| TO: | Honorable Judith Zaffirini, Chair, Senate Committee on Higher Education |
| FROM: | John S O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | SB1730 by Zaffirini (relating to requiring the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to create a tool to allow prospective students to compare general academic teaching institutions by certain criteria.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted |
The bill would require the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) to make available on its website a search tool that allows a person to compare institutions that meet certain criteria selected by the person. It must allow the user to identify institutions according to major fields and programs. The tool must generate a comparison chart in a grid format and provide information for each institution listed that the THECB has determined would aid a prospective student in evaluating the institution. The website must include links to each institution's online resume and to the Texas Workforce Commission.
To the extent practible, the bill would require that information provided by general academic institutions, for this Act, must consist of information that the institution is already required to report to the THECB under another provision of the law, including board rule. Each general academic institution would be required to provide this information to the THECB, not later than October 1, or a date determined by the THECB, of each year.
The agency indicates that any costs associated with this bill can be absorbed within existing resources.
| Source Agencies: | 710 Texas A&M University System Administrative and General Offices, 720 The University of Texas System Administration, 758 Texas State University System, 768 Texas Tech University System Administration, 769 University of North Texas System Administration, 781 Higher Education Coordinating Board, 783 University of Houston System Administration
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| LBB Staff: | JOB, KK, RT, GO, SDE
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