College Transfer and Learner Mobility Act
Filed on May 5, 2026, and referred to the Committee on Higher, Technical and Vocational Education; it has been pending in committee since then with no recorded action.
The bill addresses systemic issues in higher education transfer processes.
The bill addresses ongoing issues in higher education transfer processes.
College Transfer and Learner Mobility Act
The College Transfer and Learner Mobility Act aims to facilitate the transfer of students between higher education institutions by ensuring timely release of academic records and fair credit recognition processes.
Compared with current law:
Students face delays and inconsistencies in transferring academic credits.
Students will have guaranteed timely release of academic records and transparent credit recognition.
The main purpose of the Act is to promote learner mobility in higher education by ensuring timely release of academic records and establishing fair credit recognition processes for students transferring between institutions.
Source · full text✦ Dashed tags are AI-suggested nuance; solid tags follow the committee taxonomy.
Stalled: the bill has sat in committee for over four months with no action since its referral on May 6, 2026.
No floor deliberations yet — this measure has not reached plenary. Its committee-stage actions appear under Legislative history above.
Senate Offire of the secretarp TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) 26 MAY -5 P3:44 First Regular Session SENATE RECEIVED BY: S. No. — 2105 Introduced by Senator Loren Legarda AN ACT PROMOTING LEARNER MOBILITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION BY ENSURING THE TIMELY RELEASE OF ACADEMIC RECORDS AND FAIR AND TRANSPARENT CREDIT RECOGNITION, ESTABLISHING A NATIONAL CREDIT TRANSFER AND LEARNER MOBILITY FRAMEWORK, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES EXPLANATORY NOTE Education is a constitutional right guaranteed to every Filipino. The 1987 Constitution affirms the State's duty to protect and promote quality and accessible education at all levels. Yet for many college students, this right is undermined when they attempt to transfer from one higher education institution (HEI) to another. What should be a straightforward process often becomes a source of frustration and hardship. Students face delays in the release of academic records and transfer credentials, inconsistent and opaque credit recognition policies, and outright refusals by institutions to recognize completed academic units. The Final Report of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) further underscores this gap, noting that the Philippine Qualifications Framework - National Coordinating Council (PQF-NCC) has remained largely nonfunctional since the passage of Republic Act No. 10968 in 2017, otherwise known as the PQF Act, reflecting chronic governance and institutional weaknesses in the country's qualifications and lifelong learning architecture. 1 These barriers force ' Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2). Turning Point: A Decade of Necessary Reform (2026-2035). https://edcom2.gov.ph/media/2026/01/EDCOM-II-Y03-for-web-012626_final.pdf
students to spend more years in school, shoulder additional expenses, and in some cases, abandon their studies altogether. The proposed College Transfer and Learner Mobility Act seeks to address these long-standing challenges by ensuring that students can pursue higher education opportunities without undue impediments. It establishes the legal foundation for learner mobility by guaranteeing the timely release of academic records, mandating fair and transparent credit recognition grounded in the principle of substantial equivalence, and directing CHED to establish a National Credit Transfer and Learner Mobility Framework aligned with the Philippine Qualifications Framework and international best practices. The measure protects the academic progress students have already made and ensures that their investments are not lost when they move between institutions or pursue flexible, blended, online, or emerging learning pathways. This bill is careful to balance student rights with institutional prerogatives. Academic freedom and institutional autonomy are expressly preserved. What the measure requires is not that institutions lower their standards, but that credit recognition processes be timely, fair, and transparent, conducted on the basis of learning outcomes and substantial equivalence, and communicated clearly to every transferring student. By institutionalizing fair and transparent credit recognition processes, this proposed measure strengthens these guarantees and advances a higher education system that is more equitable, efficient, and student-centered. In view of the foregoing, the passage of this measure is earnestly sought. LOREN LEGARDA
Senate Office of the secretary TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) 26 MAY -5 P3:45 First Regular Session SENATE RECEIVED BY: S. No. — 2105 Introduced by Senator Loren Legarda AN ACT PROMOTING LEARNER MOBILITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION BY ENSURING THE TIMELY RELEASE OF ACADEMIC RECORDS AND FAIR AND TRANSPARENT CREDIT RECOGNITION, ESTABLISHING A NATIONAL CREDIT TRANSFER AND LEARNER MOBILITY FRAMEWORK, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in the Congress assembled:
Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "College Transfer and
2 Learner Mobility Act".
Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the policy of the State to promote equitable
access to quality higher education and to support lifelong learning by ensuring that 5 students are able to move across higher education institutions and continue their 6 education without undue impediments. Toward this end, the State shall: (a) Promote fair, transparent, and efficient recognition of prior learning and academic credits; (b) Protect the integrity, accessibility, and timely release of academic records; (c) Support learner mobility and flexible learning pathways; (d) Uphold academic freedom and institutional autonomy while promoting fairness, transparency, and non-discrimination in transfer processes; and (e) Strengthen national and international recognition of Philippine higher education
credentials through robust quality assurance and interoperable academic record systems.
Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Act:
(a) Academic records refer to official documents issued by a higher education institution (HEI) that certify a student's identity, enrollment, academic history, and performance, including but not limited to transcripts of records, statements of course completion, certificates of units earned, course syllabi, program descriptions, and other official academic credentials, whether in paper or digital form; (b) Credit recognition refers to the process by which academic units or learning achievements completed by a student in a recognized learning context are formally evaluated and accepted by a receiving institution toward the fulfillment of its program requirements; (c) Learning outcomes refer to statements of knowledge, skills, and competencies that a learner is expected to demonstrate upon completion of a course or program, consistent with CHED policies and the Philippine Qualifications Framework; (d) Receiving HEI refers to the higher education institution to which a student seeks to transfer and from which the student seeks recognition of previously earned academic units; (e) Sending HEI refers to the higher education institution from which the student previously earned the academic units or credentials that are the subject of a credit recognition request; (f) Substantial equivalence refers to a determination that prior coursework or learning, though not identical in form, achieves comparable learning outcomes and meets academic standards sufficient to warrant credit recognition, as guided by CHED policies; and (g) Transfer credential refers to any official document issued by the sending HEI to facilitate a student's transfer or mobility, including but not limited to the transcript of records, certificate of units earned, honorable dismissal, certificate of good standing, and any other document prescribed by CHED for this purpose.
Sec. 4. Coverage. - This Act applies to all students enrolled in, or previously
2 enrolled in, public and private higher education institutions, recognized by the 3 Commission on Higher Education (CHED), who seek to transfer to another higher 4 education institution within the Philippines. It shall likewise apply to students seeking recognition of academic units earned 6 through flexible, blended, online, micro-credential, or other learning modalities recognized by CHED.
Sec. 5. Right to Timely Release of Academic Records. - An HEl shall release a
9 requesting student's academic records and transfer credentials within fifteen (15) 10 working days from receipt of a complete request: Provided, That the student has settled all bona fide obligations owed to the HEI. Should the institution be unable to effect release within the prescribed period, the institution shall notify the requesting student in writing within three (3) working days from receipt of the request, stating the specific ground for deferral and the steps the student must take or await before release proceeds. CHED may prescribe shorter processing periods when practicable and shall define the categories of obligations that may lawfully serve as conditions for the release of a student's academic records.
Sec. 6. Right to Fair and Transparent Credit Recognition. - Every transferring
student shall have the right to a fair and transparent evaluation of previously earned academic units by the receiving HEI. Credit evaluations shall be based on the principle of substantial equivalence, with primary consideration given to learning outcomes, course content, and student workload. The receiving HEI shall: (a) Publish their credit recognition policies, procedures, evaluation criteria, residency requirements, and processing timelines on their official websites and student handbooks, and shall update such information within thirty (30) days of any amendment thereto; (b) Upon request, provide a prospective transferee with a preliminary assessment of the transferability of previously earned units, which shall be advisory in nature and shall not bind the institution to a final credit recognition
determination; (c) Issue a written determination of credit transfer results within thirty (30) working days from receipt of complete submission of requirements from the transferring student, clearly indicating: (i) Credits recognized and the corresponding program requirements for which credit is granted; (ii) Credits not recognized, together with specific academic reasons for non- recognition; and (iii) The remaining requirements the student must fulfill to complete the program. CHED shall maintain a publicly accessible online registry of institutional credit recognition policies, updated annually, to enable students to make informed decisions regarding transfer and mobility.
Sec. 7. Establishment of the National Credit Transfer and Learner Mobility
Framework. - Within one (1) year from the effectivity of this Act, CHED shall establish a National Credit Transfer and Learner Mobility Framework, in consultation with public and private higher education institutions, student organizations, and other relevant stakeholders. The Framework shall include, at minimum: (a) Outcome-based criteria and procedures for credit recognition, aligned with the Philippine Qualifications Framework (PQF) and informed by international best practices, including learning outcomes and student workload as the primary basis for equivalency determinations; (b) Recommended processing timelines and documentation standards, consistent with the periods prescribed in this Act; (c) Standardized templates for credit evaluation requests, written determinations, to promote interoperability across institutions; (d) Guidelines for the recognition of learning from flexible, blended, online, micro- credential, and other emerging modalities, consistent with quality assurance standards; and (e) Mechanisms to support lifelong learning and multiple entry and exit pathways, (f) A compliance monitoring mechanism, including periodic review of institutional
transfer policies and practices, and technical guidance to improve transferability and curriculum alignment across institutions; (g) An accessible support mechanism to assist students and institutions in resolving credit transfer issues; and 5 (h) Alignment with the Philippine Qualifications Framework and applicable international qualifications frameworks and mutual recognition arrangements, to advance the domestic and international mobility of Filipino students and graduates.
Sec. 8. Academic Freedom and Institutional Autonomy. - This Act shall be
construed to ensure timely, fair, and transparent credit recognition processes, and nothing herein shall be deemed to diminish the academic freedom of HEIs to determine their academic standards, assess student competencies, set program requirements, and preserve the integrity of their degrees and qualifications.
Sec. 9. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within ninety (90) days after
15 the effectivity of this Act, CHED, in consultation with public and private HEIs, student organizations, and other relevant stakeholders, shall issue the implementing rules and regulations necessary for the effective implementation of this Act.
Sec. 10. Separability Clause. - If any portion or provision of this Act is declared
19 unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act or any provisions not affected thereby shall remain in force and effect.
Sec. 11. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive
order, letter of instruction, rule or regulation inconsistent with the provisions of this 23 Act is hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
Sec. 12. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days following
its complete publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation. Approved,
Reproduced from the Senate document. The official PDF is the authoritative version.