A929

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON

District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)

Assemblywoman LINDA S. CARTER

District 22 (Somerset and Union)

Assemblyman CODY D. MILLER

District 4 (Atlantic, Camden and Gloucester)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblyman Venezia

SYNOPSIS

Requires public institution of higher education to provide academic credit for certain examinations.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.

An Act concerning academic credit at public institutions of higher education and supplementing chapter 61C of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. As used in this act:

“Advanced placement course” means a course aligned with the course descriptions provided by the College Board which is intended to provide students with the opportunity to complete college level studies during high school.

“Advanced placement examination” means the advanced placement examination conducted by the College Board, on the basis of which participating institutions of higher education award academic credit to a high school student who has completed an advanced placement course.

“College-level examination program” means the college-level examination program conducted by the College Board which is intended to provide students with the opportunity to complete college level studies outside of the classroom.

“College-level examination program learning assessment” means the college-level examination program learning assessment conducted by the College Board, on the basis of which participating institutions of higher education award academic credit to a student who has completed the college-level examination program.

“Secretary” means the Secretary of Higher Education.

2. a. Each public institution of higher education shall award academic credit to a student for advanced placement examinations and college-level examination program learning assessments provided that the student:

(1) is pursuing an associates or baccalaureate degree;

(2) completed the applicable advanced placement course and examination or college-level examination program learning assessment prior to enrollment in the institution; and

(3) in the case of an advanced placement course, earned a score of three or higher, and, in the case of a college-level examination program learning assessment, earned a score of 50 or higher.

b. Each institution shall, to the greatest extent feasible, apply academic credits awarded pursuant to subsection a. of this section to a student’s academic degree requirements.

c. Each institution shall post on its website the institution’s policies and procedures for awarding academic credit for advanced placement examinations and college-level examination program learning assessments.

d. Each institution shall submit its policies and procedures for awarding academic credit for advanced placement examinations and college-level examination program learning assessments to the Secretary of Higher Education and shall notify the secretary of any change to the institution’s policies and procedures no less than 60 days before the change takes effect.

3. a. The Secretary of Higher Education may provide a public institution of higher education with an exemption from section 2 of this act on an individual course basis provided that the institution submits data that a required score differing from the provisions of section 2 of this act is necessary for a student to be successful in a related or more advanced course.

b. The Office of the Secretary of Higher Education shall post on its website each institution’s policies and procedures and changes to the policies and procedures received pursuant to subsection d. of section 2 of this act.

4. This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to the first full academic year following the date of enactment.

STATEMENT

This bill requires public institutions of higher education to provide academic credit to students who receive a score of three or above on an advanced placement examination or a score of 50 or above on a college-level examination program learning assessment.

Under the bill, to receive the academic credit, a student is required to be pursuing an associate or baccalaureate degree, and while in grades 9 through 12, has completed either the applicable advanced placement course and advanced placement examination or the applicable college-level examination program learning assessment while enrolled in grades 9 through 12.

Additionally, the bill requires each institution to post the institution’s policies and procedures for awarding academic credit for advanced placement examinations and college-level examination program learning assessments on its website and submit the policies and procedures to the Secretary of Higher Education. The Office of the Secretary of Higher Education is subsequently required to post each institution’s policies and procedures on the office’s website. The bill also requires each institution to report any proposed change to the policies and procedures to the Secretary of Higher Education no less than 60 days before the change takes effect.

Finally, the bill permits the secretary to provide an institution with an exemption to the academic credit requirements established under the bill on an individual course basis provided that the institution submits data that a required score differing from the academic credit requirements established under the bill are necessary for a student to be successful in a related or more advanced course.