GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1995 SESSION

CHAPTER 288
HOUSE BILL 740

AN ACT TO FACILITATE THE TRANSFER OF ACADEMIC CREDIT FROM COMMUNITY COLLEGE PROGRAMS TO FOUR-YEAR COLLEGE PROGRAMS.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  G.S. 115D-4.1 reads as rewritten:
"§ 115D-4.1.  College transfer program approval; standards for programs.
	(b)	The State Board of Community Colleges may approve the addition of the college transfer program to a community college.  If addition of the college transfer program to an institution would require a substantial increase in funds, State Board approval shall be subject to appropriation of funds by the General Assembly for this purpose.
(c)	Addition of the college transfer program shall not decrease an institution's ability to provide programs within its basic mission of vocational and technical training and basic academic education.  
(d)	The State Board of Community Colleges shall develop appropriate criteria and standards to regulate the addition of the college transfer program to institutions.  
(e)	The State Board of Community Colleges shall develop appropriate criteria and standards to regulate the operation of college transfer programs.  The criteria and standards shall require:
(1)	All college transfer programs to continue to meet the accreditation standards of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools,
(2)	Each community college that offers a college transfer program to have an articulation agreement with at least one four-year college or university for the acceptance of those courses,
(3)	Each community college that offers a college transfer program to disclose to students when they register for college transfer courses the articulation agreements the community college has with a four-year college or university.
The State Board of Community Colleges shall report annually to the General Assembly on compliance of the community colleges with these criteria and standards.
(f)	The Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina shall report to each community college and to the State Board of Community Colleges in accordance with G.S. 116-11(10b) on the academic performance of that community college's transfer students.  If the State Board of Community Colleges finds that college transfer students from a community college are not consistently performing adequately at a four-year college, the Board shall review the community college's program and determine what steps are necessary to remedy the problem.  The Board shall report annually to the General Assembly on the reports it receives and on what steps it is taking to remedy problems that it finds."
Sec. 2.  G.S. 115D-5(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	The State Board of Community Colleges may adopt and execute such policies, regulations and standards concerning the establishment, administration, and operation of institutions as the State Board may deem necessary to insure the quality of educational programs, to promote the systematic meeting of educational needs of the State, and to provide for the equitable distribution of State and federal funds to the several institutions.
The State Board of Community Colleges shall establish standards and scales for salaries and allotments paid from funds administered by the State Board, and all employees of the institutions shall be exempt from the provisions of the State Personnel Act.  The State Board shall have authority with respect to individual institutions: to approve sites, buildings, building plans, budgets; to approve the selection of the chief administrative officer; to establish and administer standards for professional personnel, curricula, admissions, and graduation; to regulate the awarding of degrees, diplomas, and certificates; to establish and regulate student tuition and fees within policies for tuition and fees established by the General Assembly; and to establish and regulate financial accounting procedures.
The State Board of Community Colleges shall require all community colleges to meet the faculty credential requirements of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools for all community college programs."
Sec. 3.  G.S. 116-11 is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(10b)	The Board of Governors of The University of North Carolina shall report to each community college and to the State Board of Community Colleges on the academic performance of that community college's transfer students."
Sec. 4.  This act becomes effective September 1, 1995.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 19th day of June, 1995.

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Dennis A. Wicker
President of the Senate

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Harold J. Brubaker
Speaker of the House of Representatives