House Higher Education Committee hears testimony on college affordability
As part of its work on the
House Interim Committee Charges issued by Speaker Dade Phelan earlier this year, the House Higher Education Committee met on Aug. 10 to hear testimony. Among the items discussed in this hearing were Charge 3 (
found on page 13 of the link above):
3. Examine factors that have contributed to the rising costs of higher education, including the effect of statutory tuition and fee waivers and exemptions, the cost of compliance with state and federal mandates, and the increase in the number of non-facutly staff. Make recommendations for controlling these costs and ensuring a sound fiscal approach to managing college affordability for the future.
A video recording of the full hearing can be found at
this link.
The first presenter on this item was Commissioner of Higher Education Harrison Keller. He testified that, while the average cost of tuition and fees across public universities rose just 2.3% between May 2021 and May 2022, much higher increased costs on housing, transportation, and other essential goods are driving up the total cost of attendance. Financial aid is a key component to ensuring affordability for students; but the most important factor is ensuring that students complete their degree/credential in a timely manner.
In his testimony, Commissioner Keller also stressed the importance of "predictability" for students in determining their costs to a degree/credential. While fielding questions from the committee, he noted that Texas A&M University does a especially good job at providing applicants with their expected financial aid levels upon acceptance, allowing them to make better informed decisions. Whoop!
Following Commissioner Keller were Louellen Lowe ’10, budget analyst with the Legislative Budget Board, who provided a brief overview of tuition waivers and exemptions; and Col. Thomas Palladino, executive director of the Texas Veteran Commission, who provided a detailed review of one of the more well-known tuition exemptions in Texas, the Hazlewood exemption.
These presentations were followed by panels of various Texas public university leaders to provide insight on the financial impacts of tuition waivers and exemptions; external factors creating increased costs to universities in recent years; and efforts by universities to control student costs.
This is a highly timely and relevant topic for all Texans with an interest or stake in higher education. This portion of the Aug. 10 hearing is lengthy; but we encourage Advocates to listen to it, as time allows, to become better informed on this issue!
