By Nixon H.B. No. 843
77R403 JSA-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the admissions standards applicable to public
1-3 institutions of higher education.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 51.803, Education Code, is amended to
1-6 read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 51.803. AUTOMATIC ADMISSION; ALTERNATIVE ADMISSION
1-8 POLICY[: ALL INSTITUTIONS]. (a) Each general academic teaching
1-9 institution that does not adopt an alternative admission policy
1-10 under Subsection (c) shall admit an applicant for admission to the
1-11 institution as an undergraduate student if the applicant graduated
1-12 with a grade point average in the top 10 percent of the student's
1-13 high school graduating class in one of the two school years
1-14 preceding the academic year for which the applicant is applying for
1-15 admission and the applicant graduated from a public or private high
1-16 school in this state accredited by a generally recognized
1-17 accrediting organization or from a high school operated by the
1-18 United States Department of Defense. To qualify for admission
1-19 under this subsection [section], an applicant must submit an
1-20 application before the expiration of any application filing
1-21 deadline established by the institution and, if the applicant
1-22 graduated from a high school operated by the United States
1-23 Department of Defense, must be a Texas resident under Section
1-24 54.052 or be entitled to pay tuition fees at the rate provided for
2-1 Texas residents under Section 54.058(d) for the term or semester to
2-2 which admitted.
2-3 (b) After admitting an applicant under Subsection (a) [this
2-4 section], the institution shall review the applicant's record and
2-5 any other factor the institution considers appropriate to determine
2-6 whether the applicant may require additional preparation for
2-7 college-level work or would benefit from inclusion in a retention
2-8 program. The institution may require a student so identified to
2-9 enroll during the summer immediately after the student is admitted
2-10 under Subsection (a) [this section] to participate in appropriate
2-11 enrichment courses and orientation programs. This subsection
2-12 [section] does not prohibit a student who is not determined to need
2-13 additional preparation for college-level work from enrolling, if
2-14 the student chooses, during the summer immediately after the
2-15 student is admitted [under this section].
2-16 (c) Subsection (a) does not apply to a general academic
2-17 teaching institution for which the governing board adopts an
2-18 alternative admission policy for undergraduate admissions to the
2-19 institution that expressly provides that the automatic admission
2-20 policy provided by Subsection (a) does not apply to the
2-21 institution.
2-22 SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with admissions to a
2-23 general academic teaching institution for the 2002-2003 academic
2-24 year.
2-25 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
2-26 a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
2-27 provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
3-1 Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
3-2 Act takes effect September 1, 2001.