HIGHER EDUCATION
2023 EDUCATION EDITION
New ‘historic’ state law to reward community colleges for performance
REVERSING THE TREND Since 1980, the state’s contribution to Texas’ 50 community colleges has been steadily declining, causing the institutions to rely more on property taxes and tuition. O cials are hopeful a new law passed in the 88th Texas Legislature this year will provide a path to more state funding to meet workforce needs. Revenue breakdown of Texas community colleges over time
BY JAMES T. NORMAN
colleges in Texas has been signi cantly updated in 50 years, Lone Star College Chancellor Stephen Head said. LSC has eight colleges in the North Houston area, according to its website. As part of the Texas Commission on Community College Finance tasked with helping bring the bill forward, Head said for a long time he’s told state o cials the old system was not sustainable. “Community college nancing has been an issue for more than a decade,” Head said. Along with not aligning everyone’s goals in a cohesive direction, the old formula often punished smaller colleges—a system Head described as creating “haves and have-nots.” For example, many rural areas are losing their population to larger metro areas, Head said. That makes it di cult for smaller colleges in those places to keep their operations going as enrollment drops. And sometimes, due to the state having a xed amount of funds every biennium, even when those colleges do have increases in enrollment, it’s still proportionately lower than the increases larger colleges see, result- ing in lost revenue, Soto said. The new model Beyond helping community colleges nd sustainable revenue, the goal of the new law is to drive more students into high-demand jobs. The law also has a newly placed emphasis on noncredit paths, Soto said. Those are paths that require
Houston-area community college leaders are describing a new state law that transforms how their colleges receive funding from Texas as “groundbreaking” and “historic.” House Bill 8 will invest $683 million into the state’s community colleges and incentivize them to help students earn more credits and certi cation in high-demand elds. The bill will also incentivize colleges to help students transfer to four-year universities and provide more funding to them for high schoolers who complete dual- credit courses through their institu- tion, higher education o cials said. It’s a shift away from the old model, which gives colleges money based on their enrollment and the number of hours they are in contact with students, o cials said. The bill was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott in June and received majority support, said Renzo Soto, policy adviser at Texas 2036, a nonpar- tisan public policy think tank. “I have not seen a signi cant edu- cation reform package not only pass, but also move through the process, with this level of uni ed support,” Soto said. The goal is to help train Texas’ workforce to take high-demand jobs that require less than a bachelor’s degree but more than a high school diploma, Soto said. The old model HB 8 represents the rst time the funding model for community
Property taxes Tuition
State
100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0%
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020
Jobs requiring middle skills or certi cation in Gulf Coast region
Number of positions in 2020 Projected additional positions in 2030
47,000 9,000
Heavy-truck drivers Medical assistants Licensed practical & vocational nurses Heating, ventilating, air conditioning & refrigeration installers Preschool teachers
17,000
5,000
13,000
2,000
1,000 8,000 7,000 2,000
SOURCES: GULF COAST WORKFORCE BOARD, TEXAS 2036 COMMUNITY IMPACT
certi cation but are not standard- ized in the same way other degree programs might be, such as for truck drivers, electricians, and licensed practical and vocational nurses. “The state is going to nd a way that noncredit education can be credit that stacks,” Soto said. “It’s all for the bene t of students.” Some of those jobs are high in demand, particularly in Houston, according to data from the Gulf Coast Workforce Board. Statewide, nurses and educators are needed as well. While community colleges in
Houston and around the state are expecting funding to increase as a result of the law, many of those details still need to be worked out, said Teri Zamora, vice chancellor for scal a airs at San Jacinto College. However, thanks to a new in ux of $683 million paired with the bill, many colleges will receive a revenue boost for the 2023-24 school year to help deal with the transition, said Marshall Heins, chief nancial o cer and senior vice chancellor of nance and administration for Houston Community College.
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CYPRESS EDITION • AUGUST 2023
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