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SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, In 2000, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating |
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Board issued its 15-year master plan for higher education as |
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required by statute; Closing the Gaps by 2015 includes four |
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specific goals relating to increasing participation rates, |
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achieving higher levels of identifiable student success, |
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increasing the number of nationally recognized programs at Texas |
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colleges and universities, and increasing the level of federal |
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science and engineering research funding; and |
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WHEREAS, While Texas has made some progress toward achieving |
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the benchmarks established in Closing the Gaps, a July 2006 Texas |
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Higher Education Coordinating Board progress report acknowledges |
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recent trends that suggest it is unlikely the goals will be |
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accomplished by 2015; the rate of growth in enrollment has been |
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declining among most ethnic groups since the fall of 2002, and |
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institutional enrollment targets are well short of the state's 2010 |
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goal--by 50,000 students overall and by 100,000 for Hispanic |
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students; and |
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WHEREAS, Moreover, the number of bachelor's degrees and |
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technology-related degrees awarded fell short of the 2005 targets, |
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and the number of mathematics and science teaching certificates |
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awarded actually declined between 2000 and 2005; while Texas has |
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made gains in securing federal research funding, the Texas Higher |
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Education Coordinating Board reports that the significant gap |
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between California and New York and Texas remains essentially |
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unchanged, both in terms of dollar amounts awarded and in the |
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percentage of total federal funding awarded for science and |
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engineering research and development; and |
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WHEREAS, The consequences of failing to meet the benchmarks |
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established by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board are |
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considerable; in compiling data for its annual Global |
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Competitiveness Report, the World Economic Forum assigns |
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significant value to a nation's higher education system as one of |
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the key indicators of a country's ability to sustain growth and |
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remain economically competitive; the World Economic Forum takes |
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particular interest in the quality of science and mathematics |
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education and advises that today's global economy mandates a |
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well-educated, specially trained workforce; and |
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WHEREAS, Unfortunately, the 2006-2007 World Economic Forum |
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report indicates that the United States' economic competitiveness |
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fell significantly over the last year, with this decline due in part |
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to low education standards; coupled with the Texas Higher Education |
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Coordinating Board Closing the Gaps progress report, this |
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assessment from the World Economic Forum makes it clear that Texas |
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must improve its pursuit of educational excellence to better |
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prepare the workforce of the future and avoid a decline in its own |
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economic competitiveness; and |
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WHEREAS, To meet these objectives, Texas must develop a |
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framework of state policy that encourages institutions of higher |
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education to focus on their core missions, engage regional civic, |
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business, and academic leaders to address local and statewide |
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economic priorities, and establish globally recognized centers of |
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excellence in education; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 80th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby request that the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the |
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speaker of the house of representatives create a select commission |
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on higher education and global competitiveness to draft a Texas |
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Compact that reflects a long-term vision and step-by-step plan to |
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attain the following goals by 2020: |
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(1) educating the population of Texas to levels |
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comparable to the highest performing competitor states and nations; |
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(2) achieving global recognition for Texas public |
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colleges and universities for excellence in their core missions and |
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for innovations that strengthen the state's economy and improve the |
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quality of life for its citizens; and |
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(3) serving different regions of Texas in ways that |
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respond to each region's unique higher education needs; and, be it |
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further |
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RESOLVED, That the commission examine the following issues |
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related to global competitiveness in educational attainment: |
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(1) current trends in educational attainment in Texas |
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and competitor states and nations and the potential impact of those |
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trends on the state's long-term economic competitiveness and |
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quality of life; |
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(2) objectives and accountability measures related to |
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the state's educational attainment goals, including performance |
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benchmarks comparing the best performing programs in Texas with the |
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best performing programs in competitor states and nations; |
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(3) enhancing regional support for higher education |
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and strengthening the link between higher education and regional |
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economic development goals; |
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(4) improving the number of Texas adults attaining |
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postsecondary credentials and strengthening the role and |
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performance of Texas' community colleges; |
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(5) structuring higher education funding to reward |
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student and institutional outcomes that are aligned with state and |
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regional priorities; |
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(6) increasing the quantity, quality, and |
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commercialization of university-based research; |
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(7) assessing long-term higher education capacity |
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needs and creative approaches to meeting those needs; and |
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(8) creating a policy research mechanism to track, |
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analyze, and make recommendations to state policy makers based on |
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the state's progress in achieving goals with respect to educational |
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attainment and economic competitiveness; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the commission be composed of 15 members, with |
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a presiding officer elected by its members, to include: |
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(1) five members appointed by the governor; |
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(2) five members appointed by the lieutenant governor; |
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and |
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(3) five members appointed by the speaker of the house |
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of representatives; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That in making appointments to the commission, |
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efforts be made to include representatives from the business |
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community and academia and other experts with interest in higher |
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education and current and future workforce needs; and, be it |
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further |
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RESOLVED, That the commission submit a full report, including |
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findings, recommendations, a plan and timeline for implementing the |
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recommendations, and enabling legislation, to the governor and the |
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legislature by November 1, 2008. |
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* * * * * |