The Texas Commission on Community College Finance has drafted its proposal for the 88th  Texas Legislature that will begin in 2023. Their proposal is going to reorganize the way community colleges are funded by the state. The focus is state funding on performance-based and measurable outcomes as well as financial aid programs. Overall, the proposal will seek to increase participation and success for both traditional and nontraditional students, especially those who are economically disadvantaged, for the future of the Texas workforce. 

“Our workforce needs are changing, in our communities, across the state, and around the nation and world. More and more jobs require employees to have specific skills they can only get by earning certificates, degrees, and other credentials beyond their high school diplomas,” says the Commission’s Chairman. “Texas community colleges play key roles in helping Texans earn the credentials required for good, self-sufficient jobs.”

Their proposal focuses on three aspects to reorganize state funding for community colleges. 

The first is state funding based on measurable outcomes. According to the proposal, these measurable outcomes would be credentials of value awarded in high-demand fields, the success of students who transfer to four-year universities, and the success of students who complete a sequence of dual credit courses.

This would focus on how well a community college’s graduates or students who move on to higher education. They would also look at the relationship between how well graduates enter the job market. Additionally, the commission wants to include incentives for those who are economically or educationally disadvantaged or are adult learners, helping them achieve graduation and higher economic income, or go on to pursue higher education.

The Commission also wants there to be foundational state funding for community colleges. “Some colleges are unable to generate sufficient local funding for instruction and operations due to low taxable property values.”

Additionally, this foundational funding would be based on student enrollment and contact hours students have in credit and non-credit programs. The Commission is also wanting the foundational funding to be able to support the cost of economically disadvantaged students. 

“Colleges receiving this additional state funding must meet certain requirements that can be measured through clear metrics. These will include participation in shared services or other inter-institutional partnerships to improve operational and programmatic efficiency and provide students with broader opportunities to earn credentials of value,” said the Commission.

Second, the Commission also outlined how state funding will support affordability for students. The Commission recommends increasing funding for, and restructuring, Texas Educational Opportunity Grants to better support low-income and non-traditional students. The Commission has a goal of supporting 70% of low-income students who are pursuing postsecondary credentials through 2-year and 4-year universities, linking “state performance measures for eligible students served through TEOG at two-year institutions and TEXAS Grants at universities.”

Another avenue that the Commission is recommending for student affordability is minimizing barriers to workforce education programs and providing financial aid for dual credit courses for economically disadvantaged students through the colleges. 

The Commission recommends expanding “partnerships among colleges and private employers for paid work-based learning opportunities, including work-study, apprenticeships, and internships…”

The third aspect is the Commission wants to help investment in community colleges, providing “one-time seed grants for programs in high-demand fields to support community colleges in rapidly standing up or expanding programs to meet regional and state workforce needs.”

It was also recommended for community college investment to promote inter-institutional partnerships for shared services to greater expand the range of workforce and academic programs.

The commission recommends updating the state policy to allow non-credit programs to transfer over to credit programs. This will help high school dual credit students or adult workforce students transfer over their education for credentials or higher education.