Orientation to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

1. Orientation to theTexas Higher Education Coordinating Board Glenda O. Barron, Ph.D. July 30, 2007

2. Mission of the Coordinating Board To work with the Legislature, Governor, governing boards, higher education institutions and other entities to help Texas meet the goals of the state’s higher education plan, Closing the Gaps by 2015, and thereby provide the people of Texas the widest access to higher education of the highest quality in the most efficient manner.

3. Philosophy of theCoordinating Board The Board will promote access to quality higher education across the state with the conviction that access without quality is mediocrity and that quality without access is unacceptable. The Board will be open, ethical, responsive, and committed to public service. The Board will approach its work with a sense of purpose and responsibility to the people of Texas and is committed to the best use of public monies. The Board will engage in actions that add value to Texas and to higher education. The agency will avoid efforts that do not add value or that are duplicated by other entities.

4. Agency Statement of Direction Every Texan educated to the level necessary to achieve his or her dreams; no one is left behind, and each can pursue higher education; colleges and universities focus on the recruitment and success of students while defining their own paths to excellence; education is of high quality throughout; and all levels of education, the business community, and the public are constant partners in recruiting and preparing students and faculty who will meet the state’s workforce and research needs.

5. Supporting the Vision Created by the Texas Legislature in 1965 to ensure quality and efficiency in public higher education Currently composed of 13 members appointed by the Governor, confirmed by the Senate six-year terms quarterly meetings in Austin

6. Supporting the Vision, Continued Board members appoint Commissioner of Higher Education acts as state’s chief expert on higher education Achievement of Closing the Gaps by 2015 is agency’s central mission

7. Major Statutory Responsibilities Develop and update the state’s higher education plan, Closing the Gaps by 2015 Review and recommend changes in funding formulas Approve institutions’ requests for new academic programs to meet needs, ensure quality, and eliminate unnecessary duplication

8. Responsibilities, continued Approve and monitor postsecondary technical/vocational educational programs Administer Carl Perkins federal grant funds for the purpose of improving workforce education Collect, analyze, and report higher education data, undertake studies and develop recommendations for improving higher education

9. Responsibilities, continued Report to the Legislature on policy issues and legislatively mandated issues Prescribe changes in the roles and missions of public higher education institutions Administer the state’s student financial aid programs

10. Responsibilities, continued Administer the Texas Success Initiative Administer state-funded competitive grants to Texas college and university researchers Approve degree programs at career colleges and regulate unaccredited private post-secondary institutions

11. New Assignments • College Readiness and Success (HB 1, 2006) • College readiness standards/vertical teams • Education Research Centers • Course re-design • Summer Bridge Programs • High school students • Developmental Education

12. New Assignments (cont.) • P-16 Council Strategic Plan • Electronic transcripts • College credit program • 4 x 4, RHSP • Texas Governor’s Schools

13. New Assignments cont. • Legislation passed in 2007 • Work-Study Mentoring • GPA calculations • STEM academies • Adult Basic Education Study • End of Course Exams • PSAT/PLAN • Subject exams