TCCTA Legislative Committee
Friday, October 7, 2005
Austin Doubletree Hotel
Committee Members Present:
Mrs. Patricia C. Knight, Chair, Amarillo College
Mr. Gabriel Ume, Vice-Chair, Palo Alto College
Alan Barnes, Tyler Junior College
Dr. Jean Whileyman, Kingswood College
Dr. Mel Griffin, Retired –Northeast Texas Community College
Ms. Jane England, North Central Texas College
Mrs. Glenda H. Easter, El Centro College
Mrs. Janna Holt-Day, South Plains College
Mr. David Lydic, Austin Community College
Mr. Peter R. Hacker, Tarrant County College-Northeast
Mr. Harry A. Wagner, The Victoria College
Mr. Bill Horine, Alvin Community College
Dr. Karen B. Barnett, Alvin Community College
Others Present:
Mr. Larry Allen, TCCTA President
Dr. Gail Platt, TCCTA Immediate-Past President
Dr. Scott Nelson, TCCTA Associate Executive Director
Ms. Danita McAnally, TCCTA President-Elect
Mr. Richard Moore, TCCTA Executive Director
Beamon Floyd, TCCTA Lobbyist
Committee Members Absent:
Dr. Sara C. Carrasco, Laredo Community College
Dr. Beverly Parker, Lamar State College, Port Arthur
1.The meeting was called to order at 1:35 p.m. by Pat Knight, chairperson. Pat asked that everyone introduce themselves to the committee.
2.Pat called on Beamon Floyd to give an update on legislative issues. Beamon indicated that while community colleges came out okay in the 79th session, there are three big issues looming on the horizon that will probably be reconsidered during the next session. Those issues are listed below:
a.Proportionality: TCCTA, along with the Texas Association of Community Colleges, fought hard to remove "proportionality" in funding group benefits, and the issue ended favorably in the final appropriations bill. President Gail Platt testified against proportionality, Mr. Floyd worked diligently behind the scenes, and our “Community College Day at the Capitol” event was timed perfectly for this issue. It is clear, however, that the House and Senate leadership want to revisit this matter in 2007.
b.Core Curriculum: There may be another thrust to reduce the number of hours in the core curriculum. TCCTA has consistently opposed any effort to “lower the bar” academically. During the most recent session, the association persuaded Rep. Fred Brown (R-College Station) to withdraw his earlier proposal to eliminate required courses.
c.Accountability: The Coordinating Board has adopted a new performance measurement system for all Texas higher education institutions, which now includes community and technical colleges, in response to an Executive Order from Governor Perry. These "accountability measures" will involve participation, success, and excellence. The statistics are to be derived from existing reports provided by colleges and universities to the THECB. The Governor is requiring the Coordinating Board and each institution and system to work together to provide “the information necessary to determine the effectiveness and quality of the education students receive at individual institutions,” and also to provide “… the basis to evaluate the institutions’ use of state resources.”
3.Miscellaneous legislative bills that Beamon discussed included:
a.Dual Credit. There will be a further effort to implement a "recommended" high school curriculum requiring graduates to complete at least 12 hours of college credit. Of major concern to the Legislature is the graduation rate and the time it takes the non-traditional students we serve to complete.
b.SACS Minimums: Students earning a Bachelor’s Degree cannot be required to take more courses than the minimum required by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools without Coordinating Board approval.
4.Chairperson, Pat Knight asked the Legislative Committee if they would like to develop a fact sheet for members to use in communicating with their legislators as the 2007 session approaches. The fact sheet would address three issues: proportionality, accountability, and core curriculum. She indicated that this might be a guide in effectively approaching legislators before they return for the next legislative session.
a.Beamon made the following comments regarding the fact sheet. He indicated that it must be a public document that is defensible and in no way personal.
b.He said he would be willing to work with the State Office to develop a fact sheet that could be used by all our TCCTA members in approaching legislators.
c.In order to produce this fact sheet, we need the following:
Proportionality: We need to have Beamon articulate the argument he gave us on proportionality in the Legislative Committee Meeting.
Accountability: Pat asked David Lydic from Austin Community College if he would start to brainstorm the many ways we are already accountable. After we get his ideas, they will be passed on to the Legislative Committee and then on to Scott and Beamon.
Core Curriculum: Since Mel Griffin worked with the THECB on Core Curriculum, Pat asked her if she would assist us in getting the facts regarding this issue.
5.Danita asked if the timing was right to encourage the transfer of the full Associate's degree of 66 hours to the four year college.
a.Beamon indicated that we need to think about the political strategy. The policy has to be strong and unified and it can't afford to be fragmented. He stated that we need to align with the President's Group and the Coordinating Board. He indicated that if this fails, it could push back our efforts in the field of study and the core curriculum issues.
b.He stated that the Commissioner has gone on record in support of the full associate's degree being transferable to a four year university. He came from California, and he is pushing for the systematic approach that California has.
6.Beamon commended us for the outstanding job we did with "Community College Day at the Capitol." He said legislators were impressed by the unity of educators, students and college presidents. He stated that it was unprecedented.
7.Scott Nelson was commended for finding the various curriculum bills that were proposed legislation. Because of his efforts, those bills were recognized and TCCTA was able to testify on them.
8.One of the buzz words that emerged this session was Health Savings Accounts and Health Reimbursement Accounts. It creates a market space pressure on providers for basic services.
Key terms include "first dollar coverage" and "last dollar coverage". Financially, we should shop for the "last dollar", but most people seek "first dollar". They want to know what's my co-pay and deductible? We're the experimental population. What's sensible medically? There is a tremendous amount of medical inflation. The legislature is trying to pass the cost of medical care on to us and our institutions.
9.Chairperson Pat Knight asked the group if we would like to recognize a Legislator of the Year.
a.She indicated that whoever was selected would be required to show up for the Convention on February 23rd to receive the award. There was a great deal of discussion, and there were three names brought before the committee: Lois Koalkhorst, Jeannie Morrison, and Craig Island. There was discussion about each of these individuals.
b.Harry Wagner made the motion that we recognize Jeannie Morrison. The motion was seconded by Glenda Easter. There was a unanimous vote to select Jeannie Morrison as our Outstanding Legislator for 2005-2006.
10.We were asked to look at the minutes of the last meeting to determine if there were any corrections. The minutes were approved as written.
Respectfully submitted,
Glenda Easter
TCCTA Legislative Committee Minutes1October 7, 2005