Three bills proposed to boost efficiency of higher education

Republican Dan Branch has filed three bills to maximize the funds invested in higher education. With budget cuts affecting everyone, legislators must observe how money has been used in the past in order to make changes for the future.

The first bill, the Higher Education Outcomes-Based Funding Act (House Bill 9), would change the funding for higher education. Previously, funding for institutions has been rationed according to the number of students enrolled. With this bill, the state would tie a portion of the funding to outcomes produced by each institution, such as graduation rates.

House Bill 10, the TEXAS Grant College Readiness Reform Act, would give priority access to students who have met certain performance criteria in high school. In the past, students have been awarded financial aide on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Finally, the Higher Education Productivity Act (House Bill 1460) would require that students earn at least 10 percent of their college credits through something other than typical classroom courses, such as summer and online courses as well as internships. In addition, the bill would require faculty to spend more time in the classroom.

The first two bills would modify existing procedures for allocating funds and financial aide for higher institutions. The third bill would require a shift in the way students view their college education since they would need to consider non-traditional ways of receiving college credits. House Bill 1460 may experience more opposition, but House Bills 9 and 10 are expected to win the support of the governor.

-Carissa Cotner

Teach For America’s impact on higher education

Before students apply for higher education or financial aide, they must first have the confidence and the necessary schooling to enable them to do so. The education gap remains an obstacle for students pursuing a continuing education. The U.S. Department of Education describes the achievement gap as “the difference in academic performance between different ethnic groups.”

One of the contributing factors to the education gap is the lack of resources provided in low-income schools in comparison to more affluent schools. The inaccessibility of resources prevents students in low-income schools from reaching their full potential, therefore hurting the economy. Students who graduate from college will most likely obtain a higher paying job, enabling them to spend more money to support the economy.

Teach For America is an organization that works to close the education gap by providing equal opportunities and education for students in low income schools. By working with these schools, Teach For America hopes to provide more students with the opportunity of higher education and therefore allow students who grow up in poverty to receive the same resources as students who attend more affluent schools.

State budget cuts threaten the future of Teach For America and its mission. Texas House and Senate proposed a bill to cut the $4 million set aside for Teach For America. Click to watch a video  found on KEVO 23 about the impact of Teach For America in the Rio Grande Valley.


According to an article by John Bridgeland in US News and World Report, Teach For America and other organizations face similar blows to their funding on a national level in order to decrease spending and deficit.

Although these proposed budget cuts intend to decrease the deficit in the short term, the legislators should take into account the long term effects of their budget cuts and focus on the future of education and its impact on the economy.

-Carissa Cotner