Texas Senate panel votes to end set-asides for tuition,
Representatives of the University of Texas, the University of Houston, Texas Tech University and other schools testified that the program was working well and that they intend to continue it if the bill passes.
A state Senate panel approved a measure Wednesday that would eliminate a requirement that public colleges and universities set aside 15 percent of tuition increases for student financial aid.
The vote by the Higher Education Committee was 4-2, with state Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, registering as present but not voting.
Senate Bill 18, authored by Sen. Kel Seliger, a Republican from Amarillo who chairs the panel, would end the mandatory set-aside program established by the Legislature in 2003, when it ceded tuition-setting authority to university governing boards. The aim of the program, which was enacted with bipartisan support, was to ease the impact of tuition increases on students from lower-income families.
The program currently provides aid to 106,000 students.
Seliger noted that schools would still be free to continue their programs because his bill stops short of banning set-asides.
Representatives of the University of Texas, the University of Houston, Texas Tech University and other schools testified that the program was working well and that they intend to continue it if the bill passes. But they added a caveat: Sharp cutbacks in higher education funding, especially those contemplated in the Senate’s proposed budget for the next two years, could force them to scale back financial aid.
Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, argued strenuously against SB 18, noting that the financial assistance it provides can help students attend college who otherwise might not be able to afford it. West said the program has become “part of the DNA” of higher education, but he explained that he wanted to see how the budget and financial aid programs shake out as the legislative session unfolds before taking a stand one way or the other on the bill.
Critics of the current program, including Sen. Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, said it amounts to a tax on one group of students to subsidize other students. The students being “taxed” in some cases have to take out larger loans than they would otherwise, he said.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has also called for eliminating the requirement that a portion of tuition increases be diverted to financial aid.
Texas Higher Education Commissioner Raymund Paredes said students on average pay $459 a year to fund the set-aside program.