Higher education bill 1042 becomes law

Education Legislation Sponsored by Sen. David Pearce Signed Into Law

JEFFERSON CITY — Citizens seeking post-secondary degrees will be able to more easily transfer courses between schools, among other provisions, as Sen. David Pearce, R-Warrensburg, along with Rep. Mike Thomson, R-Maryville, participated in the signing of House Bill 1042 during a state higher education forum in Columbia last week. Both Sen. Pearce and Rep. Thomson were participating in a higher education summit in South Dakota, and participated in the bill signing via conference call.

“Continuing education can be a daunting prospect under many circumstances,” Sen. Pearce said. “The goal of this legislation is to streamline many of the processes that hold students up in their quest to complete their degrees.”

The measure requires the creation of a library of 25 core general education courses that would be transferable between public two- and four-year institutions. This library must be created by July 1, 2014. It also calls for development of a reverse transfer process, in which a student attending a four-year school could transfer the appropriate credits and graduate from an available two-year program.

Another provision designed to beneficially impact higher education requires the development and placement of policies that will combine and replicate the best remediation practices from all across the country. In doing so, many higher education students will have improved access to information that will better fit their learning styles.

“I look forward to the education advances that will be more readily available to Missouri’s students with the signing of this bill,” Sen. Pearce said. “People work hard to achieve their goals. Sometimes, encouragement to reach the finish line can be found in small ways to make the process simpler.”

House Bill 1042, much like many other bills passed by the General Assembly that are slated to be signed by the governor in the upcoming weeks, will take effect Aug. 28.