§3165. Common core curriculum; general education courses; common prerequisites; other degree requirements

            A. The Board of Regents, in collaboration with the postsecondary education management boards and institutions, shall:

            (1) Identify the degree programs offered by public colleges and universities and the postsecondary career and technical education programs offered by community colleges, technical colleges, and city, parish, and other local public school boards.

            (2) Identify those courses that meet general education requirements within each major area of study, which shall be identified by their statewide course number. All public postsecondary educational institutions shall accept such general education courses.

            (3) Identify all courses offered by colleges and universities and accepted for credit toward a degree and appropriately identify them in the statewide numbering system as either general education or required as a prerequisite for a degree.

            (4)(a) Identify common degree program prerequisite courses and course substitutions for degree programs across all postsecondary education institutions. Common degree program prerequisites shall be offered and accepted by all postsecondary institutions, except in cases approved by the Board of Regents.

            (b) Develop a centralized database containing the list of courses and course substitutions that meet the prerequisite requirements for each postsecondary certificate, industry-based certification, and associate and baccalaureate degree program.

            B. The postsecondary education management boards shall identify their core curricula. The public postsecondary institutions shall work with the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and public schools and school districts to assure that high school curricula align with the core curricula to prepare students for postsecondary study.

            C. The core curricula for associate in arts and associate in science degree programs approved by the council for transfer to four-year postsecondary educational institutions shall be approved and adopted by the Board of Regents.

            D.(1) The Board of Regents shall monitor and regulate the number of credits required to complete each baccalaureate degree program and shall establish a standard number of credits required to complete associate degree programs approved by the council for transfer to a four-year postsecondary educational institution.

            (2) A baccalaureate degree program shall not require more than one hundred twenty semester hours of college credit for degree completion without approval from the board, except for degree programs which require additional credit hours to meet certification or accreditation requirements.

            (3) An associate in arts and an associate in science degree shall require no more than sixty semester hours of college credit, including thirty-nine hours of general education coursework and twenty-one hours of coursework that constitute prerequisites for a baccalaureate degree.

            E. The commissioner of higher education shall appoint faculty committees representing community and technical colleges and public high school faculties to recommend criteria, including a standard program length, for each postsecondary career certificate program, diploma, and degree offered by a technical college or a community college.

            Acts 2009, No. 356, §1, eff. July 6, 2009; Acts 2010, No. 861, §8; Acts 2012, No. 622, §1; Acts 2022, No. 308, §1, eff. June 10, 2022.