Committee approves narrower general-education requirement for state colleges to emphasize civic knowledge and transferable credits

Representative McLendon presented HB 1696 (as amended), a bill to revise the general-education core for associate and baccalaureate degrees at state-supported institutions to a smaller, transferrable set of required competencies intended to support timely graduation and civic literacy.

Ken Warden, Commissioner of the Division of Higher Education, told the committee the proposal sets a required subset of general-education credits (communication, critical thinking, U.S. history and American government) that would be fully transferable across state institutions and leave flexibility in remaining general-education requirements so that disciplines and majors can retain relevant coursework.

"The spirit of the bill is that undergraduate students in state supported institutions of higher ed acquire knowledge and skills that enable the students to contribute to their state and country as informed self reliant and civic minded students," McLendon said. Committee members asked whether the change would apply to short-term or certificate programs; Warden said the core requirement applies to associate and bachelor's degrees, not short-term technical certificates, though stackable pathways are encouraged.

The amendment clarified that the Department of Education will establish certain operational elements of the core and ensured consistency with the 'ACCESS' transfer framework. After questions about composition of the two communication courses and how technical or discipline-specific writing can satisfy requirements, committee members moved the measure forward. The committee voted to pass HB 1696 as amended by voice vote.