2013 -- S 1046

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LC02950

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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2013

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S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N

RESPECTFULLY REQUESTING THAT THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

IMPLEMENT A REVERSE TRANSFER POLICY BETWEEN FOUR-YEAR INSTITUTIONS

OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND PUBLIC TWO-YEAR INSTITUTIONS

     

     

     Introduced By: Senator Juan M. Pichardo

     Date Introduced: July 02, 2013

     Referred To: Placed on the Senate Consent Calendar

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     WHEREAS, According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), people with an

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associate’s degree earn more than those whose highest level of educational attainment is a high

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school diploma; and

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     WHEREAS, The fastest growing occupations and the fields with the most job openings

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are often those which require a worker to have obtained an associate’s degree; and

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     WHEREAS, According to census data, by the year 2020 over fifty percent (50%) of

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Rhode Island jobs will require some sort of postsecondary training; and

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     WHEREAS, Among Rhode Islanders without a postsecondary degree, nineteen and

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seven-tenths percent (19.7%) had at least some college but did not receive a degree; and

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     WHEREAS, Allowing students to transfer many of the credits they have earned towards

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an associate’s degree would enable those students who have not completed a four-year degree to

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obtain an associate’s degree. This change will better reflect these Rhode Islanders’ educational

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attainment, enhancing their job prospects and, in turn, bolstering the state’s economy; now,

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therefore be it

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     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

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hereby respectfully requests that the Rhode Island Board of Education implement a reverse

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transfer policy that shall allow students to use credits earned at a four-year institution towards

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attainment of an associate’s degree at a public two-year institution; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That the Board shall consider allowing the transfer of at least eighty

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percent (80%) of the credits that the public two-year institution requires for the associate’s degree

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program or certificate; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That the Board shall report the number of associate’s degrees and

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certificates awarded where students utilized the reverse transfer options and, wherever possible,

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whether the student continued his or her education in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree. The report

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shall be provided to the President of the Senate, Speaker of the House, and Governor annually,

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beginning July 1, 2015; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

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transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Chairperson of the Board of Education and

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the Commissioner of Higher Education.

     

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LC02950

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S1046