Amend CSHB 1 (the General Appropriations Act), in the Special Provisions Relating Only to State Agencies of Higher Education in Article III of the bill (page III-219), by adding the following appropriately numbered section:

Sec. ____.  Online Degree Plans.  (a) Using funds appropriated by this Act, not later than August 1, 2012, each public institution of higher education receiving appropriations under this Act shall submit to the Higher Education Coordinating Board a study of the costs of making available online four of the institution's most popular degree plans, as determined by the institution. Each institution's reported cost study must include the methodology used for the cost study and an explanation for each expense listed in the study.

(b)  The coordinating board shall use new and existing data, including performance measures, ongoing research studies, and survey data, to evaluate probable student outcomes for online degree plans identified by the institutions. The coordinating board shall:

(1)  analyze and compare all reported cost studies under this section and corresponding student outcomes to determine the most efficient and effective of the proposed online degree plans among those institutions generally; and

(2)  notify each institution of its conclusions.