BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2518

By: Menendez

Higher Education

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Obtaining a bachelor's degree is an important achievement critical to success for many Texans, but it can be a challenge for some students who have to travel great distances, either in or out of state, if a local college does not offer a particular degree program and often poses a barrier to greater success for students who cannot afford that considerable expense. 

C.S.H.B. 2518 requires the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to authorize a public junior to offer a bachelor's degree program that meets certain qualifying criteria if the program is in applied science or applied technology or if the public junior college previously participated in a pilot project to offer bachelor's degree programs.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2518 amends the Education Code to clarify the requirement imposed on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to authorize a public junior college to offer a bachelor's degree program.  The bill requires the coordinating board to authorize a public junior college to offer a bachelor's degree program that meets certain qualifying criteria if one of two conditions applies: the program is in the field of applied science or applied technology or the public junior college previously participated in a pilot project to offer bachelor's degree programs.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the act does not receive the necessary vote, the act takes effect September 1, 2009.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 2518 differs from the original by requiring the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to authorize a public junior college to offer a bachelor's degree program that meets certain qualifying criteria if either the program is in the field of applied science or applied technology or the public junior college previously participated in a pilot project to offer bachelor's degree programs, whereas the original requires the coordinating board to authorize bachelor's degree programs at each public junior college that previously participated in such a pilot project and at one or more public junior colleges in a junior college district that offers a degree in fire sciences.