13-R389

2013 -- S 1046

Enacted 07/03/13

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

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

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

school diploma; and

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

therefore be it

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

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

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

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

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

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

program or certificate; and be it further

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

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

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

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

beginning July 1, 2015; and be it further

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

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

the Commissioner of Higher Education.

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LC02950

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