Harrison County State Rep. Rhonda Rhoads’ (R-Corydon) legislation ensuring state colleges and universities control the amount of credit hours imposed for degree programs was signed into law by Gov. Mitch Daniels on Friday.
House Enrolled Act (HEA) 1220 requires the Commission of Higher Education (CHE) to approve degree programs that require more than 60 credit hours for an associate degree and 120 hours for a bachelor’s degree. State colleges and universities are required to do the initial evaluation of credit hours for undergraduate degree programs and report the findings to the CHE with justification for degree programs requiring credit hours in excess of the CHE’s automatic approval amount.
If additional credit hours are necessary to maintain a specific program’s standards or required by certain occupational certification, the CHE is required to accept the justification.
“This legislation will protect our college students from the burden of excessive credit hours, while guarding the integrity of degree programs at our state colleges and universities,” said Rep. Rhoads. “Some higher education institutions in the state are already regulating the amount of credit hours required for degree programs, but we wanted to ensure that this process is uniform throughout the state.
“Excessive credit hours increase the time and expense students and their families incur in receiving their degrees. Reducing the hours will also help improve college graduation rates across the state.”
HEA 1220 will go into effect on July 1, 2012. |
