Texas Administrative Code › Title 19 - EDUCATION › Part 1 - TEXAS HIGHER EDUCATION COORDINATING BOARD › Chapter 2 - ACADEMIC AND WORKFORCE EDUCATION › Subchapter A - GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section 2.3 - Definitions

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in this
					 subchapter, shall have the following meanings:
(1) Academic Associate Degree--A type of
				  degree program generally intended to transfer to an upper-level baccalaureate
				  program that will satisfy the lower-division requirements for a baccalaureate
				  degree in a specific discipline. The Academic Associate Degree includes, but is
				  not limited to, the Associate of Arts (A.A.), Associate of Science (A.S.). or
				  Associate of Arts in Teaching (A.A.T.) degrees.
(2) Academic Course Guide Manual (ACGM)--The
				  manual that provides the official list of approved courses for general academic
				  transfer to public universities offered for funding by public community, state,
				  and technical colleges in Texas.
(3) Academic Program or Programs--A type of
				  credential primarily consisting of course content intended to prepare students
				  for study at the bachelor's degree or higher.
(4) Administrative Unit--A department,
				  college, school, or other unit at an institution of higher education, which has
				  administrative authority over degree or certificate programs.
(5) Applied Associate Degree--A type of
				  degree program designed to lead the individual directly to employment in a
				  specific career. The Applied Associate Degree Program includes, but is not
				  limited to, the Associate of Applied Arts (A.A.A.) or Associate of Applied
				  Science (A.A.S.).
(6) Applied
				  Baccalaureate Degree Program--Builds on an Associate of Applied Science
				  (A.A.S.) degree, combined with enough additional core curriculum courses and
				  upper-level college courses to meet the minimum semester credit hour
				  requirements for a bachelor's degree. The degree program is designed to grow
				  professional management skills of the learner and meet the demand for
				  leadership of highly technical professionals in the workplace. May be called a
				  Bachelor of Applied Arts and Science (B.A.A.S.), Bachelor of Applied Technology
				  (B.A.T.) or Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.S.).
(7) Board--The governing body of the agency
				  known as the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
(8) Board Staff--Staff of the Texas Higher
				  Education Coordinating Board who perform the Texas Higher Education
				  Coordinating Board's administrative functions and services.
(9) Career Technical/Workforce Program--An
				  applied associate degree program or a certificate program for which semester
				  credit hours, quarter credit hours, or continuing education units are awarded,
				  and which is intended to prepare students for immediate employment or a job
				  upgrade in a specific occupation.
(10) Certificate program--Unless otherwise
				  specified in these rules for the purpose of this chapter, certificate means a
				  grouping of subject-matter courses which, when satisfactorily completed by a
				  student, will entitle the student to a certificate or documentary evidence,
				  other than a degree, of completion of a course of study at the postsecondary
				  level. Under this chapter, certificate includes a post-baccalaureate
				  certificate, and excludes an associate degree unless otherwise
				  provided.
(11) CIP Codes--See
				  "Texas Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) Coding System."
(12) Commissioner--The Commissioner of Higher
				  Education.
(13) Contact hour--A
				  time unit of instruction used by community, technical, and state colleges
				  consisting of 60 minutes, of which 50 minutes must be direct
				  instruction.
(14) Continuing
				  Education Unit (CEU)--Basic unit for continuing education courses. One
				  continuing education unit (CEU) is 10 contact hours of participation in an
				  organized continuing education experience under responsible sponsorship,
				  capable direction, and qualified instruction.
(15) Credential--A grouping of subject matter
				  courses or demonstrated mastery of specified content which entitles a student
				  to documentary evidence of completion. This term encompasses certificate
				  programs, degree programs, and other kinds of formal recognitions such as
				  short-term workforce credentials or a combination thereof.
(16) Degree Program--Any grouping of subject
				  matter courses which, when satisfactorily completed by a student, will entitle
				  that student to an associate's, bachelor's, master's, doctoral, or professional
				  degree.
(17) Degree Title--Name of
				  the degree and discipline under which one or more degree programs may be
				  offered. A degree title usually consists of the degree designation (e.g.,
				  Bachelor of Science, Master of Arts) and the discipline specialty (e.g.,
				  History, Psychology).
(18) Doctoral
				  Degree--An academic degree beyond the level of a master's degree that typically
				  represents the highest level of formal study or research in a given
				  field.
(19) Embedded Credential--A
				  course of study enabling a student to earn a credential that is wholly embedded
				  within a degree program.
(20) Field
				  of Study Curriculum--A set of courses that will satisfy lower-division
				  requirements for an academic major at a general academic teaching institution,
				  as defined in chapter 4, subchapter B, §
										4.23(7) of this
				  title (relating to Definitions).
(21) Master's Degree Program--The first
				  graduate level degree, intermediate between a Baccalaureate degree program and
				  Doctoral degree program.
(22) New
				  Content--As determined by the institution, content that the institution does
				  not currently offer at the same instructional level as the proposed program. A
				  program with sufficient new content to constitute a 'significant departure'
				  from existing offerings under
				  34 CFR §
											602.22(a)(1)(ii)(C) meets
				  the 50% new content threshold.
(23)
				  Pilot Institution--Public junior colleges initially authorized to offer
				  baccalaureate degrees through the pilot initiative established by SB 286 (78R -
				  2003). Specifically, the four pilot institutions are Midland College, South
				  Texas College, Brazosport College, and Tyler Junior College.
(24) Planning Notification--Formal
				  notification that an institution intends to develop a plan and submit a degree
				  program proposal or otherwise notify the Board of intent to offer a new degree
				  program.
(25) Professional
				  Degree--Certain degree programs that prepare students for a career as a
				  practitioner in a particular profession, including certain credential types
				  that are required for professional licensure. For the purpose of this chapter,
				  the term refers specifically to the following degrees: Doctor of Medicine
				  (M.D.), Doctor of Osteopathy (D.O.), Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.), Doctor
				  of Podiatric Medicine (D.P.M.), Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.) and
				  Juris Doctor (J.D.).
(26) Program
				  Inventory--The official list of all degree and certificate programs offered by
				  a public community college, university, or health-related institution, as
				  maintained by Board Staff.
(27)
				  Public Health-Related Institution--Public health-related institutions that are
				  supported by state funds.
(28)
				  Public Junior College--A public institution of higher education as defined in
				  Tex. Educ. Code §61.003(2).
(29) Public Two-year College--Any public
				  junior college, public community college, public technical institute, or public
				  state college as defined in Tex. Educ. Code §61.003(16).
(30) Public University--A general academic
				  teaching institution as defined by Tex. Educ. Code §61.003(3).
(31) Semester Credit Hour, or Credit Hour--A
				  unit of measure of instruction consisting of 60 minutes, of which 50 minutes
				  must be direct instruction, over a 15-week period in a semester system or a
				  10-week period in a quarter system.
(32) Texas Classification of Instructional
				  Programs (CIP) Coding System--The Texas adaptation of the federal
				  Classification of Instructional Programs taxonomy developed by the National
				  Center for Education Statistics and used nationally to classify instructional
				  programs and report educational data. The 8-digit CIP codes define the
				  authorized teaching field of the specified program, based upon the
				  occupation(s) for which the program is designed to prepare its
				  graduates.
(33) Texas Core
				  Curriculum--Curriculum required at each institution of higher education
				  students are required to complete as required by 19 TAC §
										4.23(3).
(34) Texas Success Initiative (TSI)--A
				  comprehensive program of assessment, advising, developmental education, and
				  other strategies to ensure college readiness. The TSI Assessment shall be the
				  sole assessment instrument as specified in 19 TAC §
										4.56 of this title (relating to
				  Assessment Instrument). The passing standards for the authorized TSI Assessment
				  are established in 19 TAC §
										4.57 of this title (relating to
				  College Ready Standards).
(35)
				  Tracks of Study--Specialized areas of study within a single degree
				  program.
(36) Transcriptable
				  Minor--A transcriptable minor is a group of courses around a specific subject
				  matter marked on the student's transcript. The student must declare a minor for
				  the minor to be included on the student's transcript. The student cannot
				  declare a minor without also being enrolled in a major course of study as part
				  of a baccalaureate degree program.
(37) Workforce Education Course Guide Manual
				  (WECM)--An online database composed of the Board's official statewide inventory
				  of career technical/workforce education courses available for two-year public
				  colleges to use in certificate and associate degree programs.