By: Morrison, Woolley, Branch, Goolsby, H.B. No. 2330
Eissler, et al.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the admission of undergraduate students to general
academic teaching institutions and to practices of school districts
that concern the admissions process to institutions of higher
education.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 28, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 28.0252 to read as follows:
Sec. 28.0252. COMPUTATION OF HIGH SCHOOL GRADE POINT
AVERAGE. (a) The commissioner may develop a standard method of
computing a student's high school grade point average that provides
for additional weight to be given to each honors course, advanced
placement course, international baccalaureate course, or course
for dual high school and college-level credit completed by a
student. The method must provide for advance placement courses and
dual credit courses to be weighted equally.
(b) A school district shall use the standard method
developed under this section to compute a student's high school
grade point average, and the student's grade point average computed
in that manner shall be used in determining the student's
eligibility for automatic college admission under Section 51.803.
(b-1) Subsection (b) applies only to students entering
grade nine during or after the 2007-2008 school year. This
subsection expires September 1, 2010.
(c) The commissioner may adopt rules necessary to implement
this section.
SECTION 2. Section 51.803, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (c) and (d) to read
as follows:
(a) Subject to Subsections (c) and (d), each [Each] general
academic teaching institution shall admit an applicant for
admission to the institution as an undergraduate student if the
applicant graduated with a grade point average in the top 10 percent
of the student's high school graduating class in one of the two
school years preceding the academic year for which the applicant is
applying for admission and the applicant graduated from a public or
private high school in this state accredited by a generally
recognized accrediting organization or from a high school operated
by the United States Department of Defense. To qualify for
admission under this section, an applicant must submit an
application before the expiration of any application filing
deadline established by the institution and, if the applicant
graduated from a high school operated by the United States
Department of Defense, must be a Texas resident under Section
54.052 or be entitled to pay tuition fees at the rate provided for
Texas residents under Section 54.058(d) for the term or semester to
which admitted.
(c) A general academic teaching institution shall reserve
for admissions under Subsection (a) not less than 50 percent of the
institution's enrollment capacity designated for first-time
undergraduate students. Subsection (a) does not apply to the
portion of the institution's enrollment capacity designated for
first-time undergraduate students that is not reserved for
admissions under Subsection (a). If the number of applicants who
qualify for automatic admission to a general academic teaching
institution under Subsection (a) exceeds the number of spaces
reserved by the institution for admissions under Subsection (a),
the institution shall, except as provided by Subsection (d):
(1) offer admission to those applicants beginning with
those who completed the curriculum requirements established under
Section 28.025 for the advanced high school program or an
equivalent curriculum at a high school to which that section does
not apply;
(2) after offering admission to applicants under
Subdivision (1), offer admission to the remaining applicants by
percentile rank according to graduating class standing based on
grade point average, beginning with the top percentile rank, until
a sufficient number of applicants have been offered admission to
fill those spaces reserved by the institution for admission under
Subsection (a), except that the institution must offer admission to
all applicants with the same percentile rank; and
(3) after offering admission to applicants under
Subdivisions (1) and (2), consider any remaining applicants
qualified for automatic admission under Subsection (a) in the same
manner as other applicants for admission as first-time freshmen
students in accordance with Section 51.805.
(d) If the number of applicants qualified for admission
under Subsection (c)(1) exceeds the number of spaces reserved by
the institution for admission under Subsection (a), the institution
shall offer admission to those applicants by percentile rank
according to graduating class standing based on grade point
average, beginning with the top percentile rank, until a sufficient
number of applicants have been offered admission to fill those
spaces, except that the institution must offer admission to all
applicants with the same percentile rank. The institution shall
consider any remaining applicants qualified for automatic
admission under Subsection (a), including remaining applicants
qualified for admission under Subsection (c)(1), in the same manner
as other applicants for admission as first-time freshmen students
in accordance with Section 51.805.
SECTION 3. Subchapter U, Chapter 51, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 51.8035 to read as follows:
Sec. 51.8035. AUTOMATIC ADMISSION OF APPLICANTS COMPLETING
CORE CURRICULUM AT ANOTHER INSTITUTION. (a) In this section:
(1) "Core curriculum" means the core curriculum
adopted by an institution of higher education under Section 61.822.
(2) "Institution of higher education" has the meaning
assigned by Section 61.003.
(b) A general academic teaching institution shall admit an
applicant for admission to the institution as a transfer
undergraduate student who:
(1) graduated from high school not earlier than the
fourth school year before the academic year for which the applicant
seeks admission and qualified for automatic admission to a general
academic teaching institution under Section 51.803(a) at the time
of graduation;
(2) first enrolled in an institution of higher
education not earlier than the second academic year before the
academic year for which the applicant seeks admission;
(3) completed the core curriculum at an institution of
higher education, other than the institution to which the applicant
seeks admission, with a cumulative grade point average of at least
3.25 on a four-point scale or the equivalent; and
(4) submits an application for admission as a transfer
student before the expiration of any application filing deadline
established by the institution.
(c) For purposes of this section, transfer semester credit
hours from a different institution of higher education and semester
credit hours earned by examination shall be included in determining
whether the person completed the core curriculum at an institution
of higher education.
SECTION 4. Section 51.805(b), Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The general academic teaching institution, after
admitting students under Sections 51.803 and 51.804, shall admit
other applicants for admission as undergraduate students. It is
the intent of the legislature that all institutions of higher
education adopt admissions policies that further the goals of
"Closing the Gaps," the state's master plan for higher education,
and pursue academic excellence by considering students' academic
achievements in decisions related to admissions. Because of
changing demographic trends, diversity, and population increases
in the state, each general academic teaching institution shall also
consider all of, any of, or a combination of the following
socioeconomic indicators or factors in making first-time freshman
admissions decisions:
(1) the applicant's academic record;
(2) the socioeconomic background of the applicant,
including the percentage by which the applicant's family is above
or below any recognized measure of poverty, the applicant's
household income, and the applicant's parents' level of education;
(3) whether the applicant would be the first
generation of the applicant's family to attend or graduate from an
institution of higher education;
(4) whether the applicant has bilingual proficiency;
(5) the financial status of the applicant's school
district;
(6) the performance level of the applicant's school as
determined by the school accountability criteria used by the Texas
Education Agency;
(7) the applicant's responsibilities while attending
school, including whether the applicant has been employed, whether
the applicant has helped to raise children, or other similar
factors;
(8) the applicant's region of residence;
(9) whether the applicant is a resident of a rural or
urban area or a resident of a central city or suburban area in the
state;
(10) the applicant's performance on standardized
tests;
(11) the applicant's performance on standardized tests
in comparison with that of other students from similar
socioeconomic backgrounds;
(12) whether the applicant attended any school while
the school was under a court-ordered desegregation plan;
(13) the applicant's involvement in community
activities;
(14) the applicant's extracurricular activities;
(15) the applicant's commitment to a particular field
of study;
(16) the applicant's personal interview;
(17) the applicant's admission to a comparable
accredited out-of-state institution; and
(18) any other consideration the institution
considers necessary to accomplish the institution's stated
mission.
SECTION 5. Section 51.807, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 51.807. RULEMAKING. (a) The Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board may adopt rules relating to the operation of
admissions programs under this subchapter, including rules
relating to the identification of eligible students and the
reporting requirements of Section 51.806.
(b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board after
consulting with the Texas Education Agency by rule shall establish
standards for determining for purposes of this subchapter whether a
person completed a high school curriculum that is equivalent to the
curriculum established under Section 28.025 for the advanced high
school program.
SECTION 6. The change in law made by this Act applies
beginning with admissions to institutions of higher education for
the 2006-2007 academic year. Admissions to an institution of
higher education before that academic year are covered by the law in
effect before the effective date of this Act, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 7. Section 51.8035, Education Code, as added by
this Act, applies beginning with admissions to a general academic
teaching institution for the 2006 spring semester.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.