Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board – September 10, 2020

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The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board met on September 10 in special session to discuss the agency’s legislative appropriations request (LAR). This report covers agenda item 3. A video of the meeting can be found here. An agenda can be found here.

The HillCo report below is a summary of remarks intended to give you an overview and highlight of the discussions on the various topics discussed. This report is not a verbatim transcript; 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.

3.a – Presenting: Legislative Appropriations Request (LAR) and Exceptional Item Request (EIR) for FY 2022-2023

Ken Martin and Ray Rodriguez presenting this Power Point

Kenneth Martin, Chief Financial Officer, Assistant Commissioner – Discussion of LAR

State funding is appropriated through TX legislature – agencies are required to present LAR to legislature and governor’s office about funding needs
Includes base level funding and exceptional items. Base is 20-21 revenue
LAR base presented is aligned with Act, incl 5% reduction
5% reduction mandate received in June
Agency mandated to reduce biennium by 5% – any above funding is through exceptional item request.
Legislative instructions were delayed to August this year
Compressed timeframe to produce LAR
Reduction is not cumulative, but 5% per budgeting year, based on that year’s base

Rey Rodriguez, Deputy Commissioner and Chief of Staff – Discussion of exceptional item request (EIR) and LAR

5% reduction for 22-23 will substantially impact major programs and operations related to students and teachers and parents
80% of Agency funding is in student financial aid and medical aid
5 programs account for vast majority of agency funding
Full 5% reduction comes from those 5 programs
Also rec. central administration is cut 5%,
Loan repayment, work study, and financial aid have smaller reductions
LAR requires prior strategy for presentation. Prioritize financial aid and medical education as most important to preserve. Programs are too large to not reduce but important as well
Not lightly made decisions
Keller – Higher education should not be the release valve of state budget shortfall but partner in economic recovery
Rodriguez – Exceptional Item Requests (EIR) – targeted funding for key programs
- High priority request – restoration of 5% funding reductions – 77% (~$50mil) of cut funding is from need-based fin aid. Restoration will give that back
- Add $110mil in funding for fin aid – access to fin aid key to higher ed, especially given COVID uncertainty and increases in students requiring/applying for financial aid
- Recommends increasing grad tech item application to $4mil – re-engage adult learners and support completion of higher ed
- $4mil request for data security, plus $1.2mil one-time request for relocating agency to Capitol complex in 2021
Wilson – how do EIR compare to previous sessions?
- Only 3 EIR stand out. $110mil attempts to keep funding equal to FY 20-21. Significantly less than Agency’s previous LAR
Martin – Agree with Rodriguez. Quantity of EIR is subs lower than previous LAR. Each EIR requires legislative approval, so being tactical with it. For perspective, when we remove 5%, have not had budget reduction like this since Great Recession. Largest reduction is financial aid, but EIR is attempting to scale funding for financial aid to increase higher ed attendance and grad rates
Wilson –ask for details on students in state that are receiving financial aid to let legislators see students in their district that will be impacted
- We will provide that information
Stedman – the $110mil is simply to maintain current grant levels for projected growth, correct?
- Yes
Stedman –Request message clarity that the request is just maintaining current levels of support to growing population and increasing enrollment
Keller – critical to get this $110mil otherwise we end up way behind on fin aid. Gov can allocate fed aid. We could be starting 5% down from previous years, needing much more to get back to even, let alone maintain current levels for projected growth
Schwartz – if this were normal, would EIR for 110mil go into base or still be EIR?
- Keller – depends on LAR instructions from legislature for that year
Williams – given COVID and fund competition, is there plan B in case not all $110mil is not given in entirety?
- Keller – fewer students would be able to access financial aid. The number of students who need financial aid will increase, which is why we need the EIR to stay even with this projected growth
Williams – we need to articulate that in the argument we make Stedman – just trying to maintain what we need to keep students in pipeline

Motion made and seconded to vote on proposed LAR and EIR

Motion passed 9-0

Raven –Request a list of talking points/ question and answers to target message
Stedman –We also need numbers of students and where are they in general on who is affected by cuts.

3.b – Presenting: Commissioner’s Report Regarding Emergency Changes

Emily Cormier, Assistant Commissioner for Funding

Aug 25 special session of the board granted the commisioner emergency flexibility in rule making
Allowed commissioner to modify funding rules and report to the board
Commissioner granted 1 modification to rules: previously, non-residents taking online courses did not qualify for funding. Due to COVID, Commissioner modified the rule to allow these courses to count for enrollment numbers for state/federal funding. Will include the data in packets to legislature

3.c – Consideration of Approving a Request for Applications for the Texas Reskilling Support Fund