Presentation on South Texas Border Initiatives
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PRESENTATION ON SOUTH TEXAS BORDER INITIATIVES Teri Flack, Deputy Commissioner Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Before the House Border and International Affairs Committee March 6, 2003 _____________________________________________________ Overview of the South Texas Border Initiatives In 1989, the 71st Texas Legislature began the South Texas/Border Initiative. Appropriations were increased and measures implemented to enhance the scope and quality of higher education institutions and programs along the Texas-Mexico Border. Most people acknowledge that the LULAC v. Richards lawsuit supported by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) was a catalyst for this initiative. The lawsuit alleged that South Texas and Border universities were not getting their fair share of funding from the state. The lawsuit noted differences in quantity and quality of academic programs at these universities compared to those in other areas of the state. Although the Texas Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s ruling in favor of MALDEF, the Legislature decided that it would be in the best interest of the state to enhance the South Texas/Border Region. There is general agreement that nine institutions were a part of the initiative: • Texas A&M International University, • Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, • Texas A&M University-Kingsville, • The University of Texas at Brownsville, • The University of Texas at El Paso, • The University of Texas-Pan American, • The University of Texas at San Antonio, • Sul Ross State University (including Sul Ross State University Rio Grande College), and • The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. In some biennia, Texas Tech University, the University of Houston, and Texas A&M University also received funding to support programs in the Border region as part of the South Texas Border Initiative. THECB 1 03/06/03 The funding for the initiative took two forms: (1) authorization to issue tuition revenue bonds, and (2) special item funding, usually for new program development and debt service on the tuition revenue bonds. Tuition revenue bonds are bonds backed by institutional tuition revenue, but issued with the understanding that the Legislature will provide general revenue appropriations sufficient to service the debt. Special item funding is a direct appropriation from the Legislature, over and above the formula- driven appropriation. Data • Profiles of each institution affected by the South Texas/Border Initiative, which include student enrollments, degrees awarded, six-year graduation and persistence rates, and other relevant information. • Special Item Funding for the South Texas/Border Initiative. This document shows all special item funding appropriated to each institution since 1989, including tuition revenue bond debt retirement payments. Until the 1996-97 biennium, then-Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock’s office or the Legislative Budget Board published documents listing specific amounts of funding that were provided as part of the South Texas/Border Initiative. However, in recent biennia, there are no such documents available. • New Degree Programs at South Texas/Border Institutions (Fiscal Year 1990 to July 16, 2002). This document lists all new programs approved and implemented at each South Texas/Border institution since 1990. • Degree Planning Authority for South Texas/Border Institutions. This document reflects the programs for which each institution has received Coordinating Board approval to begin planning. These programs have not yet been approved or implemented, but they are an indication of each institution’s future intentions. A description of the planning process is included. • Comparison of Authorized Tuition Revenue Bonds for South Texas/Border Institutions to All Other Universities and Health-Related Institutions (72nd-77th Texas Legislatures). This document shows the total amount of tuition revenue bonds authorized for the South Texas/Border institutions compared to all other universities and health-related institutions. The tables also include the average authorization by grouping and the percentage of the total state authorization. • Education and General Net Assignable Space for South Texas/Border Institutions compared to All Other Universities and Health-Related Institutions (August 1992 vs. June 2002). This document compares the size of each institution in 1992 and in 2002 and shows the increase in education and general space. Net assignable space is the space available for instructional and administrative purposes. It does not include auxiliary enterprises. THECB 2 03/06/03 Benefits from the South Texas/Border Initiative Several institutional changes resulted from South Texas/Border Initiative: • Pan American University (later changed to The University of Texas-Pan American) and Pan American University at Brownsville (later changed to The University of Texas at Brownsville) became part of The University of Texas System. • Corpus Christi State University (later changed to Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi), Texas A&I University-Kingsville (later changed to Texas A&M University-Kingsville), and Laredo State University (later changed to the Texas A&M International University) became part of The Texas A&M University System. • The University of Texas at Brownsville became a freestanding institution that was no longer affiliated with The University of Texas-Pan American. • Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi became a four-year institution in 1994. • Texas A&M International University became a four-year institution in 1995. Enrollments are growing. In the last five years, total enrollments at South Texas/Border institutions have grown 10.6% compared to 8.3% for the rest of the public universities. Some of the institutions have grown substantially: Texas A&M International University – 18.8%; Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi – 22.3%; The University of Texas at Brownsville – 36.1%; and The University of Texas at San Antonio – 13.7%. The South Texas/Border institutions received over $880 million in special item funding from Fiscal Year 1990 through Fiscal Year 2003. As of August 31, 2001, the eight South Texas/Border universities collectively have a total of 675 bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs. This represents the addition of 197 new programs since 1990 and the closure collectively of 92 programs, including low- productive programs and baccalaureate teacher-education programs during the same time period. This is a net increase of 105 new programs. By comparison, the remaining 26 universities together have only added 486 new degree programs and closed 620 low-productive programs and baccalaureate teacher-education programs during the same time period, which is a net decrease of 134 programs. We know that the South Texas/Border Initiative has made substantial improvements to the facilities at the South Texas and Border institutions. Between the 72nd and 77th Texas Legislatures, the nine South Texas/Border institutions were authorized to issue $766.4 million in tuition revenue bonds, accounting for 36 percent of all such authorizations during that period. In comparison, other universities received 49 percent of the authorization and the health-related institutions received 15 percent of the authorizations (Note: these data do not include the technical colleges which received their first tuition revenue bond authorizations in 2001). The entire campus of Texas A&M International University was built in the last ten years. THECB 3 03/06/03 Although the South Texas/Border Initiative has historically referred to the four-year and health- related institutions, we believe that the creation of the South Texas Community College (STCC) was directly linked to the initiative based on the need for an enhanced community college presence in South Texas to provide educational opportunities that were lacking in the lower valley. STCC was created by the Legislature in 1993 to serve the residents of Hidalgo and Starr counties. Originally established in 1984 as the McAllen extension of Texas State Technical College-Harlingen, the Legislature abolished the campus, transferred and re-appropriated the unexpended/unobligated balance of the McAllen extension campus to STCC. On August 12, 1995, the voters of Hidalgo and Starr counties participated in the tax district election, confirmed the creation of the college, and approved the tax base that would support STCC. In the last five years, STCC has grown a whopping 81.5% from 6,857 in 1997 to 12,443 in 2001 and continues to enjoy phenomenal success in educating students in South Texas. Current Efforts: Methodology for Projecting the Need for New Professional Schools in Texas One of the things that many believe is critically lacking in South Texas and along the border is professional education—law, medical, dental, and other professional schools. While Texas has made progress in expanding higher education in the Border region over the past 10 years, we recognize that the Border region requires more programs and services to meet the needs of the rapidly growing population. A strong higher education presence is needed along the Border to improve the overall quality of life of the population. New initiatives and continued growth of existing programs require strategic planning, expanded infrastructure, creative thought, and the necessary resources and commitment to ensure quality programs. With this in mind, the Coordinating Board adopted a methodology that projects the need for professional education