Honorable David Dewhurst, Lieutenant Governor, Senate
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB1231 by Zaffirini (Relating to refunding tuition and mandatory fees at institutions of higher education for dropped courses and student withdrawals.), As Passed 2nd House
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend Section 54.006 of the Education Code as it relates to refunding tuition and mandatory fees at institutions of higher education for dropped courses and student withdrawals. The bill establishes parameters for a summer session refund schedule based on the duration of the summer term. If the term is 10 weeks or longer, the refund policy will be the same as Fall and Spring semesters. Shorter term summer sessions have a proportional adjustment to the refund period. Under provisions of the bill if a student withdraws but has not paid the total amount of the tuition and mandatory fees, the institution may credit the amount to be refunded toward the payment of the outstanding tuition and mandatory fees. A student would also not be allowed to drop more than six courses at an institution of higher education under certain circumstances. Provisions of the bill would be implemented within existing resources.
Local Government Impact
No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
Source Agencies:
710 Texas A&M University System Administrative and General Offices, 720 The University of Texas System Administration, 758 Texas State University System, 769 University of North Texas System Administration, 781 Higher Education Coordinating Board