Bill Text: TX HB736 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Relating to online information and resources regarding public institutions of higher education and career schools and colleges.

Sponsorship: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 6-1)

Status: (Passed) 2011-06-17 - Effective immediately [HB736 Detail]

Download: Texas-2011-HB736-Enrolled.html

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H.B. No. 736

AN ACT
relating to online information and resources regarding public
institutions of higher education and career schools and colleges.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 51.9745 to read as follows:
Sec. 51.9745. INTERNET ACCESS TO FACULTY INFORMATION. (a)
Each general academic teaching institution, as defined by Section
61.003, shall make available to the public on the institution's
Internet website the following information for the institution:
(1) the student/faculty ratio;
(2) the percentage of all full-time equivalent faculty
members with teaching responsibility who are tenured or tenure
track;
(3) the percentage of semester credit hours taken by
students classified as freshmen or sophomores that are taught by
tenured and tenure track faculty members;
(4) the number of faculty members in each of the
following faculty ranks, including a breakdown for each rank
showing the numbers of faculty members by race, ethnicity, and
gender:
(A) professor;
(B) associate professor;
(C) assistant professor;
(D) instructor;
(E) nontenured or nontenure track; and
(F) teaching assistant;
(5) average faculty salaries by rank;
(6) the amount of money appropriated by the
legislature per full-time equivalent faculty member and full-time
equivalent student;
(7) the total revenue the institution spent per
full-time equivalent faculty member and full-time equivalent
student;
(8) the amount of federal and private research
expenditures per tenured or tenure track full-time equivalent
faculty member;
(9) the number and percentage of faculty members
holding extramural research grants;
(10) the number and names of awards to faculty members
from nationally recognized entities, including those identified by
The Center for Measuring University Performance; and
(11) the number of endowed professorships or chairs.
(b) Each institution to which this section applies shall
update the information required by Subsection (a) for the preceding
academic or fiscal year, as applicable, not later than December 31
of each year.
(c) The administrator designated under Section 51.974 by an
institution to which this section applies is responsible for
ensuring implementation of this section. The administrator may
assign duties under this section to one or more administrative
employees.
(d) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board may adopt
rules necessary to administer this section, including rules to
ensure the consistency of information made available under this
section.
SECTION 2. Section 51A.002, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (e) to read as
follows:
(b) The coordinating board shall:
(1) request from each institution of higher education
to which this chapter applies any information the coordinating
board considers necessary for the coordinating board to include
information or calculate data required to be included in the
institution's resume;
(2) establish for each institution of higher education
to which this chapter applies a list of representative in-state and
out-of-state peer institutions and maintain that list on the
coordinating board's Internet website;
(3) ensure that each of an institution of higher
education's online resumes:
(A) is available to the public on the
coordinating board's Internet website, in a one-page format if
possible, and is accessible through a link that appears [in a
prominent place] on the first frame of the coordinating board's
Internet website home page in a font that is larger than the font of
the majority of the text on the home page;
(B) uses enhanced, user-friendly search
capabilities to ensure that the information required to be included
in the resume is easily accessible to the persons for whom the
resume is designed; and
(C) includes a clearly identifiable link to
information on the coordinating board's Internet website regarding
the coordinating board's higher education accountability system;
and
(4) ensure that the information provided in each
resume is accurate and up to date and includes the most recent data
available for out-of-state peer institutions.
(e) The data relating to student loans, grants, or
scholarships included by the coordinating board on an institution's
resume under this subchapter must be the same as that published in
regard to the institution by the United States Department of
Education on its "College Navigator" website, or a successor or
related website maintained by the United States Department of
Education.
SECTION 3. Section 51A.003, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 51A.003. DUTIES OF INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION
RELATING TO INSTITUTION RESUMES. Each institution of higher
education to which this chapter applies shall:
(1) submit to the coordinating board any information
requested by the coordinating board as necessary for the
coordinating board to include information or calculate data
required to be included in the institution's resumes; and
(2) ensure that the first frame of the institution's
Internet website home page includes, in a font that is larger than
the font of the majority of the text on the home page [prominent
place], an accessible link to the institution's online resumes
maintained on the coordinating board's Internet website.
SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 51A, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 51A.004 to read as follows:
Sec. 51A.004. LINK TO FEDERAL STUDENT FINANCIAL AID
INFORMATION. An institution may satisfy a requirement of this
chapter relating to student loan, grant, or scholarship information
by linking the online resume of the institution to that information
as it appears on the website known as "College Navigator," or a
successor or related website, maintained by the National Center for
Education Statistics of the U.S. Department of Education.
SECTION 5. Section 51A.052, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (e) to read as
follows:
(d) The resume must include the following information
relating to the institution for the most recent state fiscal year
for which the information is available and compare that information
to the same information for the state fiscal year preceding the most
recent state fiscal year for which the information is available and
the state fiscal year preceding the most recent state fiscal year
for which the information is available by five years:
(1) under the heading "ENROLLMENT":
(A) ["ENROLLMENT,"] the total number of students
enrolled in the institution during the fall semester that ended in
the fiscal year covered by the resume; and
(B) the percentage of undergraduate students
enrolled in the institution for the first time during the fall
semester that ended in the fiscal year covered by the resume who are
transfer students;
(2) under the heading "COSTS":
(A) ["COSTS,"] the average annual total academic
costs for a resident undergraduate student enrolled in 30 semester
credit hours:
(i) [(A)] at the institution; and
(ii) [(B)] at the institution's in-state
and out-of-state peer institutions;
(B) the percentage of undergraduate students
receiving student loans:
(i) at the institution; and
(ii) at the institution's in-state and
out-of-state peer institutions;
(C) the average annual amount of an undergraduate
student's student loans:
(i) at the institution; and
(ii) at the institution's in-state and
out-of-state peer institutions;
(D) the percentage of undergraduate students
receiving federal or state grants:
(i) at the institution; and
(ii) at the institution's in-state and
out-of-state peer institutions; and
(E) the average annual amount of federal and
state grants received by an undergraduate student:
(i) at the institution; and
(ii) at the institution's in-state and
out-of-state peer institutions;
(3) under the heading "STUDENT SUCCESS":
(A) the retention rate of first-time, full-time,
degree-seeking entering undergraduate students:
(i) enrolled in the institution after one
academic year and after two academic years; and
(ii) enrolled in the institution's in-state
peer institutions after two academic years;
(B) the percentage of undergraduate students
requiring developmental education who, after six years from
entering the institution, graduated from or are still enrolled in:
(i) the institution; and
(ii) the institution's in-state peer
institutions;
(C) the four-year, five-year, and six-year
graduation rates of full-time bachelor's degree-seeking students:
(i) at the institution; and
(ii) at the institution's in-state and
out-of-state peer institutions; and
(D) the average number of fall and spring
semesters of enrollment attempted by a student to obtain a
bachelor's degree:
(i) at the institution; and
(ii) at the institution's in-state peer
institutions; and
(4) under the heading "FUNDING":
(A) the total amount of money appropriated by the
legislature to the institution, including money appropriated for
faculty and staff health coverage and retirement benefits, for that
state fiscal year and the corresponding percentage of the
institution's operating budget for that state fiscal year that the
total amount of money appropriated by the legislature represents;
[and]
(B) the total amount of federal funds from all
federal sources, including grants and research funds, received by
the institution in that state fiscal year and the corresponding
percentage of the institution's operating budget for that state
fiscal year that the total amount of federal funds represents;
(C) the total academic costs charged to students
by the institution in that state fiscal year and the corresponding
percentage of the institution's operating budget for that state
fiscal year that the total academic costs represent; and
(D) the total amount of money from any source
available to the institution in that state fiscal year.
(e) In addition to the information required by Subsection
(d)(2), the resume must include under the heading "COSTS" the
average annual amount and percentage by which the total academic
costs charged to a resident undergraduate student enrolled in 30
semester credit hours have increased in each of the five most recent
state fiscal years for which the information is available:
(1) at the institution; and
(2) at the institution's in-state and out-of-state
peer institutions.
SECTION 6. Section 51A.053, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
follows:
(c) Except as otherwise provided by the coordinating board
under Subsection (a), the resume must include the following
information relating to the most recent state fiscal year for which
the information is available:
(1) under the heading "ENROLLMENT":
(A) the total number of students enrolled in the
institution during the fall semester that ended in the fiscal year
covered by the resume; [and]
(B) the percentage of undergraduate students
enrolled in the institution for the first time during the fall
semester that ended in the fiscal year covered by the resume who are
transfer students; and
(C) a clearly identifiable link to the
information described by Paragraph (A) disaggregated by student
ethnicity;
(2) under the heading "DEGREES AWARDED":
(A) the number of bachelor's degrees, number of
master's degrees, number of doctoral degrees, and number of
professional degrees awarded by the institution; and
(B) a clearly identifiable link to the
information described by Paragraph (A) disaggregated by student
ethnicity;
(3) under the heading "COSTS":
(A) the average annual total academic costs for a
resident undergraduate student enrolled in 30 semester credit hours
at the institution;
(B) clearly identifiable links to information
regarding:
(i) the rate or rates of tuition per
semester credit hour charged by the institution; and
(ii) any mandatory fees, as defined by the
coordinating board, imposed by the institution; [and
[(iii) the amount and percentage by which
the institution has increased tuition for a degree program or
course level during the state fiscal year covered by the resume;]
(C) the average cost of on-campus room and board
per student; and
(D) the average cost to a resident undergraduate
student enrolled in 30 semester credit hours for total academic
costs and on-campus room and board, excluding the cost of books,
supplies, transportation, or other expenses;
(4) under the heading "FINANCIAL AID":
(A) the percentage of undergraduate students
enrolled in the institution who receive need-based grants or
scholarships;
(B) the percentage of undergraduate students
enrolled in the institution who receive need-based grants,
scholarships, loans, or work-study funds;
(C) the percentage of undergraduate students
enrolled in the institution who receive student loans;
(D) the average amount of an undergraduate
student's need-based grant and scholarship package; [and]
(E) [(D)] the average amount of an undergraduate
student's need-based grant, scholarship, loan, and work-study
package; and
(F) the average amount of an undergraduate
student's student loans;
(5) under the heading "ADMISSIONS":
(A) the middle 50 percent test score range of
first-time undergraduate students at the institution whose
Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) scores were in the 25th to 75th
percentile of students' scores at that institution;
(B) the middle 50 percent test score range of
first-time undergraduate students at the institution whose
American College Test (ACT) scores were in the 25th to 75th
percentile of students' scores at that institution; and
(C) the percentage of the students who applied
for first-time undergraduate admission to the institution who were
offered admission to the institution;
(6) under the heading "INSTRUCTION":
(A) the student/faculty ratio at the
institution;
(B) the percentage of organized undergraduate
classes offered by the institution in which fewer than 20 students
are enrolled;
(C) the percentage of organized undergraduate
classes offered by the institution in which more than 50 students
are enrolled; and
(D) the percentage of teaching faculty members of
the institution who are tenured or tenure-track;
(7) under the heading "BACCALAUREATE SUCCESS":
(A) four-year, five-year, and six-year
graduation rates for full-time bachelor's degree-seeking students
at the institution, and links to that information disaggregated by
student ethnicity; [and]
(B) the average number of fall and spring
semesters of enrollment attempted by a student to obtain a
bachelor's degree; and
(C) the retention rate of first-time, full-time,
degree-seeking entering undergraduate students enrolled in the
institution after one academic year and after two academic years;
(8) under the heading "FIRST-TIME LICENSURE OR
CERTIFICATION EXAMINATION PASS RATES," the first-time licensure or
certification examination pass rates in the fields of education,
law, pharmacy, nursing, and engineering of students enrolled in the
institution or who have graduated from the institution; and
(9) under the heading "FUNDING":
(A) the total amount of money appropriated by the
legislature to the institution, including money appropriated for
faculty and staff health coverage and retirement benefits, for that
state fiscal year and the corresponding percentage of the
institution's operating budget for that state fiscal year that the
total amount of money appropriated by the legislature represents;
(B) the total amount of federal funds from all
federal sources, including grants and research funds, received by
the institution in that state fiscal year and the corresponding
percentage of the institution's operating budget for that state
fiscal year that the total amount of federal funds represents;
(C) the total academic costs charged to students
by the institution in that state fiscal year and the corresponding
percentage of the institution's operating budget for that state
fiscal year that the total academic costs represent; and
(D) the total amount of money from any source
available to the institution in that state fiscal year.
(d) In addition to the information required by Subsection
(c)(3), the resume must include under the heading "COSTS" the
average annual amount and percentage by which the total academic
costs charged to a resident undergraduate student enrolled in 30
semester credit hours have increased in each of the five most recent
state fiscal years for which the information is available:
(1) at the institution; and
(2) at the institution's in-state peer institutions.
SECTION 7. Section 51A.102, Education Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (e) to read as
follows:
(d) The resume must include the following information
relating to the institution for the most recent state fiscal year
for which the information is available and compare that information
to the same information for the state fiscal year preceding the most
recent state fiscal year for which the information is available and
the state fiscal year preceding the most recent state fiscal year
for which the information is available by five years:
(1) under the heading "ENROLLMENT":
(A) ["ENROLLMENT,"] the total number of students
enrolled in the institution for course credit during the fall
semester that ended in the fiscal year covered by the resume;
(B) the percentage of students enrolled in the
institution who are enrolled in one or more developmental education
courses; and
(C) the percentage of students enrolled in the
institution who are enrolled in one or more dual credit courses;
(2) under the heading "COSTS":
(A) ["COSTS,"] the average annual total academic
costs, which for a junior college must include those costs for an
in-district and an out-of-district student, for a student enrolled
in 30 semester credit hours toward a two-year degree or
certificate:
(i) [(A)] at the institution; and
(ii) [(B)] at the institution's in-state
peer institutions;
(B) the percentage of students receiving student
loans:
(i) at the institution; and
(ii) at the institution's in-state peer
institutions;
(C) the average annual amount of student loans
received by a student:
(i) at the institution; and
(ii) at the institution's in-state peer
institutions;
(D) the percentage of students receiving federal
or state grants:
(i) at the institution; and
(ii) at the institution's in-state peer
institutions; and
(E) the average annual amount of federal and
state grants received by a student:
(i) at the institution; and
(ii) at the institution's in-state peer
institutions;
(3) under the heading "STUDENT SUCCESS":
(A) the retention rate of first-time, full-time,
credential-seeking entering undergraduate students:
(i) enrolled in the institution after two
academic years; and
(ii) enrolled in the institution's in-state
peer institutions after two academic years;
(B) the percentage of undergraduate students
requiring developmental education who, after three years from
entering the institution, graduated from or are still enrolled in:
(i) the institution; and
(ii) the institution's in-state peer
institutions;
(C) the three-year, four-year, and six-year
graduation rates of full-time credential-seeking students:
(i) at the institution; and
(ii) at the institution's in-state peer
institutions;
(D) the percentage of students who transferred to
a general academic teaching institution or equivalent institution
of higher education, as determined using the accountability system
definition of a transfer student:
(i) from the institution; and
(ii) from the institution's in-state peer
institutions; and
(E) the percentage of graduates from the
preceding academic year who, as of the fall semester that ended in
the fiscal year covered by the resume, were either employed or
enrolled in a general academic teaching institution or equivalent
institution of higher education for:
(i) the institution; and
(ii) the institution's in-state peer
institutions; and
(4) under the heading "FUNDING":
(A) the total amount of money appropriated by the
legislature to the institution [for that state fiscal year],
including money appropriated for faculty and staff health coverage
and retirement benefits, for that state fiscal year and the
corresponding percentage of the institution's operating budget for
that state fiscal year that the total amount of money appropriated
by the legislature represents;
(B) the total amount of money from any source
available to the institution in that state fiscal year; [and]
(C) the total amount of federal funds from all
federal sources, including grants and research funds, received by
the institution in that state fiscal year and the corresponding
percentage of the institution's operating budget for that state
fiscal year that the total amount of federal funds represents;
(D) the total academic costs charged to students
by the institution in that state fiscal year and the corresponding
percentage of the institution's operating budget for that state
fiscal year that the total academic costs represent; and
(E) the tax rate per $100 valuation of taxable
property imposed by the junior college district, if the institution
is a public junior college.
(e) In addition to the information required by Subsection
(d)(2), the resume must include under the heading "COSTS" the
average annual amount and percentage by which the total academic
costs charged to a student enrolled in 30 semester credit hours
toward a two-year degree or certificate have increased in each of
the five most recent state fiscal years for which the information is
available:
(1) at the institution; and
(2) at the institution's in-state peer institutions.
SECTION 8. Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 61.0778 to read as follows:
Sec. 61.0778. ONLINE INFORMATION REGARDING CERTAIN CAREER
EDUCATIONAL ENTITIES. (a) In this section, "commission" means the
Texas Workforce Commission.
(b) The board and commission jointly shall develop a
comprehensive strategy to improve and coordinate the dissemination
of online information regarding the operation and performance of
career schools or colleges that the board or commission identifies
as doing business in this state. As part of the comprehensive
strategy, the board and the commission shall compile, share, and
compare existing data and other applicable information under the
control of each agency and shall organize that information as
nearly as possible according to the categories of information
required for the online resumes of lower-division public
institutions under Section 51A.103. The websites must present
information regarding those institutions, schools, and colleges in
a manner that is:
(1) to the extent practicable, consistent among the
institutions, schools, and colleges; and
(2) easily accessible and readily understandable to
the public.
SECTION 9. Subchapter C, Chapter 61, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 61.09021 to read as follows:
Sec. 61.09021. COMPARISON TOOL. (a) The board shall make
available to the public on the board's Internet website a search
tool that allows a person to compare general academic teaching
institutions that meet certain criteria selected by the person,
including offering a particular major or program of study.
(b) The comparison tool required under this section must:
(1) be accessible from the board's Internet website;
(2) allow a user to identify general academic teaching
institutions according to selection criteria as determined by the
board; and
(3) be accessible to the public without requiring
registration or use of a user name, password, or other user
identification.
(c) The comparison tool required under this section must
generate a comparison chart in a grid format that:
(1) lists the general academic teaching institutions
that match a user's search criteria; and
(2) provides information for each institution listed
that the board has determined would aid a prospective student in
evaluating the institution.
(d) The Internet page displaying the comparison chart must
include a link to the Internet website of the Texas Workforce
Commission.
(e) To the extent practicable, the information provided
under Subsection (c) must consist of information that a general
academic teaching institution is required to report to the board
under another provision of law, including board rule.
(f) Each general academic teaching institution shall
provide to the board the information to be provided under
Subsection (c) not later than October 1, or a date determined by the
board, of each year. The board shall update the comparison tool as
soon as practicable after receiving information from each
institution.
SECTION 10. Section 51.9745, Education Code, as added by
this Act, applies beginning with the 2012 fall semester.
SECTION 11. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
and public institutions of higher education shall comply with the
changes made by this Act to Chapter 51A, Education Code, as soon as
practicable following the effective date of this Act, but not later
than February 1, 2012.
SECTION 12. Not later than February 1, 2013, the Texas
Higher Education Coordinating Board shall create and post on the
board's Internet website the comparison tool required by Section
61.09021, Education Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 13. 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.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 736 was passed by the House on April
27, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 146, Nays 1, 2 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 736 on May 27, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 138, Nays 0, 2
present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 736 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 24, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor