(a) "Associate transfer degree" means an associate degree that is awarded by a community college and that is intended to allow a student to apply the credits earned for the degree toward a baccalaureate degree.

(b) "Community college" means a community college operated under ORS chapter 341.

(c) "Public university" means a public university listed in ORS 352.002.

(d) "Transfer program" means a one-year program that is designed to allow a student to apply the credits earned through the program toward a baccalaureate degree.

(2) The Higher Education Coordinating Commission shall develop standards related to the ability of students to apply credits earned through courses of study at community colleges to baccalaureate degrees awarded by public universities. The standards shall be known as the "Transfer Student Bill of Rights and Responsibilities."

(3) The standards developed under this section must include:

(a) Admission standards to public universities for students who have earned an associate transfer degree.

(b) Processes to align requirements for community college courses and public university courses to ensure that credits earned for completion of sufficiently similar courses are fully transferable between all community colleges and public universities.

(c) Processes to minimize the number of credits that students who have earned an associate transfer degree would need to complete prior to receiving various types of baccalaureate degrees at public universities, including identifying majors in baccalaureate degree programs that require more than two years to complete after a student has earned an associate transfer degree.

(d) Processes to minimize the number of credits that students who have completed a transfer program would need to complete prior to receiving various types of baccalaureate degrees at public universities.

(e) Processes by which a community college would award an associate degree to a student upon completion of necessary credits, regardless of whether the student applied to receive the degree or whether the student earned the credits for the degree at a community college or a public university.

(f) Processes to evaluate and make recommendations for the development of associate transfer degrees in specific areas of study, including engineering.

(g) Any other issues identified by the Higher Education Coordinating Commission that relate to courses of study at community colleges and the ability of a student to transfer credits to a community college or a public university, to be admitted to a public university or to earn a degree at a community college or a public university.

(h) Requirements that students must meet in order to benefit from the standards described in paragraphs (a) to (g) of this subsection.

(4) Each community college and public university shall submit annual reports to the Higher Education Coordinating Commission related to:

(a) The number of students who attend a community college and then a public university, or a public university and then a community college.

(b) The number of students who attend one community college and then a different community college.

(c) The number of students who transfer from a community college to a public university and who have an associate transfer degree or have completed a transfer program.

(d) The average number of credits students have when they transfer from a community college to a public university.

(e) The average number of credits students have when they attend one community college and then a different community college.

(f) The average number of credits that a student earning an associate transfer degree completed at a community college.

(g) The average number of credits students who have transferred from a community college to a public university must earn prior to receiving a baccalaureate degree compared to the average number of credits students who did not transfer from a community college must earn prior to receiving a baccalaureate degree. [Formerly 341.430]