Bill Text: TX SB2118 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Relating to authorization by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board for certain public junior colleges to offer baccalaureate degree programs.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2017-06-12 - Effective immediately [SB2118 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-SB2118-Enrolled.html
S.B. No. 2118 |
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relating to authorization by the Texas Higher Education | ||
Coordinating Board for certain public junior colleges to offer | ||
baccalaureate degree programs. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
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 | ||
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. [ |
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(1) "Coordinating board" means the Texas Higher | ||
Education Coordinating Board. | ||
(2) "General academic teaching institution," "medical | ||
and dental unit," [ |
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meanings assigned by Section 61.003. | ||
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. [ |
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colleges to offer baccalaureate degree programs as provided by this | ||
subchapter [ |
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this subchapter [ |
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mission of a public junior college. | ||
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) [ |
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authorize baccalaureate degree programs in the fields of applied | ||
science, applied technology, and nursing at each public junior | ||
college that previously participated in a pilot project to offer | ||
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, including a degree | ||
program in the field of applied science with an emphasis in early | ||
childhood education, applied technology, or nursing and have | ||
demonstrated a workforce need. | ||
SECTION 5. Sections 130.0012(b-1) and (b-2), 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. (a) [ |
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The coordinating board shall authorize [ |
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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. [ |
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(b) [ |
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coordinating board shall prepare a progress report on the | ||
baccalaureate degree program in the field of dental hygiene [ |
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later than January 1, 2019, the coordinating board shall prepare a | ||
report on the effectiveness of the degree program [ |
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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. This subsection | ||
expires January 1, 2020. [ |
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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. [ |
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college offering a baccalaureate degree program under this | ||
subchapter [ |
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requirements of the Commission on Colleges of the Southern | ||
Association of Colleges and Schools. | ||
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) [ |
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college offering a baccalaureate degree program under Section | ||
130.303(a) [ |
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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 [ |
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subchapter are subject to the continuing approval of the | ||
coordinating board. | ||
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) [ |
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whether a public junior college may offer [ |
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degree programs and what degree programs may [ |
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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) [ |
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programs in the region served by the junior college; | ||
(B) [ |
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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) [ |
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unnecessarily duplicate the degree programs offered by other | ||
institutions of higher education; and | ||
(D) [ |
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support the degree programs with student enrollment [ |
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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 subchapter 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. | ||
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. | ||
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) [ |
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degree program under this subchapter [ |
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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) [ |
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to ensure that each public junior college that offers a degree | ||
program under this subchapter [ |
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enrolls in the degree program of the articulation agreement entered | ||
into under this section [ |
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program. | ||
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 [ |
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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) or 130.304 receive substantially | ||
the same state support for junior-level and senior-level courses in | ||
the fields of applied science, applied technology, dental hygiene, | ||
and nursing offered under this subchapter [ |
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provided to a general academic teaching institution for | ||
substantially similar courses. For purposes of this subsection, in | ||
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enrolled in a junior-level or senior-level course in the field of | ||
applied science, applied technology, dental hygiene, or nursing | ||
offered under this subchapter [ |
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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 [ |
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(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. This subsection does not apply to tuition and | ||
fees charged for a baccalaureate degree program in the field of | ||
applied science or applied technology previously offered as part of | ||
a pilot project and offered by a public junior college authorized to | ||
offer baccalaureate degree programs under Section 130.303(a). | ||
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 [ |
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public junior college offering a baccalaureate degree program under | ||
this subchapter [ |
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baccalaureate degree program offered and prepare a [ |
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report on the operation, quality, and effectiveness of those [ |
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board in the form and at the time determined by the coordinating | ||
board. | ||
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. [ |
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adopt rules as necessary for the administration of this subchapter | ||
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SECTION 14. The heading to Section 130.0012, Education | ||
Code, is repealed. | ||
SECTION 15. Section 130.0012(b-3), Education Code, is | ||
repealed. | ||
SECTION 16. The changes in law made by this Act to Section | ||
130.0012(b-1), Education Code, redesignated as Section 130.304, | ||
Education Code, apply beginning with funding recommendations made | ||
under Subchapter L, Chapter 130, Education Code, as added by this | ||
Act, for the state fiscal biennium beginning September 1, 2019. | ||
SECTION 17. 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. | ||
______________________________ | ______________________________ | |
President of the Senate | Speaker of the House | |
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 2118 passed the Senate on | ||
May 3, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 26, Nays 5; | ||
May 25, 2017, Senate refused to concur in House amendments and | ||
requested appointment of Conference Committee; May 26, 2017, House | ||
granted request of the Senate; May 28, 2017, Senate adopted | ||
Conference Committee Report by the following vote: Yeas 26, | ||
Nays 5. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Secretary of the Senate | ||
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 2118 passed the House, with | ||
amendments, on May 20, 2017, by the following vote: Yeas 117, | ||
Nays 17, two present not voting; May 26, 2017, House granted | ||
request of the Senate for appointment of Conference Committee; | ||
May 28, 2017, House adopted Conference Committee Report by the | ||
following vote: Yeas 134, Nays 8, three present not voting. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||
Approved: | ||
______________________________ | ||
Date | ||
______________________________ | ||
Governor |