The Senate Finance Committee met to take up testimony on Article III – Higher Education. This report focuses on testimony regarding the agenda item on Public Community/Junior Colleges.
This report is intended to give you an overview and highlight of the discussions on the various topics the committee took up. This report is not a verbatim transcript of the hearing; it is based upon what was audible or understandable to the observer and the desire to get details out as quickly as possible with few errors or omissions.
Public Community/Junior Colleges
Andrew Obermeyer, Legislative Budget Board
- $1.8 billion and an increase of $24 million over the last biennium.
- We recommend you maintain the formula funding and the 2018-2019 appropriations maintain the $162 per success point.
- Each institution receives $1.4 million.
- Nelson- So, Lonestar college has indicated that they have had hurricane Harvey damage, are they the only one?
- This is the only school that put it on their LAR.
- Other school had damage but didn’t put it in LAR.
- Reviews the packet given to the committee that includes contracting highlights, duel credits, etc.
- Bettencourt- Lonestar College was just hammered by Harvey and that is why the LAR exists.
- Kolkhorst- I know Victoria college had secure damage, but between insurance and FEMA they feel like they are covered.
- Kolkhorst- When we have the Blinn Team and other colleges who are doing duel enrollment with universities, the success writer is shows there are 1000 students they do not recognize have the success points.
- Taylor- There were numerous community colleges that were damaged, but between insurance and FEMA they had them covered. When we put the appropriations out there, we should do a check up on their insurance program. I think we need to look at the programs and what insurance programs they are under.
- Hinojosa- We discussed this issue before, and we looked at state agencies to require they buy property insurance to spread out that cost when a disaster hits. I think it is a very good idea and we should look into.
- Watson- To follow up, I remember we had a special committee to look at what should be done to insure different facilities in the state. We should try to get our hands on that. I am sure we had a report.
- Nelson- I think it had something to do with sunset.
- Taylor- We have a state office on risk management to look through what we are doing. We live in Texas and there is a better way to do it without paying a lump sum
- Kolkhorst- Do you remember the interim hearing where we would be able to track these dollars and make sure we can use the state auditor’s office. We need to make sure we aren’t doing this wrong. FEMA is a slow pay and we might decide as a state policy to give bridge loans. We are working on a bill that allows the auditors to track the dollars spent on natural disasters.
- Nelson- We had a long conversation about this, and Senator Taylor said that same thing.
- It is the senate committee on state real property data, collection report, and report and assess that looks into it. In the 84th session, there was a state insurable asset study and the report was presented to the legislature and there were a number of recommendations and inventory of state assets. We can provide that report to the committee.
Dr. Greg Williams and Jacob Friday, Texas Association of Community College
- Gave a brief overview of community colleges and meeting secondary educational needs.
- Last year there was a 1.36% increase for formula funding.
- Reviews the presentation given to the committee:
- Enroll 47% of all students enroll in higher education
- In fall 2018, we saw an increase of 30,000 students.
- 93% of all technical degrees are done at community colleges.
- Third most affordable system of community colleges in the country
- Our funding ask is in addition to the $24 million and $113 million
- We did see an increase in enrollment in the current biennium.
- We would like to look at performance base funding mechanism as a way at increasing our funding, but also putting meaning to the performance funding.
- We have had continued increase in success points across all schools and a 22 per point rate for success points
- Success points have gone down to 1.71 percent and we want to raise the points to 2.15 per point and therefore creating an addition 144 million in funding.
- This is important because performance does yield additional funding for all colleges.
- Nichols- We had a lot of big universities, especially UT and A&M kids go to the community college and take the courses. They are told the credit transfers, then they go to the big colleges, but the courses do not apply to the degree. How do we solve that problem? We are spending millions of dollars and their time and money is wasted. Where do you see the problem? Are we not advising them properly on which courses to take?
- Tells the story of his daughter who had 92 hours of credits from Odessa and UT business school accepted all those credits and 71 went to her degree.
- There are several variables that go into place.
- Nichols- I have seen these kids go to community college for 2 years and they lose a whole year.
- We advise our students to tell us where they want to finish.
- Nichols- Those kids need to be advised that they need to know where they want to go to college and what they want to major in. It is the student’s responsibility to see if those credits transfer, but they do not do that.
- It depends on the grades those students get as well.
- The students might switch majors too.
- There are pockets of the state where community colleges and big schools have great relationships.
- Nichols- There are pockets where it does not work so well.
- Hinojosa- We have been dealing with this issue for many years. Community colleges work very well with the private sector and create the courses to train the labor force. I have seen that again and again in Corpus Christi.
- West- Transferability is an issue and we are creating a bill that helps that. $59 million is the number we give every year. We need to make sure that kids in community college are graduating with 90 hours.
- Perry-This dean of the businesses decide that he wants to have a different thing, so until there is leadership at the top that makes it a standard policy. It is time for this group to take the lead, because as long as you allow them wiggle room nothing can be done. What is your reimbursement on the duel credit side?
- We are on the contact side
- Bettencourt- Do y’all have an idea of how to give advice to the community college students?
- We are doing a much better job in those pathways.
- They tell us what major they want to pursue, and we communicate with the universities about what these students need.
- West- What is the status of developmental ed? If a student has to take a math class, is that student still being required to pass the math class before the student can get credit toward a degree?
- No, they take the math course and can take other classes.
- West- If a student takes a developmental ed algebra, the student will have to take a full algebra course or a module?
- Depends on the course and when you are taking it.
- If we find if there are issues you take the module.
- The legislature passed a requirement that 75 percent of dev ed had to enroll in prerequisite course.
- Nelson- What Texas Community Colleges are the best in the nation?
- Odessa, San Jacinto, and Alamo college.
Public Testimony
Steven Jacobs, Capital Idea
- Shows results on the Texas innovative adult career education program which is houses at acc.
- $5000 increase in income for people who complete the program, and the majority of our adult students 70% of their children are going directly to college.
Millicent Valek, President of Brazos Port College
- Ask for a nonformula item that is in HB 1 and we ask you to include it in the senate version as well.
- Senator Taylor and Huffman are aware of the $28.6 billion in expansion.
- Huffman- This is an incredible program that is a great investment. We could not get this anywhere, but local industry has invested heavily on these projects.
Michael Simon, Angelina College
- Texas Community College Consortium program that uses government funding more efficiently and reduce overhead in those information stations.
- The item is in HB1 and has been funded since 2015-2016 biennium.
- We request that the money would come to us but go to the entire Consortium.
- Nichols- What happens if the net net and the tc3 get turned off?
- Shared management info sessions are purchase
- The cost would go up dramatically for those systems
- Net net provides high speed internet and allows providers to have redundancy
JD Hale, Texas Association of Builders
- Expresses support for TSTC and the dual credit funding.