1. Staff Legislative Recommendations to the 85th Texas Legislature
Good morning.
This morning I will present the staff legislative recommendations for the 85th Texas Legislature for your consideration and approval. You should have [THIS] document in your materials, which provides background regarding each recommendation.
You’ll notice that the second page of your document includes a spreadsheet that lists the recommendations in summary. These are NOT in priority order – we’ve assigned them numbers for the purpose of having a discussion regarding how YOU want to prioritize these recommendations.
As the Commissioner mentioned in his opening remarks, these recommendations are based on initial input that we received from the Board at a Board retreat in August of last year.
And since that time, we have met with stakeholders to solicit input, understand their positions and make modifications where possible. Specifically, we have discussed these recommendations with :
The Office of the Governor, Lt. Governor and Speaker of the House, Members of the Senate and House Higher Education Committees, and other legislative offices through our quarterly legislative briefings at the Capitol.
We’ve met individually with Governmental Relations staff from university systems and non-system institutions, independent colleges and universities (ICUT), the Texas Association of Community Colleges, and others. We have also included discussion of legislative recommendations into our GR briefings that we hold before every committee and board meeting.
And we have presented to stakeholder committees, including the Financial Aid Advisory Committee and Community and Technical College Leadership Council. This has allowed us to hear directly from stakeholders at institutions that are directly impacted by the draft recommendations.
A couple of caveats regarding these recommendations.
These represent the agency’s policy recommendations for the 85th Texas Legislature. Our budget recommendations will be developed through the Legislative Appropriations Request (LAR), which will come to you at the July Board meeting.
Also, we may come back to you between now and the start of the Legislative session to modify or add to this list. Particularly, the Governor’s charges regarding the Tri-Agency meetings being conducted across the state by the Coordinating Board, TEA and TWC may generate additional recommendations.

2. Categorizing Recommendations
Category 1: Board/Commissioner
Coordinating Expansion of Higher Education
Oversight of Career Schools and Colleges
Improving TEXAS Grant
Improving Texas Educational Opportunity Grant (TEOG)
Category 2: Commissioner/Asst Commissioner
Category 3: Programmatic Staff 2

3. Category 1 Recommendations
Coordinating Higher Education Expansion
Allow the Coordinating Board, through negotiated rulemaking, to define off-campus academic, technical and research sites such as MITCs, branch campuses, satellite campuses, etc.
Seek statutory change that would require that institutions obtain Coordinating Board review and approval prior to acquiring property to create a new or expand an existing off-campus academic, technical or research site. Coordinating Board review would specifically assess academic and research needs while preventing unnecessary duplication in program offerings, faculties, and physical plants.
The criteria for review would be established through negotiated rulemaking, and information submitted by institutions would be excepted from public disclosure. 3

4. Category 1 Recommendations
Oversight of Career Schools and Colleges
Career colleges are an important component of 60x30TX goals for attainment and completion.
Recommend clarifying the agency’s authority regarding requiring compliance with accrediting bodies, federal financial rules, and state statutes and rules, and ability to revoke Certificates of Authorization for cause.
Recommend establishing the agency as the repository for student records of closed institutions, contingent on sufficient funding. • 4

5. Category 1 Recommendations
Making Financial Aid More Effective (TEXAS Grants)
As the state’s primary grant programs for students at public universities (TEXAS Grant) TEXAS Grant, will play an important role in meeting the attainment, completion and student debt goals of 60x30TX.
Recommend limiting grant recipients to 135 semester credit hours (down from 150 SCH currently) to incent timely completion and use savings to serve additional eligible students.
Recommend requiring recipients to complete 30 SCH per year, through any combination of fall, spring and summer sessions.
Recommend accommodating more middle-income families by limiting grant award amounts to the cost of tuition, fees and a book stipend, minus Pell.
Recommend removing institutional “matching” requirements if the student does not meet the priority EFC level. • 5

6. Category 1 Recommendations
Making Financial Aid More Effective (TEOG)
The state’s primary grant programs for students at public community, state and technical colleges, TEOG is important to meeting the attainment, completion and student debt goals of 60x30TX.
Recommend accommodate more middle-income families by limiting grant award amounts to the cost of tuition, fees and a book stipend, minus Pell.
Recommend expanding the number of SCH that a recipient enrolled in a community college baccalaureate program may receive the grant to 135 SCH (currently 75 SCH).
Clarify statute to allow institutions the discretion to continue a student’s TEOG despite exceeding the number of allowable semester credit hours or years due to a hardship. • 6

7. Category 1 Recommendations
Outcomes Based Funding
Providing a strong financial incentive for institutions to focus on helping students quickly earn their certificate or degree is critical to achieving the attainment and completion goals of 60x30TX.
Recommend amending statute to implement the “Graduation Bonus” framework for public universities developed by the General Academic Institution Formula Advisory Committee.
Recommend supporting increased funding for community college success points.
Three-peat: students who attempt the same course for the third time.
Six-drop rule: students may not drop more than six courses total
30-hour rule: students who attempt 30 hours beyond their degree plan (Fall 2006)
45-hour rule: students who attempt 45 hours beyond their degree plan (Fall 1999-Summer 2006) 7

8. Category 2 Recommendations
Financial Aid Award Notifications
Meeting the 60x30TX debt goal will require students to be informed consumers regarding their student loans.
Recommend requiring institutions to provide students annually specific information regarding their indebtedness, including amount borrowed to date and estimated future loan payments.
Collaborate with institutions to foster innovative practices for communicating this information to students, such as through mobile apps.
Course Restrictions on Returning Adult Students
Helping adult students who wish to return and complete their education will assist with 60x30TX goals for attainment and completion.
Consider granting returning adult students one opportunity to enroll in higher education without penalty due to statutory restrictions such as the “30 hour rule,” the “45 hour rule,” the “three-peat” rule, and the “six-drop” rule. • 8

9. Category 2 Recommendations
Community College Baccalaureate Programs
Meeting 60x30TX goals for attainment and completion will require creating new pathways for students to achieve a relevant degree.
Recommend a measured, deliberative process for gradually expanding the authority for some community colleges to offer baccalaureate programs in certain fields.
Prioritizing Graduate Medical Education
Recommend seeking a resolution from the Legislature that resources should be committed first to increasing the availability of residency positions before creating additional medical schools.
Healthcare Workforce Study
Recommend mandating a study of the healthcare workforce in Texas to better align resources with need.
Sec   RESEARCH REGARDING GRADUATE MEDICAL 
   EDUCATION SYSTEM. (a)  The comprehensive health professions 
   resource center shall conduct research:
                (1)  to identify all medical specialties and 
   subspecialties that are at critical shortage levels in this state, 
   together with the geographic location of the physicians in those 
   specialties and subspecialties; and
                (2)  regarding the overall supply of physicians in this 
   state and any other issues that are relevant to the status of the 
   state's graduate medical education system and the ability of that 
   system to meet the current and future health care needs of this 
   state.
          (b)  Not later than May 1 of each even-numbered year, the 
   council shall report the results of the center's research to the 
   Legislative Budget Board, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating 
   Board, the office of the governor, and the standing committees of 
   each house of the legislature with primary jurisdiction over state 
   finance or appropriations. 9

10. Category 3 Recommendations
Work Study Mentorship Program
Recommend expanding the allowable use of funds to include not just programs that improve access, but also student success programs such as tutoring and advising.
Common Admission Application
Recommend updating statute to add ICUT and K-12 to advisory committee and reflect the systems’ current capabilities.
Statewide Preceptorship Program
Recommend updating statute to include family medicine.
Student Loan Program Statute
Recommend updating statute to align with previous Constitutional amendments and current practices.
Higher Education Assistance Plans
Recommend eliminating a duplicative section in statute that requires two different lists to be generated of low college-going high schools. 10