By: Zaffirini, Van de Putte, Watson S.B. No. 1234

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to a master plan for higher education in this state.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subsections (a-1) and (a-2), Section 61.051, Education Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a-1) To ensure that students enrolled at institutions of higher education are sufficiently prepared to meet the challenges associated with participation in the public affairs of the state and in the global economy, the [The] board shall develop a [five-year] master plan for higher education in this state for a period of years determined by the board. The [five-year] plan must [shall] take into account the resources of private or independent institutions of higher education in this state and must include:

(1) reexamination of the purposes, needs, and goals of higher education in this state;

(2) consideration of methods for defining the roles and missions of institutions of higher education in a way that is consistent with this state's needs and goals;

(3) consideration of more effective methods for funding higher education;

(4) consideration of methods for establishing a coherent long-term student financial aid strategy that takes into account both student financial need and student achievement;

(5) recommendations for strengthening collaboration between two-year and four-year institutions of higher education;

(6) recommendations for developing and reinforcing long-term collaboration between and among primary, secondary, and postsecondary educational institutions;

(7) consideration of:

(A) the state's current and needed allocation of resources for medical education, including graduate medical education;

(B) the current and needed geographic distribution of those resources; and

(C) the value of associating a medical school with a general academic teaching institution;

(8) in consultation with the state demographer and at least one general academic teaching institution, medical and dental unit, private or independent institution of higher education, and public junior college, assessment of:

(A) the number of new faculty members needed to achieve the goals of the master plan, and the academic disciplines in which the new faculty members are or will be needed;

(B) the number of qualified persons available to serve as faculty members in this state and throughout the nation and the demand for the services of those persons in this state and throughout the nation; and

(C) the capacity of public and private institutions of higher education in this state to prepare persons who are qualified to serve as faculty members at institutions in this state and across a broad spectrum of academic disciplines;

(9) identification of appropriate incentives, including concurrent enrollment and dual credit, and requirements to facilitate seamless student transitions between and among high schools, public junior colleges, public technical institutes, public state colleges, general academic teaching institutions, and medical and dental units;

(10) consideration of concerns regarding the current and projected student enrollment and enrollment capacity of The University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University and of methods for ensuring that those institutions maintain competitiveness with other public and private flagship institutions of higher education;

(11) consideration of the value of creating additional four-year flagship public research institutions of higher education, including consideration of methods for:

(A) selecting the location of those institutions; and

(B) ensuring that those institutions admit a qualified and diverse student body;

(12) analysis of alternative methods of funding institutions of higher education, with emphasis on the research components of those institutions; and

(13) consideration of whether to add new components to the TEXAS Grant program and other state financial aid programs for higher education, including a component that specifically addresses the needs of students at the preschool and primary and secondary school levels, ensures that those students commit to and succeed in postsecondary education, and includes a work-study requirement.

(a-2) The board shall periodically review and revise the [five-year] master plan developed under Subsection (a-1). As a specific element of its review, the board shall identify and analyze the degree to which the plan reflects the continuing higher education needs of this state, as well as any policy changes necessary to improve overall implementation of the plan and the fiscal impact of those changes. The board shall establish procedures for monitoring the board's implementation of the plan, including an analysis of the degree to which its current activities support implementation of the plan and any change in board rules or practices necessary to improve implementation of the plan. The board shall identify additional strategies necessary to achieve the goals of the plan, emphasizing implementation by institutions of higher education and specific recommendations for the different regions of the state. The board shall notify each institution of higher education of all strategies for implementing the plan.

SECTION 2. Subsections (a) and (i-1), Section 61.059, Education Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a) To finance a system of higher education and to secure an equitable distribution of state funds deemed to be available for higher education, the board shall perform the functions described in this section. Funding policies shall:

(1) allocate resources efficiently and provide incentives for programs of superior quality and for institutional diversity;

(2) provide incentives for supporting the [five-year] master plan developed and revised under Section 61.051; and

(3) discourage unnecessary duplication of course offerings between institutions and unnecessary construction on any campus.

(i-1) Not later than January 1 of each odd-numbered year, the board shall make and submit to the legislature findings and recommendations regarding the degree to which the current higher education funding system, including formula funding and any other transfers of legislative appropriations to institutions of higher education, supports the implementation of the [five-year] master plan developed and revised under Section 61.051. The board may include its findings and recommendations in the biennial report submitted to the legislature under Section 61.051. In its findings, the board must:

(1) identify funding incentives that would encourage implementation of the [five-year] master plan by institutions of higher education; and

(2) assess the accountability of institutions of higher education with respect to legislative appropriations to evaluate institutional allocation of financial resources in accordance with the [five-year] master plan.

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, 2007.