.  The publications, Transfer of Credit Policies and Curricula of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and Community College General Academic Course Guide Manual:  A Manual of Approved General Academic Transfer Courses of State Appropriations for Texas Public Community Colleges, are the references of this issue:  The following criteria for lower-division and upper-division course credit were adopted by the Task Force to Update the Academic Course Guide Manual.

a. Criteria for Lower-Division Course Credit

Lower-Division (Baccalaureate/Associate Degree) Courses

Courses offered in the first two years of college study are those which:

1. are identified by a majority of public four-year undergraduate institutions in the state as courses intended to comprise the first two years of collegiate study, and
2. stress development of disciplinary knowledge and skills at an introductory level; or
3. include basic principles of verbal, mathematical, and scientific concepts associated with an academic discipline.

b. Criteria for Upper-Division Course Credit

(Baccalaureate) Courses

Courses offered only in the third or fourth year of a baccalaureate program are those which:

1. are identified by a majority of public four-year undergraduate institutions in the state as courses intended to comprise the third or fourth year of post-secondary study, and
2. involve theoretical or analytical specialization beyond the introductory level; or
3. require knowledge and skills provided by previous courses for successful performance by students.

c. Free Transferability

Lower-division courses included in the Academic Course Guide Manual and specified in the definition of “Lower-Division Course Credit” shall be freely transferable to and accepted as comparable degree credit by a Texas public institution of higher education, where the equivalent course is available for fulfilling baccalaureate degree requirements.  It is understood that each Texas institution of higher education may have limitations that invalidate courses after a specific length of time.

For Texas community colleges, these freely transferable courses are identified in the latest revised edition of the Coordinating Board publication, Community College General Academic Course Guide Manual – A Manual of Approved General Academic Transfer Courses for State Appropriations to Texas Public Community Colleges (revised 2014).  Specifically excluded are courses designated as vocational, ESL/ESOL, technical, developmental or developmental courses listed as “basic skills.”

For senior institutions, lower-division courses that have the same course content and CIP codes as approved by the Coordinating Board shall bear equivalent credit.  Specifically excluded are courses designated as ESL/ESOL, technical, or developmental courses.  Within the spirit of the law, it is realized that differences in interpretation of “same course content” may generate disputes.

d. Disputes

Transfer disputes may arise when a lower-division course is not accepted for credit by a Texas institution of higher education.  To qualify as a candidate for dispute, the course(s) in question must be offered by the receiving institution denying the credit, or in the case of upper-level institutions, must be published as a lower-division course accepted for fulfilling lower-level requirements.  For community colleges, the course(s) must be listed in the Community College General Academic Course Guide Manual, and be offered at the receiving institution.  Additionally, the sending institution must challenge the receiving institution’s denial of credit.

Instructions for Completing the “Transfer Dispute Resolution” Form

Texas Administrative Code Title 19, Part 1, Chapter 4, Subchapter B, Rule 4.27 governs the procedure for resolution of course/credit hour transfer disputes.

1. The sending institution whose credit has been denied, or the student working through the sending institution, must initiate the dispute. From the date a student is notified of credit denial (date evaluation is sent by the receiving institution), the law allows a maximum of 45 calendar days for the resolution of the dispute by the sending and receiving institutions.
2. In all disputes, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) form, CB-TDR “Transfer Dispute Resolution,” must be completed to initiate dispute action. The form will provide notification and documentation of resolution of the dispute or initiate action on the part of the Commissioner to resolve the dispute.
3. The “Transfer Dispute Resolution” form must be completed and forwarded to the receiving institution within 15 calendar days after the evaluation has been submitted to the student.
4. The forms will be available in the chief academic officer’s (CAO) or designee’s office. The student and the CAO of the sending institution will complete appropriate sections of the form, retain copies of the form, and forward it to the CAO of the receiving institution.
5. The CAO or designee of the receiving institution will either resolve the dispute and complete the disputed resolved section of the “Transfer Dispute Resolution” or not resolve the dispute and complete other sections of the form. In either case, the receiving institution will forward copies of the form to the student, the sending institution, and the Commissioner of Higher Education.
6. Failure by the receiving institution to notify the Commissioner in writing, as specified above, within five working days after the 45 calendar day requirement, will allow the student or sending institution to send written notification to the Commissioner and may result in “automatic” acceptance of the credit by the institution which originally denied the credit.
7. When it is required that the Commissioner or his/her designee resolve the dispute, the resolution will be so designated on the form and copies sent to all parties. Both institutions will maintain form files and the Coordinating Board will maintain a file of all resolutions by institutions.

Disputes vs. Problems

Problems that occur during the transfer process will not always be categorized as disputes, and will not follow dispute procedures and guidelines.  Problems are clearly within the jurisdiction of the receiving institution.  Problems may include, but are not limited to, these situations:

1. A student may lose credit hours or have to take additional lower-level credit hours when he or she changes majors.
2. Students may not decide which upper-level/senior institutions they will attend to complete their degree until after they have completed significant lower-level course work. Courses taken may not apply or transfer to the institution selected.
3. A student may take more than 60 lower-level credit hours.
4. A student may have received unsatisfactory grades in lower-level courses.
5. The student may take vocational, technical, or developmental courses that are not defined as general academic courses.
6. Compliance with external accrediting agencies, newly enacted legislation, and changes in Texas Education Agency or Coordinating Board regulations may invalidate courses students have already completed.
7. Students may take more credit hours in a course category than will transfer. Examples include activity hours in physical education, choir, band, etc.
8. Institutions may not accept work that is considered too old.
9. The student may repeat courses to raise