TCCTA Blog

Section Programs Online

The discipline-specific Section Programs are the backbone of the annual TCCTA convention. This year they offer an amazing array of programs, featuring award-winning scholars, panel discussions, and experts on the latest technology. For a fraction of the cost of national disciplinary conferences, members can receive professional development that is unsurpassed, and engage in dialogue with colleagues from every community college in Texas. The dates are February 19-21, at the Renaissance Austin Hotel. 

Visit this link for the full lineup, plus information on the Technology Seminars, Financial Planning sessions, the Professional Development Seminar, GIFTS sessions, as well as registration and hotel information. Don't miss it!

Incentive Funding Plan Draws Criticism

Now that the governor has added his voice—along with the Commissioner of Higher Education and Coordinating Board—to the chorus praising incentive funding for higher education (see the previous day's post), it may be time to analyze a basic point of contention. 

The notion of rewarding conferred degrees with additional state funding underscores a fundamental distinction between selective universities and community colleges. Lawmakers complain each session about the length of time it takes for students to graduate, which in turn generates a plethora of proposed bills designed to speed up the process. Some policy makers undoubtedly wax nostalgic about the four years they spent in college, and perhaps assume that all students are the same. But two-year college students fit an entirely different profile. 

One respected journalist who gets it apparently is Paul Burka of Texas Monthly. Here's his response in a recent blog entry on the governor's recent State of the State address, on the subject of incentive funding for higher education:

Another issue was the proposal to tie funding for colleges and universities to graduation rates. The problem with this attempt to extend accountability to higher ed is that it penalizes entry-level institutions that attract students who are not the sort who attend UT and A&M. I heard testimony about this at the House Appropriations Committee hearings in 2007. The students who attend colleges like UT-Brownsville, UT-Pan American, and UTEP, are not the sort who drive their BMWs to Austin. Many of them have to work. The president of UTEP said that UT is like an express train: students get on, stay in school, and get off at graduation. UTEP is a local. A student gets on, may get off to work for a year, and may get back on for a year or two. Incentive funding based on graduation rates just doesn’t work for entry-level schools.

Mr. Burka doesn't include community colleges categorically here, but obviously his point would pertain to these schools even more profoundly than the universities he cites.

One of the most vital tasks facing community and technical college educators is highlighting this distinction to all representatives and senators. Many lawmakers already understand, but others could use some help. 

Governor's Budget Statement Issued

Gov. Rick Perry, in his State of the State address Tuesday, urged lawmakers to increase funding for Texas community colleges, especially in the form of financial aid for students. He also endorsed transferring responsibility for developmental education to community colleges and increasing the amount of revenue dedicated to incentive funding. Much of the money would presumably come from cost savings through "reprioritizing."

Here's the key passage from the budget statement released in conjunction with Tuesday's speech:

Reprioritizing Higher Education Funding

Special item funding has increased from $75.9 million in 1986-87 to $1,197.8 million in 2008-09, a 1,479 percent increase. Once funded, many of these special items continue indefinitely, long after the projected termination date. Recommitting these funds to student financial aid would better address the priorities of the state and the needs of students.

I recommend reallocating $645.7 million of special item and excellence funding to increase student financial aid and support other higher education priorities, including a fund, equal to one percent of each system’s funding, to support system priorities as determined by each system’s Chancellor and Board of Regents.

I also recommend transferring responsibility for developmental education from four-year institutions to community colleges. This move would benefit students through lower tuition and would save the state $3.6 million over the biennium.

Financial Aid

From the savings identified above I recommend increasing student financial aid by an additional $110 million for the TEXAS Grant program. This increase will provide TEXAS Grants to all eligible students in 2011. Additionally, to ensure that more of these students are funded, I propose adding merit criteria consistent with the state’s college readiness standards and increasing TEXAS Grant funding. Community colleges play an important role in the state’s higher education system by serving more than 500,000 students across the state. I recommend tripling financial aid funding for community college students by increasing the Texas Educational Opportunity Grant (TEOG) from $14 million in 2008-09 to $42 million in 2010-11. This would serve an estimated additional 8,900 students over the biennium.

I recommend a $110 million increase for TEXAS Grant and a $28 million increase in funding for community college financial aid for the 2010-11 biennium.

Higher Education Incentive Funding

Last session the Texas Legislature committed $80 million to higher education incentive funding. Additional funding would expand the program to give two- and four-year institutions additional rewards for increasing the number of degrees granted, and for graduating at-risk students or awarding degrees in critical areas such as science, engineering and nursing. I recommend a $168.9 million increase for higher education incentive funding for the 2010-11 biennium.

Financial Planning Seminars Include Social Security Update

Two authorities on recent developments regarding the Social Security Administration's Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO) will present a special update to attendees at the TCCTA annual convention in Austin. The meeting will take place on Friday, February 20, at 8:00 a.m., at the Renaissance Austin Hotel. 

"TRS/ORP and Social Security" will be presented by Dave Bell, a certified financial planner, and Dean Wallace, a certified public accountant and attorney. Mr. Wallace is also a professor of accounting at Collin College. The discussion will center upon the WEP and GPO, and their effect upon those who plan to retire from schools that do not participate in the Social Security system. Members of the Texas Teacher Retirement System and participants in the Optional Retirement Program are urged to attend.

Also on Friday, at 1:00 p.m., "TRS, ORP, Social Security and 403-b (TSA)” 
will be presented by Jay Allen Finn, a certified public accountant (and former IRS agent) and Tim Webster, a financial advisor.

The speakers say they will discuss "How to invest your ORP, Parcial Lump Sum and 403(b) with current maximums to maximize your nest egg, utilizing a proven approach for retirement planning." The presentation will include an outline of the most important changes to the 403(b) in 50 years. Social Security will also be part of the discussion.

College Without Grades?

It's an interesting discussion at least. No one is saying that students should be free from evaluation, but a growing number of educators around the country are recommending the abolishment of the "A" through "F" scale of grading. Part of the talk comes from the "accountability" movement, which argues that there should be a valid national standard of student learning. 

Others are concerned about grade inflation. The grade of "C" is disappearing at many colleges, for instance. The phenomenon is reportedly most common at selective schools, where failure is rare and whose students tend to earn a preponderance of high grades. But grade inflation is a concern at open admissions institutions as well.

This was the hot topic at a recent workshop of the American Association of Colleges and Universities. One panelist noted that some prestigious law schools have moved away from grades, implementing a portfolio technique instead. This would seem to argue against the idea that grades are necessary because the professional schools expect them.

Many panelists were understandably concerned about rigor. One participant responded that abolishing grades promotes rigorous standards. 

The discussion is covered nicely in a recent issue of Inside Higher Ed. Here's the link for free access. 

Bringing Back "Swirling" Students

A "swirling" student, in contemporary educational jargon, refers to a student who takes one course here and another there, but never manages to connect all the sundry courses into a degree or certificate from any particular institution. Sometimes these credits are from different states and locations, but sometimes the complex menu is from the same school.

The Alamo Community College District, in San Antonio, has just launched a program to bring these students back and get them into a cohesive plan.

Here's the essence of the program, according to the San Antonio Express News (registration):

Alamo Community Colleges wants to help these students finish what they started with a proposed Return to College program that offers free tuition and fees to any student who has racked up 45 hours of credit from any college but has not been back to school in at least two years.

“We are anxious to help people in difficult times complete a degree,” said James McLaughlin, ACC's vice chancellor for administration. “We believe that it will give them a chance to get a (better) job and hold a job.”

There are strings attached. The offer only extends for two years or until students earn an associate's degree, so they must sit down with an academic adviser and sketch out a plan for timely graduation.

“We won't keep an open door so you can take classes of interest to you,” McLaughlin said. “We want people who are focused.”

Return to College will pay for tuition and fees but not books, parking permits or special course fees above normal tuition, such as in nursing or aviation. Also, past debts will not be forgiven and students are expected to apply for financial aid to help the district bear the burden of cost.

Noted Tech "Guru," Professor, Humorist to Keynote Convention

TCCTA members are urged to make a special effort to attend the general session and banquet at the 62nd Annual State Convention at the Renaissance Austin Hotel.

Speaking on "Knowledge in the Age of Connection" will be David Weinberger, a Fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. For more information on Dr. Weinberger's message, biographical information, and details about banquet tickets and deadlines, visit this link.

For a survey of the variety of programs offered at the convention as well as hotel and registration information, visit here. 

Enrollments Up, Funding Down

Community colleges tend to gain enrollments during hard economic times. With this particular recession, however, higher funding will not necessarily follow the students.

Two-year college educators all over the country are expressing concern over budget cuts to their programs, resulting in layoffs, reduced programs, and less innovation. A recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education (dated Jan. 23, subscription required), profiles several schools, and the picture is grim.

Here's a choice passage:

The downturn in the economy has coincided with enrollment increases at many community colleges. Meanwhile, several states have trimmed — or even chopped — appropriations for higher education. Florida, New Mexico, Rhode Island, and Tennessee have each cut financing for 2009 by at least 5 percent, according to data compiled by the Center for the Study of Education Policy, at Illinois State University. Alabama and South Carolina have reduced allocations by more than 10 percent.

So far the outlook in Texas appears more optimistic than most states. The recent budget forecast from the Comptroller of Public Accounts was sobering, however. At least one commentator from Texas says that hard decisions may be on the horizon. From the Chronicle piece:

"Who's walking off the buses and subways and walking through our front doors, and what do they need?" says Mr. McClenney, a senior lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin's College of Education.

Community colleges, he believes, must do all they can to preserve high-demand courses. In other words, introductory English courses might stay while philosophy goes.

Mr. McClenney also says that when institutions must cut faculty and staff, they should consider each position carefully and avoid across-the-board reductions.

But how should colleges make decisions about priorities? In large public meetings, says Mr. McClenney.

"Fear emerges when times are tough," he says. "People worry about losing their sections; they worry about their jobs; they worry about being able to teach their favorite courses. So you have to involve them."

Study Underscores Measurement Problems of Developmental Education

When remedial education programs are evaluated, a frequent measure is course completion: what percentage of students successfully complete various remedial courses. But what if the most significant failures are happening outside the classroom? That’s exactly what is happening, according to a new analysis of remedial education at community colleges, which finds that the institutions are losing students before they even start, and that completing individual courses—while obviously important—should not necessarily be the key factor in evaluation.

The report was analyzed recently in Inside Higher Ed.

Here's the abstract:

Referral, Enrollment, and Completion in Developmental Education Sequences in Community Colleges (Working Paper No. 15)

By: Thomas Bailey, Dong Wook Jeong & Sung-Woo Cho—December 2008. New York: Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University.

After being assessed, many students entering community colleges are referred to one or more levels of developmental education. While the need to assist students with weak academic skills is well known, little research has examined student progression through multiple levels of developmental education and into entry-level college courses. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the patterns and determinants of student progression through sequences of developmental education starting from initial referral. We rely primarily on a micro-level longitudinal dataset that includes detailed information about student progression through developmental education. This dataset was collected as part of the national community college initiative Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count. The dataset has many advantages, but it is not nationally representative; therefore, we check our results against a national dataset--the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988. Our results indicate that only 3 to 4 out of 10 students who are referred to remediation actually complete the entire sequence to which they are referred. Most students exit in the beginning of their developmental sequence--almost half fail to complete the first course in their sequence. The results also show that more students exit their developmental sequences because they did not enroll in the first or a subsequent course than because they failed a course in which they were enrolled. We also show that men, older students, Black students, part-time students, and students in vocational programs are less likely to progress through their full remedial sequences. Finally, we provide weaker evidence that some institutional characteristics are related to a lower probability of completion of developmental education. 

Bill Targets History and Government Courses

As reported earlier, a bill has been introduced that would cut in half the current statutory requirement of American history and government courses for a baccalaureate degree in Texas. Current law requires six semester hours of each subject. HB 100, introduced by Rep. Fred Brown (R-College Station), reduces the minimum from six to three hours for government and three for history.

The bill has understandably concerned many community college educators, especially instructors in these two disciplines. The measure by itself would not affect the Core Curriculum—which includes history and government along with a host of other courses—but presumably would make it easier to do so regarding these two subjects.

TCCTA Lobbyist Beaman Floyd urges members to wait until the most appropriate moment before contacting representatives and senators about this bill. 

Committee assignments have not been announced for the current Regular Session. A key panel to watch will be the House Committee on Higher Education as well as the identity of its new chair. After these posts are filled, referred bills may or may not be scheduled for a public hearing at some point during the session. If such a hearing is scheduled, this is the period when measures are discussed among committee members, before invited and public testimony. Part of the panel's consideration would include any written communications from citizens and practitioners regarding the potential impact of the bill. 

There is no Senate companion to HB 100 at this point.

Members are urged to visit the TCCTA Web site frequently (with particular attention to the "Blog" and "News/Announcements" sections), and to be on the alert for any bulletins distributed by the association. Beaman Floyd will advise the state office on the best timing and strategy for faculty members to adopt if the bill shows signs of progress.

Mr. Floyd also urges members to participate in Community College Day at the Capitol on Thursday, February 19. The event is held in conjunction with the TCCTA annual convention in Austin. The association will provide transportation from convention headquarters, the Renaissance Austin Hotel, to the Capitol, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. TCCTA volunteers and Mr. Floyd will be stationed in the rotunda area to provide assistance. More information is available here.

The text of HB 100 is available here. (In reading bills, "new" language is underlined and language to be eliminated from current law is crossed out.)