HBA-CBW H.B. 2514 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2514
By: Garcia
Higher Education
4/1/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, there is no uniform statewide policy governing how public
institutions of higher education (institutions) in Texas calculate the
overall grade point average of students in circumstances when a course is
repeated.   Differing standards of calculating such repeated courses may
effect the academic records of a student transferring to another
institution or may reduce the student's prospects for future academic
success.  In a highly competitive employment market where an increasing
number of job openings require a baccalaureate degree or an advanced
degree, some employers may look at an applicant's college career and a
student's grade point average could make a difference in obtaining a
high-paying job or attending a prestigious graduate or professional
program.  House Bill 2514 requires each institution to adopt a uniform
policy for calculating the grade point average of a student who repeats a
course at the same institution and sets forth a method for calculating such
courses. 

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

House Bill 2514 amends the Education Code to require each institution of
higher education (institution) to adopt a uniform policy applicable to all
students of the institution for calculating the grade point average of a
student who completes a course at the institution that the student has
previously completed at the same institution and sets forth methods by
which the policy on student grade point averages must be calculated. The
bill provides that the policy does not apply to a course that a student
repeats in a term or semester in which the student repeats one or more
courses that could result in the exclusion of a total of more than 15
credit hours. 

The bill provides that if a student enrolls in the same course at the same
institution more than two times, each of the student's grades in the course
are required to be included in the calculation of the student's grade point
average. 

The policy does not apply to a graduate-level course or a course in which a
student enrolls for credit in a postgraduate program or to a course that a
student completed the first time before the 2002  fall semester. The bill
sets forth provisions regarding the exclusion of a grade received for a
course in the Act and prohibits the institution from applying a policy for
the course the student repeated before the policy takes effect in a manner
that would reduce the student's  grade point average for courses completed
before the policy takes effect.   

The bill  authorizes the governing board of an institution of higher
education to impose a fee for a course for which a student enrolls if the
student has previously completed the same course at the institution and
prohibits the amount of the fee from exceeding 10 percent of the tuition
and other required fees charged to the student for the course.  The bill
authorizes the money collected from the fee to be used for any purpose and
is not considered to be tuition or a required course fee for purposes of
the funding formulas  established by the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board. The fee provisions do not apply to a remedial education
course or other course not offered primarily for credit toward completion
of a degree or certificate program, to a graduate level course or a course
a student enrolls in for credit in a postgraduate program, or to a course
that a student completed the first time before the 2002 fall semester.  

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act
takes effect September 1, 2001.