By:  West                                                         S.B. No. 676
	(In the Senate - Filed February 23, 2005; March 2, 2005, read 
first time and referred to Subcommittee on Higher Education; 
April 12, 2005, reported adversely, with favorable Committee 
Substitute to Committee on Education; April 18, 2005, reported 
adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute from Committee on 
Education by the following vote:  Yeas 8, Nays 0; April 18, 2005, 
sent to printer.)


COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 676                                    By:  West


A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT


relating to identifying which public institutions of higher 
education in this state are universities of the first class.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  The purpose of this Act is to provide guidance 
regarding the definition of a university of the first class to 
enable a common understanding and the use of common terminology in 
legislative decisions relating to the designation of and support 
for universities of that character.
	SECTION 2.  Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Education Code, is 
amended by adding Section 61.0818 to read as follows:
	Sec. 61.0818.  IDENTIFYING INSTITUTIONS AS UNIVERSITIES OF 
THE FIRST CLASS.  (a)  The board shall establish a system for 
designating a general academic teaching institution as a university 
of the first class and shall prescribe criteria to determine 
whether a general academic teaching institution should be assigned 
that designation.  The board shall determine which general academic 
teaching institutions merit the designation and shall periodically 
review that determination.
	(b)  In prescribing the criteria for purposes of Subsection 
(a), the board shall consider the criteria used by generally 
recognized college and university classification systems to 
identify those universities in the highest classification or 
ranking.  The board shall specifically consider whether to 
prescribe criteria based on the following factors:
		(1)  the number, variety, and quality of an 
institution's undergraduate, graduate, postgraduate, and 
professional degree programs, the number of programs accredited by 
a recognized accrediting agency or recognized nationally, the 
institution's selectivity in admissions to each program, the 
standard time required for a student to obtain a degree in each 
program, the institution's graduation rates in each program, and 
the institution's faculty-to-student classroom ratios;
		(2)  the degree to which writing and critical thought 
are incorporated as elements in each undergraduate degree program, 
the number of graduates of each undergraduate degree program who 
enroll in selective graduate, postgraduate, and professional 
degree programs, the level of graduate performance on licensing 
examinations, the number, variety, and quality of honors programs 
available at the institution, whether honors theses are required 
for participation in those honors programs, and the availability of 
independent study credits at the institution;
		(3)  the number of doctoral degrees awarded by the 
institution, the number, variety, and quality of the programs in 
which those degrees are awarded, and the number of students 
enrolled in each program;
		(4)  the degree of faculty and student engagement in 
research and other creative activities, the number of faculty and 
students who engage in those activities, the resources applied by 
the institution to those activities, the number, variety, and 
quality of degree programs in which those activities occur, the 
success of the institution in receiving federal research and 
development funding, and the number of faculty who are members of 
nationally recognized academic associations such as the National 
Academy of Sciences or the National Academy of Engineering;
		(5)  the quality of the libraries of the institution;                  
		(6)  the amount of institutional endowment and state 
revenue available on behalf of each student;
		(7)  whether the institution is a member of the 
Association of American Universities, the Association of Research 
Libraries, or another similar entity that recognizes institutional 
excellence on a national level; and
		(8)  alumni involvement in institution activities.                     
	(c)  In prescribing the criteria for purposes of Subsection 
(a), the board must include any criteria the commissioner of higher 
education considers appropriate to achieve the purposes of this 
section.
	(d)  The board shall administer this section with the 
assistance of an advisory committee composed of at least five but 
not more than 15 higher education experts or scholars from any 
state.  The commissioner of higher education shall select the 
members of the advisory committee.  Chapter 2110, Government Code, 
does not apply to the advisory committee.
	(e)  Not later than October 1, 2006, the board shall 
establish the initial criteria and make its initial determinations 
under this section and report the board's actions to each 
legislative standing committee and subcommittee with primary 
jurisdiction over higher education.  This subsection expires 
January 1, 2007.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives 
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as 
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this 
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this 
Act takes effect September 1, 2005.



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