| TO: | Honorable Judith Zaffirini, Chair, Senate Committee on Higher Education |
| FROM: | John S O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB2910 by Branch (Relating to agreements between the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and certain organizations for increasing degree completion rates.), As Engrossed |
Under provisions of the bill, the Higher Education Coordinating Board could, in partnership with institutions of higher education, enter into an agreement with a non-profit organization to assist the Board in identifying and implementing effective methods for increasing degree completion rates at institutions of higher education. The bill idenitifies certain areas that would be examined. The Board could also establish a grant program to fund projects relating to the improvement of degree completion rates.
Although not similar to the proposed program in terms of grants to institutions, an example of a program tied to increasing degree completion is a recent program started by the Higher Education Coordinating Board that targets students that have stopped going to institutions that had at least 45 semester credit hours to return to complete a baccalaureate degree. The agency is using $500,000 in federal grants to develop a web portal that includes a transcript audit system, marketing, and evaluation.
| Source Agencies: | 781 Higher Education Coordinating Board
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| LBB Staff: | JOB, KK, RT, GO
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