HBA-CBW C.S.H.B. 3524 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 3524 By: Hochberg Higher Education 4/17/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, students who attend institutions of higher education (institution) are charged tuition and fees based on the number of semester credit hours taken. The differing rate charges for students who take more than twelve semester credit hours could cause confusion among students and parents. A simplified and more uniform tuition rate may create more of an incentive for students to take heavier course loads and move more quickly towards graduation, while addressing the differing tuition rate fee structures in various degree programs within the institution. C.S.H.B. 3524 authorizes the board of regents of The University of Texas System to establish a flat rate tuition pilot project at The University of Texas at Austin within a specified period that applies to all undergraduate students enrolled in a college or degree program included in the pilot project. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 3524 amends the Education Code to authorize the board of regents of The University of Texas System (board) to establish a flat rate tuition pilot project (project) at The University of Texas at Austin (university) involving not more than two colleges or degree programs designated by the board under which the university charges the same amount of tuition to all undergraduate students enrolled in a college or degree program included in the project. The bill prohibits the board from requiring a full-time student who pays tuition under the project to pay more tuition than the average amount of tuition that a student not included in the project would pay for enrolling in the university for 14 semester credit hours for the same semester or term. The bill requires the board to evaluate the effect of flat rate tuition charged under the project on the number of semester credit hours taken by students included in the project each semester and requires the board to report the results of the evaluation to the legislature not later than December 31, 2002, and December 31, 2004. The provisions of the bill expire September 1, 2005. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 3524 differs from the original bill by providing that the flat rate tuition pilot project (project) established at The University of Texas at Austin (university) may involve not more than two colleges or degree programs designated by the board of regents of The University of Texas System (board), rather than not more than 10 percent of the total full-time student equivalents enrolled in undergraduate degree programs at the university. The substitute provides that the university will charge the same amount of tuition to all undergraduate students enrolled in a college or degree program included in the project and prohibits the board from requiring a full-time student who pays tuition under the project to pay more than the average amount of tuition that a student not included in the project would pay for enrolling in the university for 14 semester credit hours for the same semester or term, rather than to pay more than an amount equal to the average amount of tuition, designated tuition, and mandatory fees that a student would have paid for enrolling in the university for 12 semester credit hours. The substitute requires the board to report the results of the evaluation to the legislature on or before December 31, 2004. The substitute provides that these provisions expire September 1, 2005, rather than September 1, 2003.