82R9656 KEL-D
By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 1725
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a tuition exemption at a four-year public institution
of higher education based on a student's academic performance and
timely progress toward completion of a baccalaureate degree
program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 54, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 54.223 to read as follows:
Sec. 54.223. TUITION EXEMPTION BASED ON ACADEMIC
PERFORMANCE AND TIMELY PROGRESS TOWARD DEGREE COMPLETION. (a) In
this section, "general academic teaching institution" has the
meaning assigned by Section 61.003.
(b) This section applies only to a baccalaureate degree
program other than a degree program in engineering or architecture
or any other program determined by the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board to typically require more than four academic
years to complete.
(c) The governing board of a general academic teaching
institution shall exempt an eligible student from the payment of
tuition and fees for any semester credit hour in which the student
enrolls, beginning on the later of the following dates:
(1) the date the student begins the student's fifth
academic year at the institution; or
(2) the date the student enrolls in the student's 121st
semester credit hour at the institution.
(d) To be eligible for an exemption under Subsection (c), a
student must:
(1) be a Texas resident entitled to pay tuition at the
rate provided by Subchapter B for Texas residents;
(2) have been enrolled for a period of at least four
consecutive academic years or have successfully completed at least
120 consecutive semester credit hours in a baccalaureate degree
program at one or more public or private institutions of higher
education in or outside of this state;
(3) have maintained an overall grade point average of
at least 2.5 on a four-point scale;
(4) have successfully completed at least 80 percent of
all semester credit hours attempted for each semester;
(5) have successfully completed at least 30 semester
credit hours in each academic year;
(6) have selected a baccalaureate degree program by
the end of the student's first academic year at the general academic
teaching institution or, for a transfer student, by the beginning
of the student's third academic year;
(7) have met with the student's academic advisor at
least once during each academic year;
(8) have enrolled in only courses in the core
curriculum during the student's first academic year and in only
courses in the student's baccalaureate degree program for any
subsequent academic year; and
(9) have committed to completing the student's degree
requirements within four academic years by signing and returning a
copy of the written, four-year course of study provided to the
student under Subsection (e)(2) to the advising center at the
institution or to the student's assigned academic advisor.
(e) Any person assigned by a general academic teaching
institution to provide course selection advice to an incoming
freshman or transfer student shall:
(1) during the student's first semester or term at the
institution, provide the student with written notice of the tuition
exemption available under Subsection (d) and the eligibility
requirements for the exemption; and
(2) at the time the student declares a major, provide
the student with a written, four-year course of study signed by the
institution's chief operating officer, president, or dean that
provides a recommended sequence for all course requirements for
completion of most bachelor's degrees within four academic years.
(f) Each general academic teaching institution shall
publish a recommended course sequence and recommended schedule by
academic term for each degree offered by the institution. The
recommended course sequence schedule must be included in the
institution's course catalog and departmental publications and on
the institution's Internet website.
(g) Each general academic teaching institution shall offer
and make available courses in a time, sequence, and manner that will
enable students to complete requirements for a degree within the
period provided by the recommended course sequence schedule. If a
course required for the degree program of a student who has
committed to completing the student's degree requirements within
four academic years under Subsection (d)(9) is unavailable to the
student in the sequence required by the degree program, the
institution must:
(1) permanently waive the student's required
enrollment in that course;
(2) allow the student at that time to satisfy the
course requirement by selecting for the student and substituting:
(A) a different course that the student is
eligible to take and that is available to the student; or
(B) an independent study assignment; or
(3) exempt the student from the payment of tuition and
required fees for the course at the time the student is first able
to enroll in the course at the institution.
(h) A student who has completed more than 150 semester
credit hours or the equivalent may not continue to receive an
exemption under Subsection (d).
(i) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
adopt rules governing the administration of this section.
SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act in adding
Section 54.223, Education Code, applies only to students enrolling
as first-time freshmen or transfer students at general academic
teaching institutions beginning with the 2011-2012 academic year.
(b) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
adopt rules for the administration of Section 54.223, Education
Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable after this Act
takes effect. For that purpose, the coordinating board may adopt
the rules in the manner provided by law for emergency rules.
SECTION 3. 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.