Lower-Division

Courses

Each institution of higher education that offers lower-division courses must offer at least 45 semester credit hours of academic courses that are substantially equivalent to courses listed in the Lower Division Academic Course Guide Manual (ACGM) including those that fulfill the lower-division portion of the institution's core curriculum. 19 TAC 4.25(b)

Core Curriculum

“Core curriculum” means the curriculum in liberal arts, humanities, and sciences and political, social, and cultural history that all undergraduate students of an institution of higher education, including a college district, are required to complete before receiving an academic undergraduate degree. Education Code 61.821(1); 19 TAC 4.23(5)

Recommendation

The Coordinating Board, with the assistance of advisory committees composed of representatives of institutions of higher education, shall develop a recommended core curriculum of at least 42 semester credit hours (SCH), including a statement of the content, component areas, and objectives of the core curriculum. At least a majority of the members of any advisory committee shall be faculty members of an institution of higher education. An institution shall consult with the faculty of the institution before nominating or recommending a person to the Coordinating Board as the institution’s representative on an advisory committee. Education Code 61.822(a-1); 19 TAC 4.28

Adoption

Each institution of higher education shall adopt a core curriculum of no less than 42 SCH, including specific courses comprising the curriculum. The core curriculum shall be consistent with the common course numbering system approved by the Coordinating Board and with the statements, recommendations, and rules issued by the Coordinating Board.

An institution may, with Coordinating Board approval, have a core curriculum of fewer than 42 semester credit hours for an associate degree program if it would facilitate the award of a degree or transfer of credit. No institution may adopt a core curriculum of more than 42 SCH.

No upper-division course shall be approved to fulfill a foundational component area requirement in the core curriculum if it is substantially comparable in content or depth of study to a lower-division course listed in the ACGM.

In offering its Coordinating Board-approved core curriculum, an institution of higher education must list only those courses that have been approved by the Coordinating Board as compliant with the Texas Core Curriculum.

Education Code 61.822(b); 19 TAC 4.28(a), .29, .31

Revisions

An institution of higher education may request changes to its core curriculum annually. One comprehensive request may be submitted each academic year, on a schedule that suits the institution's needs. An institution should follow the procedures posted on the Coordinating Board's website to modify its core curriculum by adding or deleting courses and must provide information to justify the requested changes.

The institution will receive a letter from Coordinating Board staff giving notice of approval of the proposed changes and/or indicating any changes that do not meet provisions of the current core curriculum, and identifying an effective date for any approved change(s). Upon receiving an approval letter from Coordinating Board staff, the institution shall make any required changes to its core curriculum and will document those changes in institutional publications.

19 TAC 4.31

Component Areas

Each institution of higher education that offers an undergraduate academic degree program shall develop its core curriculum by using the Coordinating Board-approved purpose, core objectives, and foundational component areas of the Texas Core Curriculum. 19 TAC 4.28(b)

Purpose

Through the Texas Core Curriculum, students will gain a foundation of knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world, develop principles of personal and social responsibility for living in a diverse world, and advance intellectual and practical skills that are essential for all learning. 19 TAC 4.28(b)(1)

Core Objectives

Through the Texas Core Curriculum, students will prepare for contemporary challenges by developing and demonstrating the following core objectives:

1. Critical Thinking Skills: to include creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, and analysis, evaluation, and synthesis of information;

2. Communication Skills: to include effective development, interpretation, and expression of ideas through written, oral, and

visual communication;

3. Empirical and Quantitative Skills: to include the manipulation and analysis of numerical data or observable facts resulting in informed conclusions;

4. Teamwork: to include the ability to consider different points of view and to work effectively with others to support a shared purpose or goal;

5. Personal Responsibility: to include the ability to connect choices, actions, and consequences to ethical decision-making; and

6. Social Responsibility: to include intercultural competence, knowledge of civic responsibility, and the ability to engage effectively in regional, national, and global communities.

19 TAC 4.28(b)(2)

Foundational Component

Areas (36 SCH)

Each institution's core curriculum will be composed of courses that adhere to the content description, core objectives, and SCH requirements for a specific component area. The foundational component areas are:

1. Communication (6 SCH):

a. Courses in this category focus on developing ideas and expressing them clearly, considering the effect of the message, fostering understanding, and building the skills needed to communicate persuasively.

b. Courses involve the command of oral, aural, written, and visual literacy skills that enable people to exchange messages appropriate to the subject, occasion, and audience.

c. The following four Core Objectives must be addressed in each course approved to fulfill this category requirement: Critical Thinking Skills, Communication Skills, Teamwork, and Personal Responsibility.

2. Mathematics (3 SCH):

a. Courses in this category focus on quantitative literacy in logic, patterns, and relationships.

b. Courses involve the understanding of key mathematical concepts and the application of appropriate quantitative tools to everyday experience.

c. The following three Core Objectives must be addressed in each course approved to fulfill this category requirement: Critical Thinking Skills, Communication Skills, and Empirical and Quantitative Skills.

3. Life and Physical Sciences (6 SCH):

a. Courses in this category focus on describing, explaining, and predicting natural phenomena using the scientific method.

b. Courses involve the understanding of interactions among natural phenomena and the implications of scientific principles on the physical world and on human experiences.

c. The following four Core Objectives must be addressed in each course approved to fulfill this category requirement:

Critical Thinking Skills, Communication Skills, Empirical and Quantitative Skills, and Teamwork.

4. Language, Philosophy, and Culture (3 SCH):

a. Courses in this category focus on how ideas, values, beliefs, and other aspects of culture express and affect human experience.

b. Courses involve the exploration of ideas that foster aesthetic and intellectual creation in order to understand the human condition across cultures.

c. The following four Core Objectives must be addressed in each course approved to fulfill this category requirement: Critical Thinking Skills, Communication Skills, Personal Responsibility, and Social Responsibility.

5. Creative Arts (3 SCH):

a. Courses in this category focus on the appreciation and analysis of creative artifacts and works of the human imagination.

b. Courses involve the synthesis and interpretation of artistic expression and enable critical, creative, and innovative communication about works of art.

c. The following four Core Objectives must be addressed in each course approved to fulfill this category requirement: Critical Thinking Skills, Communication Skills, Teamwork, and Social Responsibility.

6. American History (6 SCH):

a. Courses in this category focus on the consideration of past events and ideas relative to the United States, with the option of including Texas History for a portion of this component area.

b. Courses involve the interaction among individuals, communities, states, the nation, and the world, considering how these interactions have contributed to the development of the United States and its global role.

c. The following four Core Objectives must be addressed in each course approved to fulfill this category requirement: Critical Thinking Skills, Communication Skills, Personal Responsibility, and Social Responsibility.

7. Government/Political Science (6 SCH):

a. Courses in this category focus on consideration of the Constitution of the United States and the constitutions of the states, with special emphasis on that of Texas.

b. Courses involve the analysis of governmental institutions, political behavior, civic engagement, and their political and philosophical foundations.

c. The following four Core Objectives must be addressed in each course approved to fulfill this category requirement: Critical Thinking Skills, Communication Skills, Personal Responsibility, and Social Responsibility.

8. Social and Behavioral Sciences (3 SCH):

a. Courses in this category focus on the application of empirical and scientific methods that contribute to the understanding of what makes us human.

b. Courses involve the exploration of behavior and interactions among individuals, groups, institutions, and events, examining their impact on the individual, society, and culture.

c. The following four Core Objectives must be addressed in each course approved to fulfill this category requirement: Critical Thinking Skills, Communication Skills, Empirical and Quantitative Skills, and Social Responsibility.

Each student must meet the number of SCH in each foundational component area; however, an institution receiving a student in transfer is not required to apply to the fulfillment of a foundational component area requirement SCH beyond the number of SCH specified in a foundational component area.

A course may only apply to a single foundational component area. If the SCH for a course in a foundational component exceed the number of SCH allotted in that foundational component area, the excess SCH must either be applied to the Component Area Option or as part of the specific degree requirements, such that the additional SCH will not increase the number of required SCH to complete the degree.

No upper-division course shall be approved to fulfill a foundational component area requirement in the core curriculum if it is substantially comparable in content or depth of study to a lower-division course listed in the ACGM.

19 TAC 4.28(a)(2), (b)(3), (f)-(g)

Concurrent Enrollment

A student concurrently enrolled at more than one institution of higher education shall follow the core curriculum requirements in effect for the institution at which the student is classified as a degree-seeking student. A student who is concurrently enrolled at more than one institution of higher education may be classified as a degree-seeking student at only one institution. If a student maintains continuous enrollment from a spring semester to the subsequent fall semester at an institution at which the student has declared to be seeking a degree, the student remains a degree seeking student at that institution regardless of the student's enrollment during the intervening summer session(s) at another institution. [See EFB(LEGAL)] 19 TAC 4.28(d)

Substitutions and Waivers

No institution or institutional representative may approve course substitutions or waivers of the institution’s core curriculum requirements for any currently enrolled student, except that the institution may, on a case-by-case basis, approve an accommodation of a specific core curriculum foundational component area requirement for a student with a medically documented learning disability. 19 TAC 4.28(j)-(k)

[For transfer students, see EGA(LEGAL). For students with learning disabilities, see EFCA(LEGAL).]

Notice

Each institution must publish and make readily available to students its core curriculum requirements stated in terms consistent with the Texas Common Course Numbering System. 19 TAC 4.28(i)

Transcripts

All undergraduate student transcripts should indicate whether a student has completed the core curriculum satisfactorily and which courses satisfied a requirement of the institution's core curriculum. Identifying numbers recommended by the Texas Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (TACRAO) must identify each completed core curriculum course on students' transcripts, in order to indicate courses utilized to satisfy core curriculum foundational component area requirements, as follows:

1. Communication = 010;

2. Mathematics = 020;

3. Life and Physical Sciences = 030;

4. Language, Philosophy and Culture = 040;

5. Creative Arts = 050;

6. American History = 060;

7. Government/Political Science = 070;

8. Social and Behavioral Sciences = 080; and

9. Component Area Option = 090.

19 TAC 4.28(h)

Evaluation of Core Curricula

Each public institution of higher education, including a college district, shall evaluate its core curriculum through the assessment of the core objectives on an ongoing basis, reporting the results of the assessment to the Coordinating Board every 10 years on the schedule that accords with the institution's accreditation reaffirmation self-study report to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) or its successor.

The evaluation and report must include:

1. A description of the assessment process for each of the six core objectives;

2. An explanation of measures, methodology, frequency, and the timeline of assessment activities;

3. The criteria and/or targets used to benchmark the attainment of the six core objectives;

4. The results of the assessment, including evidence of the level of attainment targeted and achieved for each of the six core

objectives;

5. An analysis of the results, including an interpretation of assessment information; and

6. Any actions planned, including how the results and analysis of the assessment process will be used to improve student

learning and achievement.

Education Code 61.824; 19 TAC 4.30

General Education

Curriculum Review

“General Education Curriculum” means a core curriculum and any other curriculum or competency all undergraduate students of an institution of higher education, including a college district, are required to complete before receiving an undergraduate degree. Education Code 51.315(a)(1)

Curriculum Review

At least once every five years, the governing board of each institution of higher education shall conduct a comprehensive review of the general education curriculum established by the institution. In reviewing an institution's general education curriculum, the governing board shall consider the potential costs the curriculum may impose on students, including for additional tuition, fees, and time a student must spend to complete an undergraduate degree program at the institution, and shall ensure courses in the curriculum:

1. Are foundational and fundamental to a sound postsecondary education;

2. Are necessary to prepare students for civic and professional life;

3. Equip students for participation in the workforce and in the betterment of society; and

4. Ensure a breadth of knowledge in compliance with applicable accreditation standards.

Education Code 51.315(b)-(c)

Report to Governing

Board on

Curriculum

Changes

Each institution of higher education shall annually submit to the governing board of the institution an update regarding any changes to the general education curriculum offered at the institution. The governing board may reserve the right to overturn any decision made by the institution regarding any changes to the general education curriculum offered at the institution. Education Code 51.315(d)

Curriculum Review

Committee

The governing board of an institution of higher education may appoint a committee to assist the governing board in carrying out its duties under this section including by making recommendations to the governing board. Members of the committee may include:

1. Faculty employed full-time by the institution;

2. Institution administrators;

3. Community leaders;

4. Industry representatives; and

5. Other individuals selected by the governing board.

Education Code 51.315(e)

Coordinating Board Certification

Not later than January 1 of each year a review is conducted under this section, the governing board of each institution of higher education shall certify the governing board's compliance with this section to the Coordinating Board and each standing legislative committee and subcommittee with primary jurisdiction over higher education.

Not later than January 1, 2027, the governing board of each public institution of higher education shall complete the governing board's initial review in accordance with Education Code 51.315 and certify compliance with the Coordinating Board as required by Education Code 51.315(f).

Education Code 51.315(f); Act of September 1, 2025, 89th Leg.,

R.S., S.B. 37, 1.06.

Field of Study

Curriculum

The Coordinating Board, with the assistance of advisory committees composed of representatives of institutions of higher

education, shall develop field of study curricula. Each advisory committee shall be equitably composed of representatives of

institutions of higher education. Each university system or institution of higher education, including each college district, which offers a degree program for which a field of study curriculum is proposed shall be offered participation on the advisory committee for that particular field of study. At least a majority of the members of any advisory committee named under this section shall be faculty members of an institution of higher education. An institution shall consult with the faculty of the institution before nominating or recommending a person to the Coordinating Board as the institution’s representative on an advisory committee.

“Field of study curriculum” means a set of courses that will satisfy the lower division requirements for a bachelor’s degree in a specific academic area at a general academic teaching institution.

Education Code 61.821(2), .823; 19 TAC 4.21(7)

Evaluation of Field of Study Curricula

Every five years, following the same timetable as the regular accreditation reports sent to the SACSCOC or its successor, each public institution of higher education, including each college district, shall review and evaluate its policies and practices regarding the acceptance and application of credit earned as part of a Coordinating Board-approved field of study curriculum, and report the results of that evaluation to the Coordinating Board. The evaluation should include:

1. The extent to which the institution's compliance with the acceptance of transfer credit through field of study curricula is

being achieved;

2. The extent to which the institution's application to the appropriate degree program of credit earned as part of a Coordinating Board-approved field of study curriculum facilitates academic success; and

3. The effectiveness of field of study curricula in the retention and graduation of transfer students in those degree programs

that have Coordinating Board-approved field of study curricula.

Each institution's evaluation report must contain at least the following:

1. A listing of the institution's degree programs or tracks that have Coordinating Board-approved field of study curricula;

2. A description of the institution's policies and practices regarding applicable Coordinating Board-approved field of study curricula, including admission-point evaluation of transfer credit, advising practices (including catalogue and website information on existing field of study curricula and advising/counseling practices for enrolled students), and transcription practices to field of study curriculum participation and completion; and

3. A chart or table showing the number of total transfer students for each degree program that has a Coordinating Board-approved field of study curriculum, for each of the last five years; the chart should indicate year-by-year the percentage of students who transferred having completed the applicable field of study curriculum, the percentage of students who transferred without having completed the applicable field of study curriculum, and any information about progress toward graduation or graduation rates that can compare transfer student performance with non-transfer student performance during the evaluation period.

19 TAC 4.36(a)

Government or

Political Science

Every college and university, including each college district, receiving state support or state aid from public funds shall provide a course of instruction in government or political science that includes consideration of the Constitution of the United States and the constitutions of the states, with special emphasis on that of Texas. This course shall have a credit value of not less than six semester hours or its equivalent. A college and university receiving state support or state aid from public funds shall not grant a degree or an academic certificate to any person unless the person has credit for such a course. The college or university may determine that a student has satisfied this requirement in whole or in part on the basis of credit granted to the student by the college or university for a substantially equivalent course completed at another accredited college or university or on the basis of the student’s successful completion of an advanced standing examination administered on the conditions and under the circumstances common for the college or university’s advanced standing examinations. The college or university may grant as much as three semester hours of credit or its equivalent toward satisfaction of this requirement for substantially equivalent work completed by the student in the program of an approved senior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) unit. Education Code 51.301

American or Texas

History

A college or university receiving state support or state aid from public funds, including a college district, may not grant a baccalaureate degree or a lesser degree or academic certificate to any person unless the person has credit for six semester hours or its equivalent in American History. A student is entitled to submit as much as three semester hours of credit or its equivalent in Texas History in partial satisfaction of this requirement. The college or university may determine that a student has satisfied this requirement in whole or part on the basis of credit granted to the student by the college or university for a substantially equivalent course completed at another accredited college or university, or on the basis of the student’s successful completion of an advanced standing examination administered on the conditions and under the circumstances common for the college or university’s advanced standing examinations. The college or university may grant as much as three semester hours of credit or its equivalent toward satisfaction of this requirement for substantially equivalent work completed by a student in the program of an approved senior ROTC unit.

A college or university receiving state support or state aid from public funds that does not offer at least three semester credit hours or the equivalent in Texas History to undergraduate students shall enter into an agreement with another postsecondary educational institution to offer to the college or university's undergraduate students at least three semester credit hours or the equivalent in Texas History.

Education Code 51.302(b), (d)

Counseling and

Social Work

The curricula of medical, dental, nursing, allied health, counseling, and social work degree programs of institutions of higher education, including college districts, shall:

1. Include information about methods of transmission and methods of prevention of HIV infection and information about federal and state laws, rules, and regulations concerning HIV infection and AIDS.

2. Give special attention to the physical, emotional, and psychological stress associated with the care of patients with terminal illnesses.

Education Code 51.919(e)

Mexican-American

Studies

The governing board of a public junior college district located in one or more counties with a substantial and growing Mexican-American population shall evaluate the demand for and feasibility of establishing a Mexican-American studies program or other coursework in Mexican-American studies at one or more junior colleges in the district. With approval of the Coordinating Board, the governing board may establish a Mexican-American studies program or other coursework in Mexican-American studies at any of those colleges if the governing board determines that such a program or coursework is desirable and feasible. Education Code 130.0102