MEMORANDUM

September 14, 2004

TACT Reviews Draft of Interim Report of Joint
Committee on Higher Education

TACT has obtained a first committee draft resulting from hearings of the
Joint Interim Committee on Higher Education and will provide feedback for
consideration by the Senators and House Members before their September 22 deadline.

Most of the recommendations are noncontroversial. Highlights of proposals
that TACT will study most closely include:

1. The Legislature should expand the Hinson-Haxelwood College Student
Loan Program definition of "eligible institutions" to include alternative
certification programs for teachers.

2. The Legislature should study the feasibility of shifting all
developmental education to 2-year institutions, and adjust funding
accordingly.

3. The Legislature should direct the Coordinating Board to continue
development of field of study curricula to allow students to transfer course
credit from one institution of higher education to another.

4. The Legislature should give priority to the Coordinating Board's
2006-07 recommendation to increase state funding for community colleges by an additional 279.9 million (from 1.598 billion to 1.878 billion), amounting
to 60.3 percent of the cost of the full funding formula.

5. ...The Legislature may discontinue hold harmless funding to
colleges that experience declines in enrollment growth for consecutive
bienniums.

6. The Legislature should direct the Coordinating Board to study the
consolidation and/or reorganization of university systems.to determine if
other models would better serve the State of Texas...