(a) Enable a student to transfer from a community college to a public university listed in ORS 352.002 without the loss of academic credit or the requirement to retake a course at a public university that the student has successfully completed at a community college, provided that the grade in each course that is transferred meets the degree requirements established by the unified statewide transfer agreement;

(b) Contain provisions that identify the optimal number of academic credits, including credits in the major course of study, that the student should have when the student transfers from a community college to a public university listed in ORS 352.002 in order for the student to efficiently receive a bachelor’s degree;

(c) Define the classes and completion standards for the optimal number of academic credits identified in paragraph (b) of this subsection that may be taken at a community college;

(d) Except as provided in paragraph (e) of this subsection, ensure that if a student at a community college has completed 90 academic credits of coursework in conformity with the completion standards identified in paragraph (c) of this subsection and transfers to a public university listed in ORS 352.002, the student will:

(A) Receive junior status in the major course of study at the public university; and

(B) Be able to receive a bachelor’s degree in the major course of study by completing the additional academic credits identified in the unified statewide transfer agreement after transferring, based on the total number of academic credits and standards approved by the accrediting body for the public university; and

(e) For unified statewide transfer agreements that in paragraph (b) of this subsection identify an optimal number of academic credits to transfer other than 90, ensure that if a student at a community college has completed the identified number of academic credits of coursework in conformity with the completion standards identified in paragraph (c) of this subsection and transfers to a public university listed in ORS 352.002, the student will:

(A) Receive status at the public university, based on the number of academic credits referenced in the transfer agreement, that is comparable to the status of students with the same number of academic credits in the major course of study who began their post-secondary studies at the public university; and

(B) Be able to receive a bachelor’s degree in the major course of study by completing the additional academic credits identified in the unified statewide transfer agreement after transferring, based on the total number of academic credits and standards approved by the accrediting body for the public university.

(2) In designing unified statewide transfer agreements under subsection (1) of this section, community colleges and public universities listed in ORS 352.002 shall:

(a) Focus on ensuring that community college students who transfer to public universities to complete a bachelor’s degree are able to obtain the bachelor’s degree with a similar number of academic credits to those required for students who begin their post-secondary studies at a public university;

(b) Seek to minimize student debt;

(c) Seek to increase the rate at which community college students who transfer to public universities receive bachelor’s degrees; and

(d) Seek to maintain the standards of intellectual and academic rigor at community colleges and public universities.

(3)(a) The Higher Education Coordinating Commission shall regularly convene and consult with community colleges and public universities listed in ORS 352.002 in order to determine the major courses of study for which a unified statewide transfer agreement will be established.

(b) Determinations made under this subsection must identify a sufficient number of major courses of study to enable colleges and public universities to comply with subsection (4) of this section.

(c) The commission shall publicly identify the criteria used to make determinations under this subsection, which must include, but need not be limited to, a consideration of:

(A) The major courses of study with the most workforce demand; and

(B) The most common major courses of study among students who transfer from a community college to a public university.

(4) Community colleges and public universities listed in ORS 352.002 shall establish a unified statewide transfer agreement for three major courses of study per year. [2017 c.669 §3]