Texas lawmakers institute major reforms to higher education

Texas lawmakers institute major reforms to higher education

By Patrick Brendel Friday, 12 June 2009

Texas lawmakers passed legislation creating incentives for public colleges to strive toward achieving Tier One research university status. They tweaked the state’s Top 10 percent rule for college admissions for the University of Texas at Austin but balked at completely reforming the system. Legislation to re-regulate college tuition increases failed at the end of the Regular Session.

The state of Texas has two public Tier One research institutions: UT-Austin and Texas A&M in College Station. (The other Texas Tier One school is the private Rice University in Houston.) In contrast, California has nine “flagship” schools, while New York has five.

Colleges throughout the state are vying for the elite Tier One status and the accompanying prestige and funds. Contenders include the University of Houston, Texas Tech University, University of North Texas, UT-Arlington, UT-Dallas, UT-El Paso and UT-San Antonio.

Lawmakers shied away from designating particular schools as Tier One; instead they created incentives for emerging research universities and a process to achieve Tier One designation.

The bill creates three incentive funds that go to colleges according to research performed, number of degrees awarded and amount of private gifts received.

Schools striving for Tier One status would have to submit detailed, long-range strategic plans to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, which is in charge of Tier One designations.

The Tier One legislation also included $150 million in bonds to rebuild the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, which was was severely damaged by Hurricane Ike last fall. Another related bill allows Texas A&M to start working toward the creation of a four-year college in downtown San Antonio.

Since 1997, Texas high school students graduating in the top decile of their class are guaranteed admission to the public college campus of their choice.

UT-Austin has long pushed legislators to change the Top 10 percent rule, citing shrinking flexibility in admissions decisions. In fall 2008, more than 75 percent of enrolled freshmen at UT were admitted under the Top 10 percent rule. Almost half of Texas A&M’s fall 2008 freshman class were Top 10 Percent students.

Legislators gave serious consideration to a bill that would have significantly reformed the Top 10 percent rule. The bill capped the number of Top 10 percent students a campus has to accept at 50 percent of freshman admissions. (Another version of that bill set the cap at 60 percent.)

On the House floor, an impromptu coalition of rural and minority legislators nixed the proposal due to the belief that the Top 10 Percent Rule provided a more level playing field for their constituents.

They approved an amendment to the bill that makes it applicable only to UT-Austin. The legislation allows UT-Austin to cap the amount of Top 10 Percent students at 75 percent of the freshman class.

In 2003 the Legislature began allowing Texas colleges to set their own tuition rates. Since then, tuition and fees have risen by more than 85 percent.

Lawmakers tried to pass a bill stopping Texas’ major schools—including UT and Texas A&M—from increasing tuition and fees by more than five percent each year.

Schools would be allowed to create programs so that freshmen could “lock in” their first-year tuition rate for four years.

Some colleges would not be allowed to raise tuition and fees at all, unless a legislative study determined that state funding is insufficient. In the end, objections from the universities won out, and no changes were made to tuition deregulation.

Rep. Dawnna Dukes, D-Austin, 463-0506, www.house.state.tx.us/ members/dist46/dukes.php

Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, 463-0631, www.house.state.tx.us/ members/dist48/howard.htm

Rep. Elliott Naishtat, D-Austin, 463-0668, www.house.state.tx.us/members/dist49/naishtat.htm

Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin, 463-0674, www.house.state.tx.us/members/dist51/rodriguez.htm

Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, 463-0114, www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/Senate/members/dist14/dist14.htm

Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, 463-0125, www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/Senate/members/dist25/dist25.htm

HB 3 — House Bill 3 by state Rep. Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, replaces the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills standardized test with a series of end-of-course exams. The bill also changes high school graduation requirements and school accountability measures. PASSED

SB 362 — Senate Bill 362 by state Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, would have required that voters present photo identification (or two forms of non-photo identification) at the polls. SB 362 passed the Senate but died in the House after five days of filibustering by Democrats. DID NOT PASS

HB 2295 — House Bill 2295 by state Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio, was the sunset reform bill for the Texas Residential Construction Commission, responsible for mediating disputes between homeowners and home builders. The TRCC is now slated for abolishment in the next year. DID NOT PASS

HCR 50 — House Concurrent Resolution 50 by state Rep. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, reaffirms the state sovereignty of Texas under the 10th Amendment. HCR 50 was controversial because it was associated with the Tax Day Tea Party protests and discussions of secession. DID NOT PASS

HB 51 — House Bill 51 by state Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, provides incentives for colleges to strive toward Tier One research university status. It also creates a mechanism for universities to achieve Tier One status. PASSED

HB 498 — House Bill 498 by McClendon creates the Timothy Cole Innocence Commission, named after a prisoner exonerated by DNA evidence. The commission will examine post-conviction exonerations and provide guidance on how to prevent wrongful convictions. PASSED