N.M. Stat. § 21-1B-3 — NM Code / Chapter 21 / Article 1B / Section 21-1B-3
§ 21-1B-3. Initial articulation planning and development of meta-major and transfer module
Status: in_force

A. The department shall establish and maintain a comprehensive statewide plan to provide for the articulation of educational programs and facilitate the transfer of course credits between institutions.

B. In establishing a statewide articulation plan, the department shall:

(1) by August 1, 2017, establish a common course naming and numbering system for courses identified as substantially equivalent lower-division courses; provided that the department shall establish an interim mechanism of a statewide equivalency table that uses a universal taxonomy to identify substantially equivalent courses until the common system is in place;

(2) establish a process to identify courses as substantially equivalent. The process shall:

(a) include a procedure for each course whereby faculty members from each segment teaching the academic discipline will reach mutual agreement on the material to be taught and the competencies to be gained;

(b) ensure that the content of each course is comparable across institutions offering that course;

(c) ensure that substantially all the content agreed to among the institutions as the content to be covered by a course is in fact covered in that course and that students successfully completing the course will achieve like competencies with respect to the content covered; and

(d) ensure that the content requirements for each course will be sufficient to prepare students for upper-division coursework in that field;

(3) maintain a list of lower-division courses offered at higher education institutions in New Mexico. All courses assigned the same number shall transfer between institutions as that course name and number; and

(4) develop a process for reviewing, updating and maintaining the common course numbering system.

C. The department shall, in consultation with the faculty, facilitate the development and approval of statewide meta-majors and transfer modules by August 2019.

D. The department, in consultation with faculty, shall develop a statewide general education core curriculum of not less than fifteen hours for an associate in applied science degree, thirty hours for an associate degree other than in applied science and thirty hours for a bachelor degree. The statewide general education core curriculum shall include a comprehensive array of lower-division college-level courses designed to provide a foundation for a liberal education and courses that include the interdisciplinary study of differences that recognize and respect New Mexico's diverse cultures, histories and identities. The department shall develop a process for maintaining and updating the statewide general education core curriculum. The department shall review and approve proposed statewide general education core curriculum requirements. For every institution, each approved course in the general education core curriculum shall be transferable, and its credit hours shall count toward fulfilling general education core curriculum requirements at any institution to which they are transferred.