Texas Transfer Framework

Beginning in March 2021, the Coordinating Board adopted revised transfer rules that establish a new framework for transfer curricula and a new governance committee, the Texas Transfer Advisory Committee (TTAC). The TTAC will manage and maintain the Texas Transfer Framework and the rolling out of new curricula, supported by the expertise of faculty in the discipline.

Field of Study Curricula

A critical component of the Texas Transfer Framework is the Field of Study Curriculum (FOSC), which is a set of lower-division courses that transfer and apply to a degree program, as required by state law, Texas Education Code, Chapter 61, Section 61.823 and Coordinating Board rules, Texas Administrative Code, Title 19, Part 1, Chapter 4, Subchapter B.

Under the new framework, a complete FOSC will consist of the following elements:

  • Discipline-relevant Texas Core Curriculum courses 
  • Up to 12 semester credit hours of Discipline Foundation Courses
  • At least 6 semester credit hours of Directed Electives, which will be submitted by the relevant faculty of each general academic institution and shared through the THECB website

If a student completes all the courses in an FOSC and transfers to another Texas public institution of higher education, the FOSC courses transfer as a block and are applied to the student’s selected major. If a student completes the FOSC, the Texas Core Curriculum, and any college or university courses required of all students regardless of major, then the student is finished with all the lower-division courses.

If a student transfers with an incomplete FOSC, then each completed FOSC course transfers and applies to the to the degree program, and the institution may require the student to complete additional lower-division courses.

Legacy Field of Study Curricula

Curricula developed under the former framework will remain active until their expiration by operation of law, unless the Texas Transfer Advisory Committee acts to replace the FOSC sooner. Unless replaced, the effectiveness each of the FOSC listed below will expire on August 31, 2025. For more information, please see Texas Administrative Code, Title 19, Part 1, Subchapter B, Rule 4.32(g).

The links to each FOSC provide information for approved lower-division Academic Course Guide Manual (ACGM) course designations for the FOSC and Classification of Instructional Program (CIP) numbers for programs included in the FOSC.

Transfer Reports

The agency has published the following reports on transfer-related issues:

  • Texas General Academic Institutions: Increasing Successful Community College Transfer Report (Fall 2015)
  • Texas General Academic Institutions: Increasing Successful Community College Transfer Report (Fall 2016)
  • Texas General Academic Institutions: Increasing Successful Community College Transfer Report (Fall 2017)
  • Texas General Academic Institutions: Increasing Successful Community College Transfer Report and Appendices (Fall 2018)
  • Study on Best Practices in Credit Transfer Report (October 2018)
  • Texas General Academic Institutions: Increasing Successful Community College Transfer Report (Fall 2020)
  • Report on Non-Transferable Credit and Courses Taken at Public Two-Year Colleges (February 2021)

THECB also compiles Transfer Students’ Success data on the Texas Higher Education data site.

Inquiries regarding Field of Study should be directed to TTAC@highered.texas.gov or Stacey.Silverman@highered.texas.gov.