By: Seliger, Garcia, Watson S.B. No. 2118
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
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. [(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.
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.
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, 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), (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)].
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.
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.
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.
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) [(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.
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.
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.
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].
SECTION 14. The heading to Section 130.0012, Education
Code, is repealed.
SECTION 15. 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.