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Senate Bill 1909 |
Senate Author: Lucio |
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Effective: 6-17-11 |
House Sponsor: Oliveira |
Previous law authorized The University of Texas at Brownsville to enter into a partnership agreement with the Southmost Union Junior College District specifically to offer a lower-division, occupational, or technical course that was not offered at the university. Senate Bill 1909 amends the Education Code to authorize the university to enter into any agreement with the Texas Southmost College District, formerly known as the Southmost Union Junior College District, to facilitate higher education advancement and opportunity in the district's service area and the transition of students from Texas Southmost College to the university, including an agreement to facilitate the transfer of course credit and to align courses between the university and the college. The bill authorizes The University of Texas System board of regents and the college district's board of trustees to contract with each other for the use of facilities on the Southmost College campus committed by the district's board of trustees.
Senate Bill 1909 expands the role and scope of The University of Texas at Brownsville by authorizing the university system's board of regents to prescribe courses leading to customary degrees offered at leading American universities and to award those degrees, with the institution of a department, school, or degree program at the university being subject to prior approval of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and by repealing Education Code provisions limiting the university's course offerings to upper-division and graduate courses with certain exceptions for the restricted offering of lower-division courses; provisions relating to lower‑division admissions; and provisions relating to the application of the formula for upper‑level institutions to the upper-division semester credit hours at the university.
The bill requires the university and the district to cooperate to ensure that each institution timely achieves separate accreditation from a recognized accrediting agency before the termination of the existing partnership agreement and to continue a partnership agreement in effect until August 31, 2015, to the extent necessary to ensure accreditation. The bill authorizes the university and district to extend or renew the existing partnership agreement, agree to its earlier termination, or execute a new agreement as necessary to ensure accreditation. The bill requires the university and district to submit to the legislature a semiannual report on the status of the partnership until each institution achieves separate accreditation and the existing partnership agreement is terminated.