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House Bill 1172 |
House Author: Brown, Fred |
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Effective: 6-18-05 |
Senate Sponsor: Zaffirini |
House Bill 1172 amends Education Code provisions to encourage the timely graduation of students at the state's colleges and universities. The bill allows a public college or university to charge a resident undergraduate student tuition at a higher rate than it otherwise charges for a course if (1) the student has earned course credit that exceeds by at least 30, rather than 45, hours the number of semester credit hours required for completion of the student's degree program, or (2) the student is taking a course that is the same as or substantially identical to a course the student has already taken. The higher tuition charge may not be greater than the nonresident undergraduate tuition rate.
The bill allows a college or university to establish a work-study student mentorship program under which eligible students in their junior or senior years may be employed by the school to mentor students on academic probation. An institution that has established such a program may require students on academic probation to be matched with a student mentor in the program.
The bill amends the eligibility period and the continued eligibility requirements for a TEXAS grant award so that a student's eligibility ends on the fifth anniversary of the initial award if the person is enrolled in a degree or certificate program of four years or less, or on the sixth anniversary of the initial award if the student is enrolled in a degree program of more than four years. It also requires the student to complete at least 24 semester credit hours in each academic year after the student's first academic year. These provisions apply to a student who is initially awarded a TEXAS grant during or after the 2002 fall semester.
The bill limits the amount of a financial grant that a student at a private or independent college or university may receive from a TEXAS grant in a state fiscal year to the maximum amount that the student is eligible to receive in tuition equalization and prohibits a student from receiving both a TEXAS grant and a tuition equalization grant during the same semester or term.
The bill excludes certain credits from the limit on the number of hours that a student is allowed to take to be eligible for loan forgiveness under the Texas B-On-time student loan program.
The bill prohibits a college or university from requiring a student to complete more than the minimum number of semester credit hours required for the student's bachelor's degree program by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools or its successor unless the school determines there is a compelling academic reason for doing so.
The bill also excludes a student's semester credit hours above the extra 30-hour limit from the contact hours used to determine a college's or university's formula funding, and it requires, to the extent practicable, that the savings to the state resulting from the exclusion of funding for excess undergraduate semester credit hours be used to finance the TEXAS grant program.
The bill establishes new eligibility periods and requirements for tuition equalization grants initially awarded during or after the 2005-2006 academic year similar to the requirements for a TEXAS grant.