19 Tex. Admin. Code § 2.3 - Definitions
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless otherwise defined in the subchapter:
(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) Assistant Commissioner--In this
subchapter or a subchapter that cross-references to the provisions of this
subchapter, Assistant Commissioner means the Assistant, Associate, or Deputy
Commissioner designated by the Commissioner.
(8) Board--The governing body of the agency
known as the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
(9) Board Staff--Staff of the Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board who perform the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board's administrative functions and services.
(10) Career and Technical Education
Certificate--A post-secondary credential, other than a degree, which a student
earns upon successful completion of a workforce or continuing education program
offered by an institution of higher education. Courses that comprise career and
technical education certificates are listed in the Workforce Education Course
Manual and the Academic Course Guide Manual and are subject to Board approval.
For purposes of this chapter, career and technical education certificate means
a certificate program as defined in Texas Education Code, §
61.003(12)(C).
(11) Career and Technical Education Course--A
college-level workforce or continuing education course offered by an
institution of higher education which earns either semester credit hours or
continuing education units toward satisfaction of a requirement necessary to
obtain an industry-recognized credential, certificate, or applied associate
degree. Career and technical education courses are listed in the Workforce
Education Course Manual.
(12)
Certificate program--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.
(13) CIP
Codes--See "Texas Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) Coding
System."
(14) Commissioner--The
Commissioner of Higher Education.
(15) 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.
(16) 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.
(17) 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.
(18) 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,
research doctoral, or professional practice doctoral degree.
(19) 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).
(20) Embedded
Credential--A course of study enabling a student to earn a credential that is
wholly embedded within a degree program.
(21) 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).
(22) Higher Education Regions--The Board
adopts the economic regions of this state as defined by the Texas Comptroller
of Public Accounts as the higher education state uniform service
regions.
(23) Master's Degree
Program--The first graduate level degree, intermediate between a Baccalaureate
degree program and Doctoral degree program.
(24) 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.
(25)
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.
(26) 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.
(27) Professional Practice
Doctoral 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.
(28) 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.
(29) Public Health-Related
Institution--Public health-related institutions that are supported by state
funds.
(30) Public Junior
College--A public institution of higher education as defined in Tex. Educ. Code
§61.003(2).
(31) 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).
(32) Public
University--A general academic teaching institution as defined by Tex. Educ.
Code §61.003(3).
(33) Research
Doctoral Degree--An academic degree that typically represents the highest level
of formal study or research in a given field and that requires completion of
original research.
(34) Semester
Credit Hour, or Credit Hour--A unit of measure of instruction consisting of 60
minutes, of which 50 minutes must be direct instruction, which is typically
offered over a 15-week period in a semester system or a 10-week period in a
quarter system.
(35) 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.
(36) Texas Core
Curriculum--Curriculum required at each institution of higher education
students are required to complete as required by 19 TAC §
4.23(3).
(37) Texas Success Initiative (TSI)--A
comprehensive program of assessment, advising, developmental education, and
other strategies to ensure college readiness. The rules governing the Texas
Success Initiative are established in Chapter 4, Subchapter C.
(38) Tracks of Study--Specialized areas of
study within a single degree program.
(39) 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.
(40)
Workforce Education Course 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.
Notes
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