                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

ARTICULATION, DUAL ADMISSIONS, AND GUARANTEED ADMISSIONS AGREEMENTS; ADMISSION
OF CERTAIN COMPREHENSIVE COMMUNITY COLLEGE GRADUATES (§ 23.1-907)

A. The board of visitors of each baccalaureate public institution of higher
education shall develop, consistent with Council guidelines and the
institution&#8217;s six-year plan as set forth in &#xA7; 23.1-306, articulation,
dual admissions, and guaranteed admissions agreements with each
associate-degree-granting public institution of higher education. Such
guaranteed admissions agreements may provide for the guaranteed admission of a
student who earns an associate degree concurrently with a high school diploma
through a dual enrollment program, in addition to any guaranteed admission for a
student who earns an associate degree post-high school.

B. The System, in cooperation with the Council and each public institution of
higher education, and consistent with the guidelines developed pursuant to
subdivision 20 of &#xA7; 23.1-203, shall establish a one-semester Passport
Program and a one-year Uniform Certificate of General Studies Program. The
Passport Program shall consist of 15 course credit hours and shall be a
component of the 30-credit-hour Uniform Certificate of General Studies Program.
Each Uniform Certificate of General Studies Program and Passport Program course
shall be transferable and shall satisfy a lower division general education
requirement at any public institution of higher education. The Uniform
Certificate of General Studies Program and Passport Program shall be available
at each comprehensive community college and through the Online Virginia Network.

C. The Council shall establish procedures under which a baccalaureate public
institution of higher education may seek a waiver from the Council from
accepting the transfer of a Uniform Certificate of General Studies Program or
Passport Program course to satisfy the requirements for the completion of a
specific pathway or degree. A waiver shall not be granted allowing a
baccalaureate public institution to (i) generally reject the transfer of all
coursework that is a part of the Uniform Certificate of General Studies Program
or Passport Program or (ii) generally reject the transfer of a course from the
Uniform Certificate of General Studies Program or Passport Program for all
pathway maps and degrees. An application for a waiver shall identify with
particularity the course for which the institution is seeking a waiver and the
particular pathway or degree to which the waiver would apply. The application
shall provide justification for the waiver and shall designate alternative
courses offered through the System that may be completed by a student in order
to complete a transferable, 30-credit-hour Uniform Certificate of General
Studies or 15-credit-hour Passport. The Council shall adopt guidelines regarding
the criteria to be used to review and issue decisions regarding waiver requests.
Such waiver requests shall only be granted if the baccalaureate public
institution of higher education provides evidence that the specified pathway or
degree requires a specialized, lower division course not available through the
System. Once approved, notice of a waiver granted by the Council shall be
included in the online portal established pursuant to &#xA7; 23.1-908.

D. The Council shall develop guidelines for associate-degree-granting and
baccalaureate public institutions of higher education to use in mapping pathways
for the completion of credits in particular programs of study, including the
courses recommended to be taken in a dual enrollment, comprehensive community
college, and baccalaureate public institution setting in order to pursue a
specific degree or career. Such guidelines shall define the elements of a
pathway map and identify the pathway maps to be developed. Initial guidelines
adopted for mapping such pathways shall establish a multiyear schedule for the
development and implementation of pathway maps for all fields of study.

E. Each baccalaureate public institution of higher education, in cooperation and
consultation with the System, shall develop pathway maps consistent with the
guidelines established pursuant to subsection D. Such pathways maps shall
clearly set forth the courses that a student at a comprehensive community
college is encouraged to complete prior to transferring to the baccalaureate
institution. The goal of the career education pathway maps shall be to assist
students in achieving optimal efficiencies in the time and cost of completing a
degree program. Such program map shall also clearly identify the courses, if
any, for which the baccalaureate institution has received a waiver from transfer
pursuant to subsection C.

F. The Council shall prepare a comprehensive annual report on the effectiveness
of transferring from comprehensive community colleges to baccalaureate public
institutions of higher education, including a review of the effectiveness of the
use of pathway maps in achieving efficiencies and cost savings in the completion
of a degree program. The report shall include the following elements: completion
rates, average time to degree, credit accumulation, post-transfer student
academic performance, and comparative efficiency. The Council shall adopt
guidelines for data submission from public institutions of higher education
necessary for such report, and all institutions shall report such data in
accordance with the guidelines. The report shall be made publicly available on
the Council website and on the online portal maintained pursuant to &#xA7;
23.1-908.

G. Each comprehensive community college shall develop agreements for
postsecondary credit and degree attainment with the public high schools in the
school divisions that such comprehensive community college serves specifying the
options for students to complete an associate degree, the Passport Program, or
the Uniform Certificate of General Studies Program concurrent with a high school
diploma consistent with the requirements for the College and Career Ready
Virginia Program set forth in Article 5.1 (&#xA7; 22.1-237.1 et seq.) of Chapter
13 of Title 22.1. Such agreements shall specify the credit available for dual
enrollment courses and Advanced Placement courses with qualifying exam scores of
three or higher.

H. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any public institution of
higher education established pursuant to Chapter 25 (&#xA7; 23.1-2500 et seq.).

HISTORY: 2005, c. 818, § 23-9.2:3.02; 2006, cc. 379, 531; 2007, c. 46; 2011,
cc. 828, 869; 2012, cc. 142, 794; 2014, c. 628; 2016, c. 588; 2017, c. 521;
2018, cc. 593, 832, 845; 2024, cc. 647, 684.