BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 305

By: Shapleigh

Higher Education

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Since the implementation of tuition deregulation in 2003, tuition and fees at Texas' public four-year universities have increased 53 percent. This increase, combined with a demand for student aid that exceeds availability from state sponsored programs, forces many students to register for fewer hours at school, work longer hours at jobs, take out more loans, and stall their expected graduation date.

Work-study employment provides opportunities for students who are in need of part-time work to help pay education expenses. It also provides real-world job experience related to a student's skills, preferences, and possible career goals, while offering the opportunity to develop important career contacts. Many students, however, are unaware of the different work-study opportunities available on college campuses.

S.B. 305 requires institutions of higher education to establish and maintain an online list of work-study employment opportunities and ensure that the list is easily accessible through the institution's website.

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

S.B. 305 amends the Education Code to require each institution of higher education to establish and maintain an online list of work-study employment opportunities, sorted by department as appropriate, available to students on the institution's campus, and to ensure that the list is easily accessible to the public through a clearly identifiable link that appears in a prominent place on the financial aid page of the institution's Internet website. The bill requires each institution of higher education to establish the online list as soon as practicable after the bill's effective date.

EFFECTIVE DATE

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