82R8178 KSD-F

By: Branch H.B. No. 1460

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to measures to increase cost efficiency at public institutions of higher education and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, including the elimination of certain reporting and other requirements imposed on institutions or the coordinating board.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. The purpose of this Act is to establish:

(1) strategies by which public institutions of higher education can:

(A) achieve higher levels of cost efficiency in producing degrees, with special emphasis on undergraduate degrees; and

(B) become more accountable, efficient, and innovative stewards of state resources in producing better outcomes for students; and

(2) other measures for increasing the cost efficiency of public institutions of higher education or the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

SECTION 2. Subchapter F, Chapter 51, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 51.305 to read as follows:

Sec. 51.305. COMPLETION OF COURSES THROUGH ALTERNATIVE METHODS REQUIRED. (a) At least 10 percent of the cumulative total number of semester credit hours successfully completed by a student of an institution of higher education at any institution during the student's undergraduate academic career must be taken through methods other than an on-campus lecture course or seminar taken during peak hours during a fall or spring semester, including by the following alternative methods:

(1) courses or seminars offered during off-peak hours or during a term or session other than a spring or fall semester;

(2) dual credit courses;

(3) online courses;

(4) internships for course credit; or

(5) course credits awarded for student demonstration of specific competencies as determined by the institution.

(b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board may adopt rules as necessary for the administration of this section.

SECTION 3. Section 51.3062(n), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(n) Each institution of higher education, other than a medical and dental unit, shall report annually to the board on the success of its students and the effectiveness of its Success Initiative.

SECTION 4. Subchapter G, Chapter 51, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 51.359 to read as follows:

Sec. 51.359. CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION WORKLOAD FOR FACULTY MEMBERS. (a) In this section:

(1) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

(2) "Faculty member" means a person who is employed by an institution of higher education as a member of the faculty whose primary duties include teaching, research, academic service, or administration, except that the term does not include a person holding faculty rank who spends a majority of the person's time for the institution engaged in managerial or supervisory activities, including a chancellor, vice chancellor, president, vice president, provost, associate or assistant provost, or dean.

(b) For purposes of this section:

(1) the average faculty member classroom instruction workload of an institution of higher education for an academic year is computed by dividing the total number of semester credit hours taken by all students of the institution during that academic year by the total number of full-time or full-time equivalent faculty members at the institution for that academic year; and

(2) the average faculty member classroom instruction workload of an institutional grouping for an academic year is computed by dividing the sum of the average faculty member classroom instruction workloads of all institutions of higher education assigned to the institutional grouping under the coordinating board's accountability system for that academic year by the number of institutions assigned to that institutional grouping.

(c) Notwithstanding Section 51.402, the governing board of each institution of higher education shall ensure that for the 2013-2014 and each subsequent academic year, the average faculty member classroom instruction workload of the institution is at least 10 percent greater than the average faculty member classroom instruction workload of the institutional grouping to which the institution is assigned under the coordinating board's accountability system for the 2010-2011 academic year.

(d) Not later than January 15 of each year, the coordinating board shall submit to the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, the presiding officer of each legislative standing committee with primary jurisdiction over higher education, and each governing board of an institution of higher education a written report detailing the percentage by which the average faculty member classroom instruction workload of each institution of higher education has changed compared to the 2010-2011 academic year.

(e) The coordinating board shall adopt rules for the administration of this section.

(f) This section does not apply to an academic year after the 2014-2015 academic year. This section expires January 1, 2016.

SECTION 5. Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 51.9685 to read as follows:

Sec. 51.9685. REQUIRED FILING OF DEGREE PLAN. (a) In this section:

(1) "Degree plan" means a statement of the course of study requirements that an undergraduate student at an institution of higher education must complete in order to be awarded an associate's or bachelor's degree from the institution, established through collaboration between the student and an academic advisor for the student's degree program and approved by the academic advisor.

(2) "Institution of higher education" has the meaning assigned by Section 61.003.

(b) Except as otherwise provided by Subsection (c), each student enrolled in an associate's or bachelor's degree program at an institution of higher education shall file a degree plan with the institution not later than the semester or term immediately following the semester or term in which the student earned a cumulative total of 30 or more semester credit hours for course work successfully completed by the student, including transfer courses, international baccalaureate courses, dual credit courses, and any other course for which the institution the student attends has awarded the student college course credit, including by examination.

(c) A student to whom this section applies who begins the student's first semester or term at an institution of higher education with 30 or more semester credit hours of course credit for courses described by Subsection (b) shall file a degree plan with the institution during the student's first semester at the institution.

(d) A student to whom this section applies may not register for any course offered by the institution of higher education for a semester or term succeeding the semester or term in which the student is required to file a degree plan under this section unless the student has filed a degree plan with the institution.

(e) After filing a degree plan with an institution of higher education as required by this section, a student to whom this section applies may not change the student's degree plan or enroll in a course that is not included in the student's degree plan unless the student has consulted with the student's academic advisor and satisfied any applicable prerequisite or other requirement imposed by the institution regarding that degree plan change or course enrollment, as applicable.

(f) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board may adopt rules as necessary for the administration of this section.

SECTION 6. Section 61.086(b), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) Each institution of higher education shall implement the uniform strategy developed under Subsection (a). [Each institution shall report to the board as part of the annual report submitted under Section 51.4032 the manner in which the institution has implemented the uniform strategy.]

SECTION 7. The following laws are repealed:

(1) Section 61.9685, Education Code;

(2) Section 2056.011, Government Code; and

(3) Section 303.004, Labor Code.

SECTION 8. Section 51.305, Education Code, as added by this Act, applies only to undergraduate students at public institutions of higher education who, at the beginning of the 2012-2013 academic year, have accrued a cumulative total of fewer than 60 semester credit hours for course work successfully completed by the student at any institution.

SECTION 9. Section 51.9685, Education Code, as added by this Act, applies beginning with undergraduate students who initially enroll in an institution of higher education for the 2011 fall semester.

SECTION 10. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2011.