HBA-BSM S.B. 1186 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 1186 By: Shapleigh Higher Education 5/4/2001 Committee Report (Amended) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, there is no central clearinghouse that provides a simple, yet comprehensive profile of all of the institutions of higher education in Texas. Students and parents who seek indicators of the strengths and weaknesses of the various public universities in Texas must compile the information from a variety of sources. Senate Bill 1186 requires the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (board) to create and post a report on the board's Internet website that lists all public universities in the state and each university's corresponding performance on each of 17 measures. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS Senate Bill 1186 amends the Education Code to require the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (board) to develop and implement a program to publish performance data provided to the board by general academic teaching institutions. The bill requires a general academic teaching institution, not later than November 1 following the completion of an academic year, to provide to the board reports containing the required performance data following the completion of an academic year. The bill provides that the reports collectively must contain data related to the qualifications of the entering class for the academic year covered by the report, student performance, and institution efficiency. The bill requires the board to publish each year in a grid format and to post on the board's Internet site the names of the general academic teaching institutions, the required performance data, and any other information considered appropriate by the board. The bill also requires the board to use the classification system developed by the Carnegie Foundation in publishing and posting the information. Each general academic teaching institution is required to provide a link on the institution's Internet home page to the board's Internet site. The bill provides that a general academic teaching institution is not required to report to the board the performance data if the data is available to the board from another source. Not later than March 1, 2003, the board is required to publish and post on the board's Internet site the performance data provided by the general academic teaching institutions. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. The Act applies beginning with the 2001-2002 academic year. EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENTS Committee Amendment No. 1 provides that a general academic teaching institution must include in its performance data report to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board the percentage of full-time degree seeking students who earn a baccalaureate degree before the fourth anniversary of the date of the student's first enrollment at the institution.