Senate hearings, THECB meetings show what’s to come for higher education

Jul 31
5 min read

With 5 months until the 2027 Legislative Session, agency and committee leaders are warming up for a higher-education heavy session. Last week, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) –– the state agency governing college affordability, degree programs, educational data, and workforce development –– held a quarterly meeting to discuss changes to the General Education Curriculum (GEC) and a potential new funding model for public 4-year universities. A few days ago, the Senate Higher Education Committee held its first interim hearing on SB 37 implementation and updates on HB 8 community college funding. Both meetings give us a glimpse into state leaders’ priorities heading into the 90^th legislative session –– and we’re expecting some major changes.

The THECB meets to discuss funding and curriculum changes

One of the major topics at the THECB quarterly meeting was a discussion about implementing a Performance Based Funding (PBF) model in public 4-year colleges. In a presentation by Deputy Commissioner Sarah Keyton, the Coordinating Board made recommendations based on a legislature-mandated study on PBF models. The study suggested two primary mechanisms through which PBF would be funding: attainment, and progression and persistence. Attainment, which is 60% of the funding weight, would be given to colleges who graduate students with credentials of value, with different weightings based on credentials in “high demand” fields, rate of transfer students who complete credentials, and whether students earn their master’s or doctoral degrees. The other 40% of funding weight, progression and persistence, rewards crediting milestones as students meet certain credit hour completions, as well as rewarding institutions for enrolling students from fall semester to fall semester.

The study committee recommended that PBF be a complementary source of funding, rather than replacing the current 4-year college formula funding and warned that relying on PBF would disincentivize universities from offering high-cost, but essential, programs. The purpose of the study was to find ways to maximize taxpayer return on investment and align with the Coordinating Board and Legislature’s goal of “Building a Talent Strong Texas” through credential attainment. Multiple Coordinating Board members asked about how “high demand” degrees would be determined and reevaluated, especially as AI rapidly shifts workforce demand and job market stability. Deputy Commissioner Keyton stated that the Board and the Legislature plan to implement a model that is relatively simple and “easy to iterate” to adjust weights and designations as needed.

The Coordinating Board also discussed updates on the General Education Curriculum (GEC) report, reviewed by the GEC Committee as mandated by SB 37. The committee gave updates on their review of the core curriculum’s hour and course requirements and stated that Texas has the largest GEC in the country. With a requirement of 42 credit hours, it equates to about 14 courses. THECB Commissioner Dr. Wynn Rosser pointed out the 3,420 unique courses across all community colleges and public universities that meet the needs of 14 courses, citing it as a reason for the issues of transferring credits between institutions.

While the GEC Committee will be going over their final report during the Board’s October meeting, they note that they are moving toward a “more focused” core curriculum to reduce “consequences of misalignment,” improve transfer outcomes, and reduce excess hours. Further comments by Coordinating Board members included blaming 4-year universities’ “unique courses” as a cause of friction between transfer credit eligibility, wanting to reframe which courses are offered as part of the core, citing the abundance of social science courses as making the problem worse. It's still unclear whether they are moving toward reducing overall core hours or mandating common courses for the 42 currently required.

First Senate Higher Education interim hearing leaves questions unanswered

Ahead of Tuesday's Senate Higher Education Committee hearing, Texas AFT-AAUP brought together students, faculty, and advocates to lay out what a year of SB 37 implementation has actually meant for Texas campuses: censorship, narrowed curriculum, and educators pushed out of jobs they loved. Although the Senate hearing was not open to public comment, our faculty leaders and student advocates made sure their experience on the ground was heard.

The clearest example of SB 37 changes came from one of our Texas Tech leaders, Lisa B. Limeri, who resigned her tenured position this year after being forced to strip material on human sexual reproduction, genetic inheritance, and sex-linked inheritance from biology coursework — content she says students need for exams like the MCAT and for careers in health care, cut because of scientifically inaccurate definitions of sex and gender imposed under vague threats of termination. Advocates also pointed to a broader pattern: the departments and courses hit hardest by SB 37 reviews fall disproportionately in ethnic and gender studies fields, and cuts have affected Black faculty and students the most, undermining the core promise of Texas public higher education.

That advocacy stood in sharp contrast to what senators heard once the hearing began. Committee Chair Paul Bettencourt dismissed professor and student concerns raised hours earlier as an overblown "drumbeat," pointing to record enrollment as proof nothing was amiss. Texas Tech Chancellor Brandon Creighton, the law's author and former Chair of the Senate K-16 Education Committee, told the committee his system reviewed more than 14,000 courses, flagged 1,403, and ultimately required changes to just 60 — under 1% of those reviewed, which was framed as evidence the law is being implemented lightly. But that figure obscures the chilling effect Dr. Limeri described: faculty self-censoring to avoid appearing on the review list in the first place. Sen. Royce West pushed Creighton on his claim, pressing the Chancellor on why a constitutional law course at Texas Tech failed to teach that the landmark Supreme Court case Dred Scott v. Ferguson had racial implications.

University of North Texas System Chancellor Michael Williams called the curriculum reviews "a very healthy thing," despite Denton's flagship campus’ decision to cut or consolidate as many as 70 majors, minors, and certificate programs. Meanwhile, the state's first higher-education ombudsman, Brandon Simmons, testified that his office has received 73 complaints and opened two investigations. THECB Commissioner Wynn Rosser also updated senators on the SB 37-mandated core curriculum review, with recommendations due to the Coordinating Board in October and a final report to lawmakers by December 1.

Testimony from Creighton and other university system representatives left many questions unanswered. We won’t get clarity while university representatives are testifying before a committee, which is why advocacy and organizing by Texas AFT-AAUP members is more important than ever. It’s up to you and your union to stand up together and get the answers you deserve. The hearings from the past 2 weeks give us a glimpse, albeit small, of what state leaders have in store for higher education. As interim hearings progress, we will continue to monitor updates closely.