BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Research Center S.B. 305
81R1776 KSD-D By: Shapleigh, Zaffirini
AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
Since tuition deregulation was implemented in 2003, tuition and fees at Texas' public, four-year universities have increased 53 percent. Combined with the fact that demand for student aid exceeds what is available in state sponsored programs, students must register for fewer hours at school, work longer hours at jobs, take out more loans, and stall their expected graduation date.
Work-study jobs provide opportunities for students who are in need of earnings and part-time employment to help pay education expenses. Further, they provide real-world job experience suited to a student's skills, preferences, and possible career goals, while also offering the opportunity to develop important career contacts. Many students, however, are unaware of the different opportunities available on campus through work-study jobs.
As proposed, S.B. 305 requires institutions of higher education to maintain on their website a list of available work-study job opportunities sorted by department and to ensure that the list is easily accessible through a link that is in a prominent place on the financial aid page of the institution's website.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter E, Chapter 56, Education Code, by adding Section 56.080, as follows:
Sec. 56.080. ONLINE LIST OF WORK-STUDY EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES. Requires 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.
SECTION 2. Requires each public institution of higher education, as soon as practicable after the effective date of this Act, to establish an online list of work-study employment opportunities for students as required by Section 56.080, Education Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 3. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2009.