1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to uniform admission and reporting procedures for
1-3 institutions of higher education.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Chapter 51, Education Code, is amended by adding
1-6 Subchapter S to read as follows:
1-7 SUBCHAPTER S. UNIFORM ADMISSION POLICY
1-8 Sec. 51.801. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter, "general
1-9 academic teaching institution," "governing board," "medical and
1-10 dental unit," and "university system" have the meanings assigned by
1-11 Section 61.003.
1-12 Sec. 51.802. UNIFORM ADMISSION SYSTEM. A general academic
1-13 teaching institution shall admit first-time freshman students for
1-14 each semester under the provisions of this subchapter.
1-15 Sec. 51.803. AUTOMATIC ADMISSION: ALL INSTITUTIONS.
1-16 (a) Each general academic teaching institution shall admit an
1-17 applicant for admission to the institution as an undergraduate
1-18 student if the applicant graduated in one of the two school years
1-19 preceding the academic year for which the applicant is applying for
1-20 admission from a public or private high school in this state
1-21 accredited by a generally recognized accrediting organization with
1-22 a grade point average in the top 10 percent of the student's high
1-23 school graduating class. To qualify for admission under this
1-24 section, an applicant must submit an application before the
2-1 expiration of any application filing deadline established by the
2-2 institution.
2-3 (b) After admitting an applicant under this section, the
2-4 institution shall review the applicant's record and any other
2-5 factor the institution considers appropriate to determine whether
2-6 the applicant may require additional preparation for college-level
2-7 work or would benefit from inclusion in a retention program. The
2-8 institution may require a student so identified to enroll during
2-9 the summer immediately after the student is admitted under this
2-10 section to participate in appropriate enrichment courses and
2-11 orientation programs. This section does not prohibit a student who
2-12 is not determined to need additional preparation for college-level
2-13 work from enrolling, if the student chooses, during the summer
2-14 immediately after the student is admitted under this section.
2-15 Sec. 51.804. ADDITIONAL AUTOMATIC ADMISSIONS: SELECTED
2-16 INSTITUTIONS. For each academic year, the governing board of each
2-17 general academic teaching institution shall determine whether to
2-18 adopt an admissions policy under which an applicant to the
2-19 institution as a first-time freshman student, other than an
2-20 applicant eligible for admission under Section 51.803, shall be
2-21 admitted to the institution if the applicant graduated from a
2-22 public or private high school in this state accredited by a
2-23 generally recognized accrediting organization with a grade point
2-24 average in the top 25 percent of the applicant's high school
2-25 graduating class.
2-26 Sec. 51.805. OTHER ADMISSIONS. (a) A graduating student
2-27 who does not qualify for admission under Section 51.803 or 51.804
3-1 may apply to any general academic teaching institution.
3-2 (b) The general academic teaching institution, after
3-3 admitting students under Sections 51.803 and 51.804, shall admit
3-4 other applicants for admission as undergraduate students. It is
3-5 the intent of the legislature that all institutions of higher
3-6 education pursue academic excellence by considering students'
3-7 academic achievements in decisions related to admissions. Because
3-8 of changing demographic trends, diversity, and population increases
3-9 in the state, each general academic teaching institution shall also
3-10 consider all of, any of, or a combination of the following
3-11 socioeconomic indicators or factors in making first-time freshman
3-12 admissions decisions:
3-13 (1) the applicant's academic record;
3-14 (2) the socioeconomic background of the applicant,
3-15 including the percentage by which the applicant's family is above
3-16 or below any recognized measure of poverty, the applicant's
3-17 household income, and the applicant's parents' level of education;
3-18 (3) whether the applicant would be the first
3-19 generation of the applicant's family to attend or graduate from an
3-20 institution of higher education;
3-21 (4) whether the applicant has bilingual proficiency;
3-22 (5) the financial status of the applicant's school
3-23 district;
3-24 (6) the performance level of the applicant's school as
3-25 determined by the school accountability criteria used by the Texas
3-26 Education Agency;
3-27 (7) the applicant's responsibilities while attending
4-1 school, including whether the applicant has been employed, whether
4-2 the applicant has helped to raise children, or other similar
4-3 factors;
4-4 (8) the applicant's region of residence;
4-5 (9) whether the applicant is a resident of a rural or
4-6 urban area or a resident of a central city or suburban area in the
4-7 state;
4-8 (10) the applicant's performance on standardized
4-9 tests;
4-10 (11) the applicant's performance on standardized tests
4-11 in comparison with that of other students from similar
4-12 socioeconomic backgrounds;
4-13 (12) whether the applicant attended any school while
4-14 the school was under a court-ordered desegregation plan;
4-15 (13) the applicant's involvement in community
4-16 activities;
4-17 (14) the applicant's extracurricular activities;
4-18 (15) the applicant's commitment to a particular field
4-19 of study;
4-20 (16) the applicant's personal interview;
4-21 (17) the applicant's admission to a comparable
4-22 accredited out-of-state institution; and
4-23 (18) any other consideration the institution considers
4-24 necessary to accomplish the institution's stated mission.
4-25 (c) A general academic teaching institution may review other
4-26 factors in making an admissions decision.
4-27 (d) Not later than one year before the date that
5-1 applications for admission are first considered under this section,
5-2 each general academic teaching institution shall publish in the
5-3 institution's catalog a description of the factors considered by
5-4 the institution in making admission decisions and shall make the
5-5 information available to the public.
5-6 (e) This section does not apply to an institution that has
5-7 an open enrollment policy.
5-8 Sec. 51.806. REPORT TO COORDINATING BOARD. Each general
5-9 academic teaching institution shall provide a report annually to
5-10 the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board describing the
5-11 composition of the entering class of students admitted under this
5-12 subchapter. The report shall include a demographic breakdown,
5-13 including a breakdown by race, ethnicity, and economic status, of
5-14 the students admitted under Sections 51.803, 51.804, and 51.805.
5-15 Sec. 51.807. RULEMAKING. The Texas Higher Education
5-16 Coordinating Board may adopt rules relating to the operation of
5-17 admissions programs under this subchapter, including rules relating
5-18 to the identification of eligible students and the reporting
5-19 requirements of Section 51.806.
5-20 Sec. 51.808. APPLICATION OF ADMISSION CRITERIA TO OTHER
5-21 PROGRAMS. (a) Each general academic teaching institution or
5-22 medical and dental unit that offers admissions to undergraduate
5-23 transfer students or admissions to a graduate, postgraduate, or
5-24 professional program shall also adopt a written admission policy
5-25 applicable to those programs.
5-26 (b) The policy shall be published in the institution's or
5-27 unit's catalog and made available to the public.
6-1 Sec. 51.809. SCHOLARSHIP AND FELLOWSHIP AWARDS. (a) A
6-2 general academic teaching institution or a medical and dental unit
6-3 that offers competitive scholarship or fellowship awards shall
6-4 adopt a written policy describing the factors to be used by the
6-5 institution or unit in making an award.
6-6 (b) A policy adopted under this section shall be published
6-7 in the institution's or unit's catalog and shall be made available
6-8 to the public in advance of any deadline for the submission of an
6-9 application for a competitive scholarship or fellowship to which
6-10 the policy applies.
6-11 SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
6-12 beginning with admissions and scholarships for the fall term or
6-13 semester in 1998.
6-14 (b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, each
6-15 general academic teaching institution, and each medical and dental
6-16 unit shall adopt rules or policies relating to the admission of
6-17 students under Subchapter S, Chapter 51, Education Code, as added
6-18 by this Act, not later than January 1, 1998.
6-19 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
6-20 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
6-21 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-22 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-23 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
_______________________________ _______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 588 was passed by the House on April
16, 1997, by a non-record vote.
_______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 588 was passed by the Senate on May
8, 1997, by a viva-voce vote.
_______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor