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INTRODUCED
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HOUSE COMMITTEE
SUBSTITUTE
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 1. Chapter 130,
Education Code, is amended by adding Subchapter L, and a heading is added
to that subchapter to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER L. BACCALAUREATE
DEGREE PROGRAMS
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 2. Section
130.0012(l), Education Code, is transferred to Subchapter L, Chapter 130,
Education Code, as added by this Act, redesignated as Section 130.301,
Education Code, and amended to read as follows:
Sec. 130.301. DEFINITIONS.
[(l)] In this subchapter:
(1) "Coordinating
board" means the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
(2) "General academic
teaching institution," "medical and dental unit," [section,
"general academic teaching institution"] and
"institution of higher education" have the meanings assigned by
Section 61.003.
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SECTION 1. Section 130.0012,
Education Code, is amended by amending Subsections (a), (b), (d), (e), (g),
and (h) and adding Subsections (e-1), (f-1), (g-1), and (g-2) to read as
follows:
(a) The Texas Higher
Education Coordinating Board may [shall] authorize public
junior colleges to offer baccalaureate degree programs in the fields of applied science, [and]
applied technology, and nursing under this section. Offering
a baccalaureate degree program under this section does not otherwise alter
the role and mission of a public junior college.
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SECTION 3. Section
130.0012(a), Education Code, is transferred to Subchapter L, Chapter 130,
Education Code, as added by this Act, redesignated as Section 130.302,
Education Code, and amended to read as follows:
Sec. 130.302. BACCALAUREATE
DEGREE PROGRAMS; GENERAL AUTHORIZATION. [(a)] The coordinating
board may [Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall]
authorize public junior colleges to offer baccalaureate degree programs as provided by this subchapter [in the fields of applied science and
applied technology under this section]. Offering a baccalaureate
degree program under this subchapter [section] does not
otherwise alter the role and mission of a public junior college.
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(b) The coordinating board:
(1) shall authorize
baccalaureate degree programs in the fields of applied science and
applied technology at each public junior college that previously
participated in a pilot project to offer baccalaureate degree programs;
and
(2) may authorize
baccalaureate degree programs at one or more public junior colleges that
offer a degree program in the fields of applied science, applied technology,
or nursing and have demonstrated a workforce need.
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SECTION 4. Section
130.0012(b), Education Code, is transferred to Subchapter L, Chapter 130,
Education Code, as added by this Act, redesignated as Section 130.303,
Education Code, and amended to read as follows:
Sec. 130.303. AUTHORIZATION
FOR CERTAIN BACCALAUREATE DEGREE PROGRAMS. (a) [(b)] The
coordinating board shall authorize baccalaureate degree programs in the
fields of applied science and applied technology at each public junior
college that previously participated in a pilot project to offer those baccalaureate degree
programs.
(b) The coordinating board
may authorize baccalaureate degree programs at one or more public junior
colleges that offer a degree program in the field of applied science, applied
technology, or nursing and have demonstrated a workforce need.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 5. Sections
130.0012(b-1), (b-2), and (b-3), Education Code, are transferred to
Subchapter L, Chapter 130, Education Code, as added by this Act, redesignated
as Section 130.304, Education Code, and amended to read as follows:
Sec. 130.304. BACCALAUREATE
IN DENTAL HYGIENE; PILOT PROJECT. (a) [(b-1)] The coordinating
board shall establish a pilot project to examine the feasibility and
effectiveness of authorizing baccalaureate degree programs in the field of
dental hygiene at a public junior college that offers a degree program in
that field, has a main campus located in the county seat of a county with a
population greater than 200,000, and includes territory in at least six
public school districts located in two counties. Section 130.310 [Subsection
(g)] does not apply to junior-level and senior-level courses offered
under this section [subsection]. In its recommendations to
the legislature relating to state funding for public junior colleges, the
coordinating board shall recommend that junior-level and senior-level
courses offered under this section [subsection] by a public
junior college receive the same state support as other courses offered by
the public junior college.
(b) [(b-2)] Not
later than January 1, 2017, the coordinating board shall prepare a progress
report on the pilot project established under this section [Subsection
(b-1)]. Not later than January 1, 2019, the coordinating board shall
prepare a report on the effectiveness of the pilot project, including any
recommendations for legislative action regarding the offering of
baccalaureate degree programs in the field of dental hygiene by a public
junior college. The coordinating board shall deliver a copy of each report
to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of
representatives, and the chair of the standing committee of each house of
the legislature with primary jurisdiction over higher education. Unless the
authority to continue offering a baccalaureate degree program in the field
of dental hygiene is continued by the legislature, a public junior college
may not:
(1) enroll a new student in a
baccalaureate degree program under the pilot project after the 2019 fall
semester;
(2) offer junior-level or
senior-level courses for those degree programs after the 2021 fall
semester, unless the coordinating board authorizes the college to offer
those courses; or
(3) award a baccalaureate
degree under the pilot project after the 2021 fall semester, unless the
coordinating board approves the awarding of the degree.
(c) [(b-3)] This
section expires [subsection and Subsections (b-1) and (b-2)
expire] on the first June 15 following the first regular legislative
session that occurs after the fourth anniversary of the date a public
junior college offering a degree program in the field of dental hygiene
under this section [Subsection (b-1)] meets the accreditation
requirements of Section 130.305 [Subsection (c)].
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 6. Section
130.0012(c), Education Code, is transferred to Subchapter L, Chapter 130,
Education Code, as added by this Act, redesignated as Section 130.305,
Education Code, and amended to read as follows:
Sec. 130.305. ACCREDITATION.
[(c)] A public junior college offering a baccalaureate degree
program under this subchapter [section] must meet all
applicable accreditation requirements of the Commission on Colleges of the
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
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(d) A public junior college
offering a baccalaureate degree program under this section may not offer
more than three [five] baccalaureate degree programs at any
time.
The degree programs are
subject to the continuing approval of the coordinating board.
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SECTION 7. Section
130.0012(d), Education Code, is transferred to Subchapter L, Chapter 130,
Education Code, as added by this Act, redesignated as Section 130.306,
Education Code, and amended to read as follows:
Sec. 130.306. LIMITATION. (a)
[(d)] A public junior college
offering a baccalaureate degree program under Section 130.303(a) [this
section] may not offer more than five baccalaureate degree programs at
any time.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (a), a
public junior college offering a baccalaureate degree program under this
subchapter may not offer more than three baccalaureate degree programs at
any time.
(c) Degree [The
degree] programs offered under this subchapter are subject to
the continuing approval of the coordinating board.
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(e) In determining whether
a public junior college may offer [what] baccalaureate degree
programs and what degree programs may [are to] be offered,
the coordinating board shall:
(1) apply the same
criteria and standards the coordinating board uses to approve baccalaureate
degree programs at general academic teaching institutions;
(2) consider the
following factors:
(A) [(1)] the workforce
need for the degree programs in the region served by the junior college;
(B) [(2)] how
those degree programs would complement the other programs and course
offerings of the junior college and whether the associate degree program
offered by the junior college in the same field has been successful;
(C) [(3)] whether
those degree programs would unnecessarily duplicate the degree programs
offered by other institutions of higher education; and
(D) [(4)] the
ability of the junior college to support the degree programs with
student enrollment [program] and the adequacy of the junior
college's facilities, faculty, administration, libraries, and other
resources, including evidence
provided to the coordinating board and the Texas Board of Nursing that a
public junior college seeking approval of a baccalaureate degree program in
nursing has secured adequate long-term clinical space; and
(3) ensure the program would not draw faculty employed by a
neighboring institution offering a similar program.
(e-1) A public junior
college may offer a baccalaureate degree program under this section only if
its junior college district had a taxable property valuation amount of not
less than $10 billion in the
preceding year.
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SECTION 8. Section
130.0012(e), Education Code, is transferred to Subchapter L, Chapter 130,
Education Code, as added by this Act, redesignated as Section 130.307,
Education Code, and amended to read as follows:
Sec. 130.307. REQUIREMENTS.
(a) [(e)] In determining whether a public junior college may
offer [what] baccalaureate degree programs and what degree
programs may [are to] be offered, the coordinating board shall:
(1) apply the same
criteria and standards the coordinating board uses to approve baccalaureate
degree programs at general academic teaching institutions and medical and dental units; and
(2) consider the
following factors:
(A) [(1)] the workforce
need for the degree programs in the region served by the junior college;
(B) [(2)] how
those degree programs would complement the other programs and course
offerings of the junior college and whether the associate degree program
offered by the junior college in the same field has been successful;
(C) [(3)] whether
those degree programs would unnecessarily duplicate the degree programs
offered by other institutions of higher education; and
(D) [(4)] the
ability of the junior college to support the degree programs with
student enrollment [program] and the adequacy of the junior
college's facilities, faculty, administration, libraries, and other
resources.
(b) A public junior
college may offer a baccalaureate degree program under this section only if
its junior college district:
(1) had a taxable property
valuation amount of not less than $6
billion in the preceding year; and
(2) received a positive assessment of the overall financial
health of the district as reported by the coordinating board.
(c) Before a public junior college may be authorized to offer a
baccalaureate degree program under this subchapter, the public junior
college must submit a report to the coordinating board that includes:
(1) a long-term financial plan for receiving accreditation from
the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools;
(2) a long-term plan for faculty recruitment that:
(A) indicates the ability to pay the increased salaries of
doctoral faculty;
(B) identifies recruitment strategies for new faculty; and
(C) ensures the program would not draw faculty employed by a
neighboring institution offering a similar program;
(3) detailed information on the manner of program and course
delivery; and
(4) detailed information regarding existing articulation
agreements and dual enrollment agreements indicating:
(A) that at least three articulation agreements have been
established with general academic teaching institutions or medical and
dental units, or the reasons why no articulation agreements have been
established; and
(B) that, with the agreement of the applicable general academic
teaching institution or medical and dental unit, established articulation
agreements are at capacity.
(d) The coordinating board may not authorize a public junior
college to offer a baccalaureate degree in a field if articulation
agreements with general academic teaching institutions or medical and
dental units are sufficient to meet the needs of that field.
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(f-1) The coordinating
board shall establish minimum admission standards for students enrolling in
a baccalaureate degree program in nursing offered by a public junior
college under this section.
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No
equivalent provision. (But see SECTION 9 below.)
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No
equivalent provision. (But see Sec. 130.0012(f-1) above.)
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SECTION 9. Subchapter L,
Chapter 130, Education Code, as added by this Act, is amended by adding
Section 130.308, Education Code, to read as follows:
Sec. 130.308. SPECIAL
REQUIREMENTS FOR NURSING DEGREE PROGRAM. (a) In determining whether a
public junior college may offer a baccalaureate degree program in nursing,
the coordinating board shall:
(1) require a public
junior college to provide evidence to the coordinating board and the Texas
Board of Nursing that the public junior college has secured adequate
long-term clinical space;
(2) obtain a letter from
each clinical site provided indicating that the clinical site has not
refused a similar request from a general academic teaching institution or
medical and dental unit; and
(3) establish that the corresponding
associate degree program offered by the public junior college has been
successful as indicated by job placement rates and licensing exam scores.
(b) A baccalaureate degree
program offered under this subchapter by a public junior college in the field
of nursing must:
(1) be a bachelor of
science degree program;
(2) meet the standards and
criteria the Texas Board of Nursing uses to approve pre-licensure degree
programs at general academic teaching institutions and medical and dental
units regardless of whether the program is a pre-licensure or
post-licensure program; and
(3) be accredited by a
national nursing accrediting body recognized by the United States
Department of Education.
(c) A public junior
college offering a baccalaureate degree program in the field of nursing
under this subchapter must demonstrate to the coordinating board that it
will maintain or exceed the enrollment available to nursing students
enrolled in an associate degree program at the public junior college in the
2016-2017 academic year and must continue to maintain or exceed that level
of enrollment in the corresponding associate degree program until the
2021-2022 academic year. This subsection expires January 1, 2023.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 10. Sections 130.0012(f)
and (j), Education Code, are transferred to Subchapter L, Chapter 130,
Education Code, as added by this Act, redesignated as Section 130.309,
Education Code, and amended to read as follows:
Sec. 130.309. ARTICULATION
AGREEMENT REQUIRED. (a) [(f)] Each public junior college that
offers a baccalaureate degree program under this subchapter [section]
must enter into an articulation agreement for the first five years of the
program with one or more general academic teaching institutions or
medical and dental units to ensure that students enrolled in the degree
program have an opportunity to complete the degree if the public junior
college ceases to offer the degree program. The coordinating board may
require a general academic teaching institution or medical and dental
unit that offers a comparable degree program to enter into an
articulation agreement with the public junior college as provided by this
subsection.
(b) [(j)] The
coordinating board shall prescribe procedures to ensure that each public junior
college that offers a degree program under this subchapter [section]
informs each student who enrolls in the degree program of the articulation
agreement entered into under this section [Subsection (f)]
for the student's degree program.
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(g) Except as provided by
Subsection (g-1), a degree program created under this section may be funded
solely by a public junior college's proportionate share of state
appropriations under Section 130.003, local funds, and private sources.
This subsection does not
require the legislature to appropriate state funds to support a degree
program created under this section.
(g-1) Notwithstanding
Subsection (g), in [In] its recommendations to the legislature
relating to state funding for public junior colleges, the coordinating
board shall recommend that a public junior college that previously
participated in a pilot project to offer baccalaureate degree
programs receive substantially the same state support for junior-level
and senior-level courses in the fields of applied science and applied
technology offered under this section as that provided to a general
academic teaching institution for substantially similar courses. For
purposes of this subsection, in [In] determining the contact
hours attributable to students enrolled in a junior-level or senior-level
course in the field of applied science or applied technology offered
under this section used to determine a public junior college's
proportionate share of state appropriations under Section 130.003, the coordinating
board shall weigh those contact hours as necessary to provide the junior
college the appropriate level of state support to the extent state funds
for those courses are included in the appropriations. This subsection does
not prohibit the legislature from directly appropriating state funds to
support junior-level and senior-level courses to which this subsection
applies [offered under this section].
(g-2) A public junior
college may not charge a student enrolled in a baccalaureate degree program
offered under this section tuition and fees in an amount that exceeds the
amount of tuition and fees charged by the junior college to a similarly
situated student who is enrolled in an associate degree program in a
corresponding field.
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SECTION 11. Section
130.0012(g), Education Code, is transferred to Subchapter L, Chapter 130,
Education Code, as added by this Act, redesignated as Section 130.310,
Education Code, and amended to read as follows:
Sec. 130.310. FUNDING. (a)
Except as provided by Subsection (b), a degree program created under this
subchapter may be funded solely by a public junior college's proportionate
share of state appropriations under Section 130.003, local funds, and
private sources. This subsection does not require the legislature to
appropriate state funds to support a degree program created under this
subchapter. The coordinating board shall
weigh contact hours attributable to students enrolled in a junior-level or
senior-level course offered under this subchapter used to determine a
public junior college's proportionate share of state appropriations under
Section 130.003 in the same manner as a lower division course in a
corresponding field.
(b) Notwithstanding
Subsection (a), in [(g) In] its recommendations to the
legislature relating to state funding for public junior colleges, the
coordinating board shall recommend that a public junior college authorized to offer baccalaureate
degree programs under Section 130.303(a)
receive substantially the same state support for junior-level and
senior-level courses in the fields of applied science and applied
technology offered under this subchapter [section] as
that provided to a general academic teaching institution for substantially
similar courses. For purposes of this subsection, in [In]
determining the contact hours attributable to students enrolled in a
junior-level or senior-level course in the field of applied science or
applied technology offered under this subchapter [section]
used to determine a public junior college's proportionate share of state
appropriations under Section 130.003, the coordinating board shall weigh
those contact hours as necessary to provide the junior college the
appropriate level of state support to the extent state funds for those
courses are included in the appropriations. This subsection does not
prohibit the legislature from directly appropriating state funds to support
junior-level and senior-level courses to which this subsection applies
[offered under this section].
(c) A public junior
college may not charge a student enrolled in a baccalaureate degree program
offered under this subchapter tuition and fees in an amount that exceeds
the amount of tuition and fees charged by the junior college to a similarly
situated student who is enrolled in an associate degree program in a
corresponding field.
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(h) Each biennium, each
[Each] public junior college offering a baccalaureate degree program
under this section shall conduct a review of each baccalaureate degree
program offered and prepare a [biennial] report on the operation,
quality, and effectiveness of those [the junior college's
baccalaureate] degree programs. A [and shall deliver a]
copy of the report shall be delivered to the coordinating board in
the form and at the time determined by the coordinating board.
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SECTION 12. Section
130.0012(h), Education Code, is transferred to Subchapter L, Chapter 130,
Education Code, as added by this Act, redesignated as Section 130.311,
Education Code, and amended to read as follows:
Sec. 130.311. REPORT. Each
biennium, each [(h) Each] public junior college offering a
baccalaureate degree program under this section shall conduct a review
of each baccalaureate degree program offered and prepare a [biennial]
report on the operation, quality, and effectiveness of those
[the junior college's baccalaureate] degree programs. A [and
shall deliver a] copy of the report shall be delivered to the
coordinating board in the form and at the time determined by the
coordinating board.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 13. Section
130.0012(k), Education Code, is transferred to Subchapter L, Chapter 130,
Education Code, as added by this Act, redesignated as Section 130.312,
Education Code, and amended to read as follows:
Sec. 130.312. RULES. [(k)]
The coordinating board shall adopt rules as necessary for the
administration of this subchapter [section].
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 14. The heading to
Section 130.0012, Education Code, is repealed.
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SECTION 2. 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, 2017.
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SECTION 15. Same as
introduced version.
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