Sec. 61.003
EDUCATION CODE
TITLE 3. HIGHER EDUCATION
SUBTITLE B. STATE COORDINATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION
CHAPTER 61. TEXAS HIGHER EDUCATION COORDINATING BOARD
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 61.001. SHORT TITLE. This chapter may be cited as the Higher Education Coordinating Act of 1965.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3072, ch. 1024, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1971.
Sec. 61.002. PURPOSE. (a) The purpose of this chapter is to establish in the field of public higher education in the State of Texas an agency to provide leadership and coordination for the Texas higher education system, institutions, and governing boards, to the end that the State of Texas may achieve excellence for college education of its youth through the efficient and effective utilization and concentration of all available resources and the elimination of costly duplication in program offerings, faculties, and physical plants.
(b) In the exercise of its leadership role, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board established by this chapter shall be an advocate for the provision of adequate resources and sufficient authority to institutions of higher education so that such institutions may realize, within their prescribed role and scope, their full potential to the benefit of the students who attend such institutions and to the benefit of the citizens of the state in terms of the realization of the benefits of an educated populace.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3072, ch. 1024, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1971. Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 823, Sec. 1.01, eff. June 20, 1987.
Sec. 61.003. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Board" means the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
(2) "Public junior college" means any junior college certified by the board in accordance with Section 61.063 of this chapter.
(3) "General academic teaching institution" means The University of Texas at Austin; The University of Texas at El Paso; The University of Texas of the Permian Basin; The University of Texas at Dallas; The University of Texas at San Antonio; Texas A&M University, Main University; The University of Texas at Arlington; Tarleton State University; Prairie View A&M University; Texas Maritime Academy; Texas Tech University; University of North Texas; Lamar University; Lamar State College--Orange; Lamar State College--Port Arthur; Texas A&M University--Kingsville; Texas A&M University--Corpus Christi; Texas Woman's University; Texas Southern University; Midwestern State University; University of Houston; University of Texas--Pan American; The University of Texas at Brownsville; Texas A&M University--Commerce; Sam Houston State University; Texas State University--San Marcos; West Texas A&M University; Stephen F. Austin State University; Sul Ross State University; Angelo State University; The University of Texas at Tyler; and any other college, university, or institution so classified as provided in this chapter or created and so classified, expressly or impliedly, by law.
(4) "Public senior college or university" means a general academic teaching institution as defined above.
(5) "Medical and dental unit" means The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas; The University of Texas Medical School at San Antonio; The University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston; The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center; The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston; The University of Texas Dental School at San Antonio; The University of Texas Medical School at Houston; The University of Texas Health Science Center--South Texas and its component institutions, if established under Subchapter N, Chapter 74; the nursing institutions of The University of Texas System; and The University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston; and such other medical or dental schools as may be established by statute or as provided in this chapter.
(6) "Other agency of higher education" means The University of Texas System, System Administration; Texas Western University Museum; Texas A & M University System, Administrative and General Offices; Texas Agricultural Experiment Station; Texas Agricultural Extension Service; Rodent and Predatory Animal Control Service (a part of the Texas Agricultural Extension Service); Texas Engineering Experiment Station (including the Texas Transportation Institute); Texas Engineering Extension Service; Texas Forest Service; Texas Tech University Museum; Texas State University System, System Administration; Sam Houston Memorial Museum; Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum; Cotton Research Committee of Texas; Water Resources Institute of Texas; Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory; and any other unit, division, institution, or agency which shall be so designated by statute or which may be established to operate as a component part of any public senior college or university, or which may be so classified as provided in this chapter.
(7) "Public technical institute" means the Lamar Institute of Technology or the Texas State Technical College System.
(8) "Institution of higher education" means any public technical institute, public junior college, public senior college or university, medical or dental unit, public state college, or other agency of higher education as defined in this section.
(9) "Governing board" means the body charged with policy direction of any public technical institute, public junior college, public senior college or university, medical or dental unit, or other agency of higher education, including but not limited to boards of directors, boards of regents, boards of trustees, and independent school district boards insofar as they are charged with policy direction of a public junior college.
(10) "University system" means the association of one or more public senior colleges or universities, medical or dental units, or other agencies of higher education under the policy direction of a single governing board.
(11) "Degree program" means any grouping of subject matter courses which, when satisfactorily completed by a student, will entitle him to a degree from a public senior college or university or a medical or dental unit.
(12) "Certificate program" means a grouping of subject-matter courses which, when satisfactorily completed by a student, will entitle him to a certificate, associate degree from a technical institute or junior college, or documentary evidence, other than a degree, of completion of a course of study at the postsecondary level.
(13) "Recognized accrediting agency" means the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and any other association or organization so designated by the board.
(14) "Educational and general buildings and facilities" means buildings and facilities essential to or commonly associated with teaching, research, or the preservation of knowledge, including the proportional share used for those activities in any building or facility used jointly with auxiliary enterprises. Excluded are auxiliary enterprise buildings and facilities, including but not limited to dormitories, cafeterias, student union buildings, stadiums, and alumni centers, used solely for those purposes.
(15) "Private or independent institution of higher education" includes only a private or independent college or university that is:
(A) organized under the Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act (Article 1396-1.01 et seq., Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes);
(B) exempt from taxation under Article VIII, Section 2, of the Texas Constitution and Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. Section 501); and
(C) accredited by:
(i) the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools;
(ii) the Liaison Committee on Medical Education; or
(iii) the American Bar Association.
(16) "Public state college" means Lamar State College--Orange, Lamar State College--Port Arthur, or the Lamar Institute of Technology.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3072, ch. 1024, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1971. Amended by Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 1657, ch. 601, Sec. 3, eff. June 15, 1973; Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 3054, ch. 524, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1983; Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 646, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 26, 1985; Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 180, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 31, 1987; Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 823, Sec. 1.03, eff. June 20, 1987; Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 1070, Sec. 4, eff. May 15, 1988; Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 644, Sec. 1, eff. June 14, 1989; Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 1084, Sec. 1.32, eff. Sept. 1, 1989; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 287, Sec. 29, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 305, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 516, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1993; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 126, Sec. 2, eff. May 19, 1997; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 227, Sec. 4, eff. May 23, 1997; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 767, Sec. 5, eff. June 18, 1999; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1322, Sec. 1, eff. June 18, 1999; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 386, Sec. 7, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Amended by:
Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 373, Sec. 1, eff. June 15, 2007.
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1341, Sec. 3, eff. June 19, 2009.
SUBCHAPTER B. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
Sec. 61.021. ESTABLISHMENT OF COORDINATING BOARD: FUNCTIONS. (a) The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is an agency of the state. It shall have its office in Austin. It shall perform only the functions which are enumerated in this chapter and which the legislature may assign to it. Functions vested in the governing boards of the respective institutions of higher education not specifically delegated to the coordinating board shall be performed by the governing boards. The coordinating functions and other duties delegated to the board in this chapter shall apply to all public institutions of higher education.
(b) References in this code or other law to the "coordinating board" or the "Coordinating Board, Texas College and University System," are references to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3072, ch. 1024, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1971. Amended by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 823, Sec. 1.02, eff. June 20, 1987.
Sec. 61.0211. SUNSET PROVISION. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is subject to Chapter 325, Government Code (Texas Sunset Act). Unless continued in existence as provided by that chapter, the board is abolished and this chapter expires September 1, 2015.
Added by Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 1853, ch. 735, Sec. 2.151, eff. Aug. 29, 1977. Amended by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 479, Sec. 200, eff. Sept. 1, 1985; Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 823, Sec. 1.04, eff. June 20, 1987; Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 1084, Sec. 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1989; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., 1st C.S., ch. 17, Sec. 6.01, eff. Nov. 12, 1991; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 820, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.
Sec. 61.022. MEMBERS OF BOARD; APPOINTMENT; TERMS OF OFFICE. (a) The board shall consist of nine members appointed by the governor so as to provide representation from all areas of the state with the advice and consent of the senate, and as the constitution provides. Members of the board serve staggered six-year terms. The terms of one- third of the members expire August 31 of each odd-numbered year.
(b) A board member may not be employed professionally for remuneration in the field of education during the member's term of office.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3072, ch. 1024, art. 1, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1971. Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1170, Sec. 18.01, eff. Sept. 1, 2003; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 820, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.