Texas Association of College and University Student Personnel Administrators: Higher Ed News

Opportunity: University of North Texas - The 16th Annual Higher Education Law Conference

2012-01-23T09:21:00.000-08:00

The 16^th Annual Higher Education Law Conference

At the University of North Texas

March 26-27, 2012

Conference Presenters:

- David Lester, Executive Director of the Center for the Study of Suicide and Professor of Psychology at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. Dr. Lester is a widely published author on suicide prevention, and is coauthor of the 2011 book Understanding and Preventing College Student Suicide

- Lynn Rossi Scott, Brackett & Ellis, will speak on"Responding to the US Department of Education's Guidance on Sexual Violence". Ms. Scott’s presentations have always proved among the more popular of past conferences.

- Bill Holda, President of Kilgore College, and Justin H. Lonon, Vice Chancellor, Public & Governmental Affairs at Dallas County Community College District, will review the implications for higher education of the last Texas legislative session—and offer an informed and detailed preview of what’s ahead in 2013.

- These sessions join the previously announced presentation, “Pima Community College: Lessons Learned from the Tucson Tragedy.” The speakers will be Roy Flores, Chancellor of Pima Community College, and C.J. Karamargin, Vice Chancellor for Public Information and Government Relations at PCC. Mr. Karamargin was, at the time of the shooting tragedy surrounding U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords, her Communications Director.

More speakers and a full schedule will be released in coming days.

The conference is eligible for both Continuing Education Units and Continuing Legal Education Units.

To register for the conference, and for more information, visit http://www.coe.unt.edu/conferences/higher-education-law-conference

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

TACUSPA Webinar: The E.P.I.C. Journey (FREE for TACUSPA 2011/2012 members)

2012-01-19T09:40:00.000-08:00

TACUSPA proudly presents our first webinar: The E.P.I.C. Journey scheduled for Friday, January 27, 1-2 p.m. Access to the webinar is free for TACUSPA 2011/2012 members.

To register, please click on this link: WEBINAR REGISTRATION.

Current trends at universities are to infuse the conduct process with meaningful encounters that take students on intentional personal journeys aimed at transforming decision-making patterns. The University of Texas at San Antonio has effectively accomplished this goal by assessing Engagement with the university, Personal development, Interpersonal development and Community membership using multiple theoretical backgrounds. Learn about the E.P.I.C. Journey to move your institutions’ behavioral processes to the next level.

This webinar highlights how the E.P.I.C. Journey Sanctioning Model impacts student success by individualizing each student’s educational meeting or hearing to direct efforts and resources toward their individual needs. The E.P.I.C. Journey is a complete cross-functional initiative adaptable in any format. Whether you work in conduct, student life, housing, student activities, greek life, leadership or student organizations, you can benefit from the strategies infused in the E.P.I.C. Journey. Part of this webinar will focus on ways to utilize these strategies and frameworks including motivational interviewing, community development models, transformational education, creative sanctioning, and campus-wide mentorship in any area of student affairs.

Goals/Learning Outcomes

To introduce an innovative sanctioning model of addressing behavioral violations and/or concerns through the use of a purposeful individual needs based process by assessing engagement, personal development, interpersonal development, and community.

To share the collaborative effort between the departments of Residence Life, Student Conduct, Counseling, University Police, and Student Activities to create a foundation for E.P.I.C. that encompasses multiple theoretical orientations and disciplines.

To engage professionals in conceptualizing the management of behavioral expectations in more developmental and transformational ways and share how the tools and strategies can be used in a multitude of functional areas in addition to the group and individual conduct process.

About the E.P.I.C. Journey Sanctioning Model

Though only a step in the journey of life, college can often be described as an epic journey in itself. With remarkable personal development in so many areas, it can be argued that the college years are one of the most important journeys a person will take. The E.P.I.C. Journey Sanctioning Model was conceived with this in mind. We wanted to take a truly holistic approach to each meeting with a student to both create an intentional and productive judicial experience while utilizing the professional training and education we have attained to facilitate such development. The E.P.I.C. approach encompasses a complete view of the student rather than a myopic perspective of the infraction. From the educational meeting or hearing that begins a mandated journey to the optional involvement of engaged students participating in collaborative programs, the E.P.I.C. Journey lies before them.

The E.P.I.C. Journey Sanctioning Model entails giving students an interview based assessment during their educational conduct meeting. This model includes active or required participation sanctions that allow the student to develop competencies that were found to be underdeveloped during their E.P.I.C. spectrum assessment process. As a result, retention is improved by:

developing creative sanctions that improve their success in college
utilizing motivational interviewing to develop a willingness and confidence to change
assigning a mentor to develop their engagement with the university
implementing programming that reinforces the skill sets

This holistic approach forms an intentional personal journey aimed at transforming decision-making patterns. The results reveal students moving from troublesome behavior to those who are retained and focused on completing their academic and personal goals. Use of journey sanctioning with purposeful, sequential, active sanctions is paired with the consistency of inactive sanctions to provide a conduct experience that is both congruent with the high expectations of an academic environment and sensitive to the developmental needs of college students.

The E.P.I.C. Journey team includes a cross section of staff dedicated to upholding university wide standards and student success in Student Conduct, Residence Life, Privatized Housing, Counseling Services, Student Activities, and the University Police Department. The E.P.I.C. Journey team is further expanded to include E.P.I.C. Mentors which include faculty and staff members assigned to the student and serve as a connection point between the student and his/her university experience enhancing areas of interest. The team’s extensive training in both motivational interviewing and enhanced educational meeting strategies have dramatically increased our effectiveness in addressing student needs. E.P.I.C. reminds us that each student’s journey is unique and in order to be successful, we must first assess their needs and their compatibility with our campus values.

The E.P.I.C. Journey Sanctioning Model was recognized by the Association for Student Conduct Administration (ASCA) with the Innovation Award and Institutional Award of Excellence in 2011 and most recently with the Gold Medal in the housing, judicial, contract services and related category for the 2012 NASPA Excellence Awards.

Presenters
Jennifer Fueglein is a Coordinator in Student Conduct and Community Standards at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Master of Arts in Human Resources from Webster University in Saint Louis, Missouri. She is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Education from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Prior to her tenure at UTSA, Jennifer’s professional background included serving Housing and Residence Life at UTSA, Hamline University in Saint Paul, Minnesota and Webster University encompassing a unique blend of large public and small private liberal college experience. She currently serves as a member of the E.P.I.C. Core Team focusing on the management and training of practitioners and research study implementation.

Jan Wilson McKinney is an Assistant Director in Student Conduct and Community Standards at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Master of Education from the University of South Carolina. She is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Education from the University of Texas at San Antonio. She has worked in the areas of Housing and Residence Life, Student Activities and Multicultural Programs at the University of South Carolina, University of Central Florida and Texas A&M University Corpus Christi. She currently serves as a member of the E.P.I.C. Core Team focusing on presentations, training and publications.

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

New York Times Article - "The Brutal Side of Hazing"

2011-12-14T08:08:00.000-08:00

Readers,

On December 9, 2011, The New York Times, published an article titled, "The Brutal Side of Hazing". This article, written by Op-Ed Columnist, Charles M. Blow, provides readers with a glimpse into some aspects of his college experience.

Read the article here - http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/10/opinion/blow-the-brutal-side-of-hazing.html

What do you think?

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

OPPORTUNITY - Prepárate™: EDUCATING LATINOS FOR THE FUTURE OF AMERICA

2011-10-03T11:30:00.000-07:00

Readers,

Here is a great opportunity for all of you!

Prepárate™:

EDUCATING LATINOS FOR THE FUTURE OF AMERICA

May 31–June 1, 2012

Hyatt Regency Miami

Miami, Fla.

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Visit preparate.collegeboard.org/call-proposals for complete submission guidelines and to submit your proposal online. Proposals may be submitted from Sept. 1 through Oct. 7, 2011.

The annual Prepárate™ conference brings together professionals from higher education, secondary schools, middle schools and community-based organizations. These professionals are committed to improving education for Latino students. We encourage you to share your knowledge by submitting a session proposal for Prepárate 2012.Through your participation, Prepárate will continue to empower educators to meet the needs of a growing Latino student population.

Please consider submitting a session proposal that showcases trends, new initiatives, effective strategies or best practices that affect your Latino students. We are especially interested in learning about:

• Valuable early education programs

• Raising expectations and academic achievement

• Innovative teaching strategies

• Involving parents in education

• Using data to inform instruction

• Implementing testing and accountability measures

• Creating P–20 partnerships, including the academic community with the private sector

• Leading Latino advocacy initiatives

• College programs showing academic success and persistence

• Successful academic programs overcoming budgetary challenges

• Useful higher education recruitment and retention strategies

Preference will be given to proposals for sessions that:

• Highlight programs, services or policies that improve educational access and success for all students

• Include speakers from multiple institutions and/or regions

• Foster dialogue among educators from different professional areas

• Provide research and data to support claims and document outcomes

• Share best practices and examples of what works and what doesn’t work

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

UNT Equity & Diversity Conference - Call for Proposals

2011-09-13T20:09:00.000-07:00

TACUSPA members,

The University of North Texas is proud to announce the 12^th annual Equity and Diversity Conference scheduled for February 7, 2012. This year’s featured keynote speaker will be Dan Savage, author and creator of the It Gets Better Project. We invite you to submit a workshop proposal for this year’s conference. Registration fees will be waived for all workshop speakers. Submissions are due by November 1 at 5 pm. Detailed information is attached.

Please email multicultural@unt.edu should you have any questions.

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

2011-09-12T10:59:00.000-07:00

Hello all! Well, school’s been in session for most of us for several weeks now and we know what that means: programs!! Getting students engaged outside of the classroom is one of the most important components to learning, so it’s important that we do it effectively and creatively! The folks in Residence Life offices typically have good ideas regarding programming because it’s so much of what they do. So, below is a list of Residence Life programs from ResidentAssistant.com that could be adapted to other offices and other causes. Feel free to visit the website for more ideas not on this list. I hope you find something you like!

Back to Kindergarten

It's mainly for stress relief. Gather stuff for finger painting, coloring, games, story books, play-do, etc; anything you want to do that's fun and that's a thing you might do in kindergarten. It's a great way to have fun and relieve stress, and with enough imagination, there should be something for everybody.

Candlelight Vigil

A candle light service in remembrance of an event. This particular event was in held in remembrance of those lost in Kosovo. They invited guest speakers from the history and political science department to talk about the history of the Balkan peninsula so there would be a greater understanding of what's going on over there and also to give attendees a chance to think about their feelings regarding the event. One of the RA's is from Macedonia and he was going home for the summer, so he spoke about his feelings and how the war is affecting him. They also had another RA sing and play the guitar as we lit our candles in remembrance and accepted donations (food, toiletries, blankets...etc) to send over there. The food service company had boxes all over the campus for all students (not just residents) to place their donations. This is program is easily adaptable to commemorate or memorialize almost any event and is simple enough to add different aspects of creativity.

Chicken Soup for the College Soul

This is an opportunity for an on-going program. Once a month you serve chicken soup and focus on one of the chicken soup for the soul books, or a particular chapter. For instance, February could encompass couple chicken soup tales, and you can have a round table discussion, after reading at least three stories. The number of stories read will depend upon the reflection conversation. But, it is a great way to de-stress and bond with other students. It gives us the opportunity to tackle issues together that we all deal with.

Other Considerations:
Consider the time of year and the audience you wish to attract. Try to expand this so both genders feel welcome by making it topics both genders can speak about. For instance, if it is February and you are working with Chicken Soup for the Couple's Soul why not open it up to couples?

Late Night Stress Relief

Description: Monday or Tuesday night of Finals week, put together a late night breakfast, at around 10 pm, held in the cafeteria. Serve traditional breakfast food such as crepes, waffle, pancakes, bacon, eggs, etc. and allow students to take a break from studying. The RAs also handed out a sheet containing study tips that they could use. Events like this usually have a large turn out, so this is a good opportunity to collaborate with other departments.

Poetry Corner

Get a bunch of people together that read, write, or are interested in poetry. Get everyone to meet in a designated room and have 30 minute reading sessions where everyone gets to read either their work or someone else’s. Then, have 30 min or so of writing as a group. Start off by having someone write a line and then passing the sheet around the room until the poem is completed. You can come up with some really interesting work.

Walking Dogs at an Animal Shelter

Pick one day each week to go to the local animal shelter to walk the dogs, and play with the animals. The animal shelter always needs volunteers, and the animals love the
attention.

Return to Sender

Return to Sender is a way for students to send a care package home to their parents, or anyone they see fit. Have participants sign up to be involved first. Then, bake brownies, cookies, muffins, etc. the day before. At the program, the students can put their packages together to send home. You can provide cards and some pictures to include in the packages. You could also include decorating materials so that the participants can decorate the outside of their boxes if they chose. When the packages are done, take them to the post office to be sent out.

Other Considerations: This is a program you need to know you will have participation in before you can do it. If not you will end up with a lot of baked goods with no one to send them to.

Frustration Piñata

Have students write their pet peeves on index cards. These annoyances can be anything from tests and classes to university policies and parking. Tape these index cards on a piñata filled with candy, treats, toys, and small pamphlets/flyers with useful information pertinent to finals period. Let the students hit the piñata once and attempt to break.
Other Considerations:
Make sure there is order when the students hit the piñata. You don't want anyone to get hurt since there is a bat involved.

Also, this is a good opportunity to talk about stress management. After the piñata is broken, you, along with a representative from your school's mental health office, can talk about different ways to deal with stress in a healthy manner.
Have fun (and take pictures!)

Who wants to be a millionaire?

This is just a basic spin on the hit ABC series "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" It uses a variety of questions, from academic to sexual to spiritual/emotional. It works best when you do it at least four nights. Just like the real show, you keep suspense by ending after 45 minutes to an 1 hour, no matter where you are in the game.
Instructions/Things Needed:
about 450-500 questions
computers to display questions (we did them on Powerpoint)
prizes (or money if your school actually lets you give away money)
Other Considerations:
Since often times funding is limited, make the top few questions extremely difficult.

SEX AND CANDY
This activity provides students with a fun way to learn about STDs, pregnancy risk, etc.
Get a group of about 20-30 students together of mixed gender. Prepare a paper bag with 4 or 5 different pieces of candy for each resident. Without telling the students what exactly is going on, have them interact 3 to 5 times with different residents (gender is not important) by having the person reach blindly into the other's bag and taking a piece of candy and then the other resident in the exchange doing the same. After residents have completed this, tell them that the people who they exchanged candy with were actual sexual partners who they had unprotected sex with. (Statistics show that most college seniors have had at least 3 unprotected sexual encounters!!!) Emphasize that the blind exchange of candy is representative of the exchange of STDs, etc. that can take place when people don't protect themselves. Next have the students sit and find out what diseases they have as a result of their behavior.

Each piece of candy would be assigned a consequence. For example, a mini Snickers bar would be genital warts, Smarties would be herpes and a Jolly Rancher would be an unplanned pregnancy. When revealing what candy is what consequence, give out basic information about disease, ways to avoid as well as ways to cure or treat it. I have found that this program keeps the residents captivated and they don't feel as if it's one more Sex Ed program that they don't want to go to. Instead they want to figure out what diseases they might have and really think that it could happen to them if they're not careful.

Look, Mom! I'm an Author!

The idea is to write a poem, then get students together and illustrate the poem. Then, get the pages laminated, bind them together. Now, students have created a children's book! Here's the kicker, you donate the book to a local hospital to give to new parents or another organization that deals with children. With the book, you can include a pamphlet about local "learn to read" programs, so that parents who don't know how to read may be encouraged to learn how to read the book to their child. Depending on how many students show up for the event, you can maybe even several books!
Instructions\Things Needed:
Construction Paper
Access to binding and lamination materials

Baby shower
Plan an event that is very similar to a real baby shower. Have students bring gifts suitable for a baby. When the students arrive have baby shower games for students to play, a variety of prizes, and food! Also include some baby shower-type decorations to go along with the theme. Donate the gifts to a woman's shelter or person/organization that is in need of the items.
Other Considerations: Encourage people to bring some type of small gift or encourage students to split the cost of pricier items like diapers.

Garage Sale
Collect items that students and others are willing to donate and set up a drop off location. Price the items collected and hold a garage sale. Donate the money collected to a local charity.

Stress Free Week

A week before midterms or finals when people are stressed out, tell the students that for one week they can donate non-perishable food items and clothing to a centralized location. When they bring the item give them one ticket. (Make sure to keep a tally of how many tickets each person gets). When the week is over they can redeem their tickets for things like an snacks, prizes, movie passes, etc. all of which can be worth different ticket prices. The items are then donated to a local charity.
Instructions Things Needed:
Place to collect items

Tickets

Tally sheet (in case they lose their tickets)
List of prizes and costs

Prizes

Book Club

Choose a book per month and bring people together who have read the book to discuss it. Ask them questions about the book like why they liked it, what they got out of it, what they thought of this or that event in the book. Try to choose books with pressing social issues (ex. eating disorders, poverty, sexual/racial/gay discrimination).
Other Considerations:
Some people read at a slower pace or do not have time to read. Maybe choose one book with a lot of short stories or essays.

Brain teasers
Find a dozen or so riddles--some easy, some challenging. Then post them in a location that is popular for students. The first student to turn in all 15 answers by a certain time, or the student with the most correct answers, gets a prize. This allows students to have fun with and solve problems at the same time. The riddles can also be challenging math or statistics problems.

Paper-Editing Party
Arrange a time and place for students to enjoy pizza and other snacks while getting assistance from English and writing tutors on work due for class. Students can ask questions about writing issues that they’ve experienced and get assistance in a fun environment. It can also count as volunteer hours for the tutors should they need them.

Below are a couple of sites that list additional volunteer events

http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/advocacy/publicawareness/campaign@yourlibrary/prtools/sampleprogramming.cfm

http://lancaster.unl.edu/4h/serviceideas.shtml

TACUSPA Fall Conference 2011 - Free Faculty Registration Opportunities, Conference Highlights, Graduate Student Opportunities

2011-09-09T12:00:00.000-07:00

Texas Higher Education/Student Affairs Faculty,

I hope your semester is going well! My name is Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards and I am the Vice-President for Education and Professional Development for the Texas Association of College and University Student Personnel Administrators (TACUSPA). On behalf of the TACUSPA executive board, we would like to invite you to our annual fall conference. This year's conference will be held Sunday, October 16, 2011 to Tuesday, October 18, 2011 at the Holiday Inn Townlake Hotel in Austin, TX. This year's theme is "Reinventing Higher Education" and we would like to have a large faculty presence at the conference! For more information about the conference, please copy and paste the following link - http://tacuspa.camp8.org/Conferences.

FREE FACULTY REGISTRATION
This year, we are offering a FREE faculty registration for one faculty member at Texas higher education institutions with higher education administration programs. This program is limited to five faculty members. To take advantage of this offer, please let me know of your interest in the Free Faculty Registration program and I will send a confirmation to you.

CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS
We are excited to have several well-known and distinguished speakers headlining this year’s conference including Dr. Stan Carpenter, dean of the College of Education at Texas State University-San Marcos,Dr. Gwendolyn Jordan Dungy, executive director of NASPA, Dr. Susan R. Komives, professor and program director of college student affairs at the University of Maryland and president of the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education, and Lynn Rossi Scott, attorney and shareholder in the Ft. Worth law firm Brackett & Ellis.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUR STUDENTS
We also have several opportunities for your graduate students to get involved in TACUSPA. Encourage your students to apply for a graduate student scholarship to cover the cost of the conference registration. We have attached it here. The application deadline is next Friday, September 16, 2011. There is a special breakfast for graduate students as well as the annual graduate student case study competition. The case study competition is a great opportunity for future professionals to demonstrate their knowledge and problem-solving skills and to work with graduate students from different programs across the state of Texas.

Fall Conference Scholarship for Graduate Students - http://tinyurl.com/TACUSPAFALL2011

Fall Conference - Case Study Competition Registration Form - http://tinyurl.com/TACUSPACaseStudyFA2011

***Also, I am actively seeking FACULTY JUDGES for the case study competition which will be held during the conference. If you are interested, please let me know!***

We look forward to seeing you at this year's conference. For more information, please contact Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards at jtedwards@tarleton.edu or 254-968-9638.

Sincerely,

J. Edwards

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

University of North Texas - Higher Education Research Assistantship Opportunities (Due - December 1, 2011)

2011-09-01T09:59:00.000-07:00

Readers,

Here is a great opportunity from UNT!

The Higher Education Program at the University of North Texas anticipates the availability of two research assistantships with full tuition support for new, full-time Ph.D. students beginning with the Fall 2012 term. The assistantships will include these elements: a 20-hour-per-week research assistantship with competitive compensation, a waiver of tuition and fees, and a benefits package to include health coverage. This commitment is for three years. Continuing support for a fourth year is possible, but not guaranteed. All application materials, both for the university and for the program, must be submitted by December 1, 2011.

The UNT Higher Education program recently celebrated 40 years of doctoral level education in higher education and related fields. The program is home to the Bill J. Priest Center for Community College Education, the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students, and the Texas Higher Education Law Conference. The program also offers master’s degrees, with an emphasis in student affairs.

Applicants for the assistantships should indicate any personal areas of interest in the study of higher education, but might note that issues of student access and success are particular emphases within the research and service interests of the faculty. These include but are not limited to community college and transfer student success, the P-16 continuum, participation by under-represented populations, American Indian higher education, international higher education, the assessment of learning outcomes, and the role of spirituality in student life. Some professional or research experience will be valued in the evaluation of applications.

A cover letter to the application should clearly indicate both the intention of full-time study and interest in assistantship support.

For more information on the Higher Education Program and the application process, see https://www.coe.unt.edu/counseling-and-higher-education/higher-education.

Further inquiries may be addressed to the Higher Education Program Coordinator, Dr. Kathleen Whitson, at Kathleen.Whitson@unt.edu.

Sincerely,

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

2011-08-02T08:10:00.000-07:00

Regarded as the guiding doctrine describing the relationship between students, parents and colleges, in loco parentis in higher education refers to institutions’ legal right to act in place of parents in some instances. Although this doctrine guided the relationship between colleges, students and parents for many decades, it is often referred to in the past tense, having reached its decline in the 1960s.

However, many higher ed professionals question whether Millennial matriculation and infamous “helicopter” parents are beckoning a re-emergence of this erstwhile doctrine. Some even question whether the concept of in loco parentis was ever abandoned. Gavin Henning, in the article, “Is In Consortio Cum Parentibus the New In Loco Parentis?” suggests that higher education is experiencing the generation of a new model to guide the colleges’ relationships with students and parents.

In consortio cum parentibus, or “in partnership with parents” is designed for traditional-aged students and their parents. It defines and guides the relationship between the institution, students and parents, and directs the work of student affairs professionals.

The model assumes that students learn from an autonomous decision-making process and being held accountable for those decisions. The model also accepts that students have certain rights that must be protected and acknowledged by higher education institutions. Finally, this model acknowledges that students today are more connected with their parents than previous generations and that parents have significant influence on their child’s behavior. Thus, higher education professionals need to partner with parents and use them as a resource in educating students.

Below are some resources to help higher ed professionals partner with parents.

Is In Consortio Cum Parentibus the New In Loco Parentis?

By Gavin Henning

journals.naspa.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1835&context=jsarp

How to Safely Land Helicopter Parents

By Chris Chavez (University of Southern California)

http://www.csufresno.edu/noda/images/How%20to%20safely%20land%20Helicopter%20Parents%20Presentation.pdf

Reframing the Way We Think About Parental Involvement

By Robert Reason and Jennifer Mallen (Penn State)

www.parentprogram.psu.edu/presentations.shtml

Managing Millennial Parents

By Kayla Hersperger (Slippery Rock University)

fyrst.sru.edu/FYE_Assessment/mMP.ppt

Happy reading!

Cynthia Sullivan

Assistant Academic Advisor

The University of Texas at Austin

TACUSPA Website - Recent Job Listings

2011-07-04T12:06:00.000-07:00

Readers,

Are you currently searching for a student services/higher education job in Texas? Click here for recent listings from the TACUSPA website - http://www.tacuspa.net/careerops.html:

Texas WesleyanUniversity - Hall Manager (7-12-2011)

University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas SouthmostCollege - Career Counselor (6-15-2011)

University of Texas at Arlington - Assistant Director forMulticultural Affairs (6-14-2011)

Baylor University - Assistant Director of MulticulturalAffairs (6-14-2011)

Texas Tech University - Assistant Vice Provost for StudentAffairs (5-24-2011)

McLennan Community College - Student Development, Director(5-13-2011)

McLennan Community College - Student Development, CounselingSpecialist (5-11-2011)

University of Texas Medical Branch - Sr. Medical Educator -Learning Skills Specialist (5-2-2011)

Sincerely,

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

Legislative Updates - Affordability of Textbooks/Financial Literacy Training/Payment of Tuition & Mandatory Fee/Sexual Abuse and Child Molestation Training

2011-06-23T05:55:00.000-07:00

Readers,

Here is the most recent update from the Texas State Legislature.

82(R) HB 33
Relating to measures to increase the affordability of textbooks used for courses at public or private institutions of higher education.
6/17/2011 E Signed by the Governor
View all actions

82(R) HB 399
Relating to requiring general academic teaching institutions to offer personal financial literacy training.
6/17/2011 E Signed by the Governor
View all actions

82(R) HB 1341
Relating to the manner of payment of tuition and mandatory fees at public institutions of higher education.
6/17/2011 E Signed by the Governor
View all actions

82(R) HB 2937
Relating to access to the criminal history record information of certain individuals by public or private institutions of higher education and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
6/17/2011 E Signed by the Governor
View all actions

82(R) SB 1414
Relating to sexual abuse and child molestation training and examination for employees of certain programs for minors held on campuses of institutions of higher education; providing penalties.
6/17/2011 E Signed by the Governor
View all actions

Sincerely,

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

TACUSPA Article Competition, Grant Competition, and Fellowship Applications!

2011-05-26T10:44:00.000-07:00

TACUSPA Members,

The Graduate Education and Research Commission AND the Scholarships and Fellowships Committee would like to announce this year's article and grant competitions!

Do you need some money for thesis, dissertation, or department-based research? Would you like to see your research and graduate school papers in print AND have a chance to be honored for your efforts? Submit a research paper, grant proposal, and/or fellowship application by Friday, June 3, 2011!

TACUSPA Research Development Grant - Application Form 2011

http://tinyurl.com/TACUSPAGrant

TACUSPA Article Competition - Call for Papers 2011

http://tinyurl.com/TACUSPAArticleCompetition

Would you like to gain a better perspective of higher education in Texas AND learn about our exciting organization AT THE SAME TIME? APPLY for a TACUSPA Fellowship! BUILD YOUR RESUME & ENHANCE YOUR HIGHER EDUCATION EXPERIENCE!

TACUSPA Fellowship Application Form 2011

http://www.tinyurl.com/TACUSPAFellowship

*Also, please to check the TACUSPA Blog (http://tacuspa.blogspot.com/), Facebook Fan Page (http://www.facebook.com/TACUSPA), and Twitter Page (http://www.twitter.com/TACUSPA/)!

Sincerely,

Drs. Rishi Sriram & Jacqueline Cooper TACUSPA G.E.A.R. Commission Co-Chairs

Matthew Park

TACUSPA Scholarships and Fellowships Chair

Jennifer T. Edwards

Vice-President for Education and Professional Development

Legislative Update - Current Student Affairs Bills in the State House and Senate (5/25/2011)

2011-05-26T09:41:00.001-07:00

Readers,

Here is an update of the bills related to student affairs in the State Senate and House.

HB 33 - Relating to measures to increase the affordability of textbooks used for courses at public institutions of higher education.

Branch
Zaffirini

Bill History:
11-08-10 H Filed
02-09-11 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Higher Education
03-09-11 H Meeting set for 2:00 p.m. or Adj., E1.014, House Higher Education
03-09-11 H Committee action pending House Higher Education
03-28-11 H Voted favorably from committee as substituted House Higher Education
04-05-11 H Reported from committee as substituted House Higher Education
04-14-11 H Set on the House Calendar
04-14-11 H Laid out for consideration in the House at 3:47pm
04-14-11 H Committee substitute adopted
04-14-11 H Passed to third reading
04-15-11 H Laid out for consideration in the House at 9:21am
04-15-11 H Passed (Vote: Y:138/N: 0)
04-18-11 S Received in the Senate - Not referred
04-26-11 S Referred to Senate Committee on Senate Higher Education
05-20-11 S Meeting set for 7:30 A.M., E1.016, Senate Higher Education
05-20-11 S Voted favorably from committee on Senate Higher Education
05-20-11 S Reported favorably from committee on Senate Higher Education
05-20-11 S Recommended for Local/Uncontested Calendar
05-23-11 S Placed on the Senate Intent Calendar for
05-25-11 S Set on the Local Calendar
05-23-11 S Laid out for consideration in the Senate at 2:44pm
05-23-11 S Passed (Vote: Y: 31/N: 0)

***

HB 86 - Relating to the carrying of concealed handguns on the campuses of institutions of higher education.

Simpson

Bill History:

11-08-10 H Filed
02-09-11 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Homeland Security and Public Safety
03-16-11 H Meeting set for 2:00 P.M. OR ADJ., E1.010, House Homeland Security and Public Safety
03-16-11 H Committee action pending House Homeland Security and Public Safety
05-17-11 H Voted favorably from committee on House Homeland Security and Public Safety

***

HB 381 - Relating to the operation of a student health center of an institution of higher education.

Brown, Fred

Bill History:

12-06-10 H Filed
02-16-11 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Higher Education
05-04-11 H Meeting set for 8:30 a.m., E1.014, House Higher Education
05-04-11 H Committee action pending House Higher Education

***

HB 452 - Relating to temporary housing between academic terms for certain postsecondary students who have been under the conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services.

Lucio III
Lucio

Companions: SB 1705 Lucio (Identical) - 3/23/2011 - Introduced and referred to committee on Senate Higher Education

Bill History:
12-20-10 H Filed

02-17-11 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Human Services
03-08-11 H Meeting set for 2:00 P.M. OR ADJ., E2.030, House Human Services
03-08-11 H Committee action pending House Human Services
03-15-11 H Voted favorably from committee as substituted House Human Services
03-21-11 H Reported from committee as substituted House Human Services
05-12-11 H Set on the House Calendar
05-12-11 H Laid out for consideration in the House at 10:19pm
05-12-11 H Committee substitute adopted
05-12-11 H Passed to third reading
05-13-11 H Passed (Vote: Y:138/N: 0)
05-16-11 S Received in the Senate - Not referred
05-16-11 S Referred to Senate Committee on Senate Higher Education
05-20-11 S Meeting set for 7:30 A.M., E1.016, Senate Higher Education
05-20-11 S Voted favorably from committee on Senate Higher Education
05-20-11 S Reported favorably from committee on Senate Higher Education
05-20-11 S Recommended for Local/Uncontested Calendar
05-25-11 S Set on the Local Calendar
05-25-11 S Placed on the Senate Intent Calendar for
05-25-11 S Passed on local calendar (Vote: Y: 31/N: 0)

***

HB 455 - Relating to exempting books purchased by university and college students from the sales tax for a limited time.

Lucio III

12-20-10 H Filed
02-17-11 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Ways and Means

***

HB 537 - Relating to the sale of instructional materials to students of public institutions of higher education.

Brown, Fred

Bill History:

01-06-11 H Filed
02-17-11 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Higher Education
03-30-11 H Meeting set for 2:00 P.M. or Adj., E1.014, House Higher Education
03-30-11 H Committee action pending House Higher Education
04-29-11 H Voted favorably from committee as amended House Higher Education
05-05-11 H Reported from committee as substituted House Higher Education

***

HB 750 - Relating to the carrying of concealed handguns on certain premises of or locations associated with schools or institutions of higher education.

Driver

Bill History:

01-20-11 H Filed

02-22-11 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Homeland Security and Public Safety
03-16-11 H Meeting set for 2:00 P.M. OR ADJ., E1.010, House Homeland Security and Public Safety
03-16-11 H Voted favorably from committee on House Homeland Security and Public Safety
03-31-11 H Reported favorably from committee on House Homeland Security and Public Safety

***

Lozano

HB 766 - Relating to exempting textbooks for university and college courses from the sales tax.

Bill History:

01-20-11 H Filed
02-22-11 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Higher Education

***

HB 1167 - Relating to the carrying of concealed handguns on certain premises of or locations associated with schools or public junior colleges and public technical institutes.

Taylor, Van

Bill History:

02-07-11 H Filed
03-01-11 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Homeland Security and Public Safety
03-16-11 H Meeting set for 2:00 P.M. OR ADJ., E1.010, House Homeland Security and Public Safety
03-16-11 H Committee action pending House Homeland Security and Public Safety
04-27-11 H Voted favorably from committee on House Homeland Security and Public Safety
05-09-11 H Reported favorably from committee on House Homeland Security and Public Safety

***

HB 1356 - Relating to the carrying of concealed handguns on certain premises of or locations associated with schools or institutions of higher education.

Gooden

Bill History:

02-15-11 H Filed
03-01-11 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Homeland Security and Public Safety
03-16-11 H Meeting set for 2:00 P.M. OR ADJ., E1.010, House Homeland Security and Public Safety
03-16-11 H Committee action pending House Homeland Security and Public Safety
04-27-11 H Voted favorably from committee as substituted House Homeland Security and Public Safety
05-09-11 H Reported from committee as substituted House Homeland Security and Public Safety

***

HB 1557 - Relating to the vaccination against bacterial meningitis of first-time students at public and private or independent institutions of higher education.

Reynolds

Bill History:
02-21-11 H Filed
03-03-11 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Higher Education

***

HB 1672 - Relating to the education of public school students with dyslexia, the education and training of educators who teach those students, and the assessment of students with dyslexia attending an institution of higher education.

Jackson, Jim

Companions: SB 866 Deull (Identical) - 5/21/2011 - Sent to Governor

Bill History:
02-23-11 H Filed
03-03-11 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Public Education

***

HB 1816 - Relating to the vaccination against bacterial meningitis of first-time students at public and private or independent institutions of higher education.

Companions: SB 1107 Davis, Wendy (Identical) - 5/16/2011 - Sent to Governor

Bill History:
02-24-11 H Filed
03-03-11 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Public Health
03-16-11 H Meeting set for 8:00 A.M., E2.012, House Public Health
03-16-11 H Committee action pending House Public Health
03-30-11 H Voted favorably from committee on House Public Health
04-01-11 H Reported favorably from committee on House Public Health
05-03-11 H Set on the House Calendar
05-03-11 H Laid out for consideration in the House at 8:14pm
05-03-11 H Postponed on second reading until 2:00 p.m., Thursday,
May 5, 2011
05-05-11 H Set on the House Calendar
05-05-11 H Laid out for consideration in the House at 5:46pm
05-05-11 H Laid on the table - subject to call - see SB 1107

***

HB 1845 - Relating to counseling in response to alcoholic beverage violations by students at public and private institutions of higher education.

Castro

Bill History:
02-25-11 H Filed
03-03-11 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Higher Education
05-04-11 H Meeting set for 8:30 a.m., E1.014, House Higher Education
05-04-11 H Committee action pending House Higher Education

***

HB 2178 - Relating to the carrying of concealed handguns on the campuses of institutions of higher education.

Driver

Bill History:
03-03-11 H Filed
03-08-11 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Homeland Security and Public Safety
04-21-11 H Subcommittee meeting set for 8:30 A.M., E2.028, House Homeland Security and Public Safety
04-21-11 H Committee action pending House Homeland Security and Public Safety
04-27-11 H Voted favorably from committee as substituted House Homeland Security and Public Safety
05-03-11 H Reported from committee as substituted House Homeland Security and Public Safety

***

HB 2535 - Relating to a requirement that middle, junior high, and high school and higher education students wear reflective clothing or gear while participating in nighttime athletic events or activities.

Castro

Bill History:
03-08-11 H Filed
03-15-11 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Government Efficiency and Reform
03-24-11 H Meeting set for 10:30 A.M. OR ADJ., E1.014, House Government Efficiency and Reform
03-24-11 H Committee action pending House Government Efficiency and Reform

***

HB 2701 - Relating to sexual abuse and child molestation training for volunteers and employees of certain programs for minors held on campuses of institutions of higher education.

Companions - SB 1414 - Duncan (Identical) 5/24/2011 - Sent to Governor

Bill History:
03-09-11 H Filed
03-16-11 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Higher Education
04-20-11 H Meeting set for 2:00 P.M. OR ADJ., E1.014, House Higher Education
04-20-11 H Committee action pending House Higher Education
04-29-11 H Voted favorably from committee as substituted House Higher Education
05-03-11 H Reported from committee as substituted House Higher Education
05-12-11 H Set on the House Calendar

***

HB 2758 - Relating to mandatory emergency alert systems at institutions of higher education.

Pena
Zaffirini

Bill History:
03-09-11 H Filed
03-16-11 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Higher Education
04-13-11 H Meeting set for 2:00 p.m. or adj., E1.014, House Higher Education
04-13-11 H Committee action pending House Higher Education
04-19-11 H Voted favorably from committee as substituted House Higher Education
04-26-11 H Reported from committee as substituted House Higher Education
04-26-11 H Recommended for Local and Consent Calendar
05-03-11 H Set on the Local Calendar
05-03-11 H Laid out for consideration in the House at 11:31am
05-03-11 H Committee substitute adopted
05-03-11 H Passed to third reading on local calendar
05-03-11 H Passed on local calendar (Vote: Y:144/N: 0)
05-04-11 S Received in the Senate - Not referred
05-05-11 S Referred to Senate Committee on Senate Higher Education
05-18-11 S Meeting set for 7:30 A.M., E1.012, Senate Higher Education
05-18-11 S Voted favorably from committee on Senate Higher Education
05-19-11 S Reported favorably from committee on Senate Higher Education
05-19-11 S Recommended for Local/Uncontested Calendar
05-24-11 S Set on the Local Calendar
05-24-11 S Passed on local calendar (Vote: Y: 31/N: 0)

***

HB 3094 - Relating to the establishment of textbook loan programs at public institutions of higher education in this state.

Vo

Bill History:
03-10-11 H Filed
03-18-11 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Higher Education

***

HB 3697 - Relating to the establishment of a Service to Texas requirement for undergraduate students at public institutions of higher education and the establishment of a Service to Texas program.

Gallego

Bill History:
03-11-11 H Filed
03-23-11 H Introduced and referred to committee on House Higher Education

Thank you Tom Reber (Texas A&M)!

Sincerely,

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

Legislative Updates - Texas Concealed Carry on College and University Campuses

2011-05-20T15:17:00.001-07:00

Readers,

Several bills in the Texas Legislature directly affect higher education institutions. We will post updates directly from the Senate and House websites, legislative updates compiled from college and university email newsletters, and articles from several major newspapers in Texas to keep you informed.

Here are several recent articles related to the Texas concealed carry on college and university campuses:

Guns-on-campus bill appears dead in Austin, lawmaker says
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7573729.html#ixzz1Mvx6TT1z

Under the Dome: Briefs from the Texas Legislature
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/texas-legislature/headlines/20110519-under-the-dome-briefs-from-the-texas-legislature.ece

Campus Carry Bill May Have Been Stopped for Good
http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/05/19/3089487/campus-carry-bill-may-have-been.html

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

ASCA Washington Update (May 13th)

2011-05-18T09:44:00.000-07:00

TACUSPA Readers - Here is a Washington update from the Association for Student Conduct Administration and we feel the information is important for the TACUSPA Membership.

Thanks ASCA! - TACUSPA Blog Team

Washington Update

May 13

As Congress moves into its spring work period, there are still many budget issues on the table for difficult votes slowing down progress of stand-alone bills and other issues being considered for discussion. Congress, with all the drama of a possible shutdown, voted on and passed a budget for the remainder of FY11 several weeks ago. In the budget, of interest to higher education, the Pell Grant will remain at the current funding levels but the summer Pell program will be eliminated. The battles ahead, according to staff and pundits alike, could be more difficult as the debate and looming votes on the FY12 budget. To complicate the vote on the budget, the increasing debt will require a vote on the increase of the debt ceiling no later than August 2^ndwhen the Treasury can no longer hold the current status of the US bond market. The fiscal hawks of Congress are tying the passage of the FY12 budget to the debt ceiling vote stating that an increase in the debt ceiling will require major cuts in the FY12 budget.

As you recall in February, the President proposed his budget for FY12 and in March, the House Republican Budget Chair released his proposed budget – as you can imagine the numbers were very different. The current activity in Congress revolves around appropriation committee hearings as budget cuts are debated. The House leadership released budget targets on Thursday which will require the appropriations subcommittee that allocates funds for education, health and labor programs to cut more than $18 billion from the 2011 levels for those programs. The targets -- known in Washington budget parlance as 302(b) allocations -- tell the various spending subcommittees how much money they have to work with to divvy up among the various programs under their jurisdiction. The allocation to the panel that provides funds to the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Departments would receive $139.2 billion, $18.2 billion less than the programs are receiving in 2011 and $41.6 billion less than President Obama proposed in February. An allocation of this sort would force lawmakers to choose among many programs that matter to colleges and universities -- student aid and institutional support from the Education Department, biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health, job training programs at the Labor Department -- all of which fall under the same subcommittee.

The Pell Grant is under close scrutiny as the most popular and widely used program for students with financial need. In the coming months, Congress will be evaluating Pell and its sustainability in the current format. This program could see a complete overhaul in the coming years to meet cost containment strategies. Congressman Rehberg (R-MT), Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Health, Education and Labor emphasized his support for the program at a recent hearing but did note challenges with the program. “As the result of a wide array of interrelated factors – increased enrollment, expanded eligibility for recipients and broader availability of grants - Pell Grant expenses have tripled in the last five years, from $12.8 billion in award year 2006-07 to $36.7 billion this year. The Office of Management and Budget estimates that, unless Congress acts, the cost next year will be $43.9 billion.”

If you and your organization have suggested guidance that could be submitted to Congress on its structure and how it could be maintained to benefit the maximum number of students, please be in touch with your association representative for The Consortium.

Campus SaVE Act

Sen. Casey (D-PA) has introduced the Campus SaVE Act in the 112^th Congress. As you may recall, it was introduced in the lame duck session in the 111^th Congress and the bill had to be reintroduced in both the House and the Senate to be considered. The Consortium provided excellent feedback to Senator Casey’s staff and the final copy of the bill as introduced in the Senate is attached. Senator Murray (D-WA) has now signed on as a co-sponsor of the bill in the Senate. Senator Casey is working with the former House co-sponsors to have a member to introduce the same bill. The sponsoring member on the House during the last session lost his re-election bid in November.

In discussions with staff regarding the bill on its direction, it currently is being managed as a stand-alone bill and not being pushed for consolidation into the VAWA Reauthorization. However, it could be easily rolled into that Reauthorization process once it begins later this year.

Please see bill language attached. Campus SaVE Act

Gainful Employment Regulations sent to the White House

The regulations that should be released soon for gainful employment should be released in the next several weeks. The final version has been sent by The Department of Education to the White House for review before it is released.

The Department of Education has led a very long and contentious negotiated rule making session on gainful employment. In broad terms, the Department of Education’s goal is to determine which programs really are preparing students for gainful employment and not sinking graduates into chasms of debt.

An excerpt from an article in Inside Higher Education noted….As for the rules on gainful employment, ‘when applied to the existing landscape of vocational programs, the department's approach would seem to favor programs at public institutions over private ones (either for-profit or nonprofit), those that required fewer credits earned over more credits, and those in higher-paid fields like nursing and information technology over lower-paid careers in the arts.

Because the rules would apply only to certificate programs at community colleges, state universities and private, nonprofit institutions, they’re less likely to force any real change at nonprofits. Tuition on these programs at public institutions is so low that it’s relatively rare for students to take out loans. If they do, they’re likely to be small. Even at private nonprofits, where tuition is likely to be of a similar magnitude as at for-profit colleges, the fact that the rules apply only to non-degree programs will keep many programs out of regulatory reach.

Shireman and other department officials have insisted in many instances that the department is not "out to get" for-profit colleges and that it is not the department’s intention to regulate the sector out of existence. “We have made it quite clear that we are interested in improvement and outcomes all across the spectrum, all across the sectors,” he says.

New Round of Negotiated Rulemaking

The Department of Education has announced a new round of negotiated rulemaking. The Department of Education will be conducting roundtable discussions to inform its policy in the areas of teacher preparation and college completion. On the day following each public hearing, the Department intends to conduct three roundtable discussions at the same location as the public hearing, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. local time. They will be announced on the Department’s Web site at: http://www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/2011/roundtable.html

The Department intends to use these roundtable discussions to inform of postsecondary education policies in three key areas – teacher preparation and college completion, and First in the World. Each of the four roundtable discussions will focus on three topics. The one topic will be the design and implementation plans for teacher preparation programs, including: (1) the proposed Presidential Teaching Fellows program along with funding for the already authorized Honorable Augustus F. Hawkins Centers for Excellence program (subpart 2, title II of the HEA); (2) ways in which the Department can streamline institutional reporting requirements; and (3) potential regulations regarding State identification of low-performing teacher preparation programs pursuant to sections 205 and 207 of the HEA.

A second topic will be the College Completion, with a focus on obtaining analysis, evaluations, and recommendations concerning State-level reform efforts that show the most promise for increasing college completion. Also discussed will be the College Completion Incentive Grants program, proposed in the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2012 budget; that would encourage States to make systemic reforms in their higher education systems to increase the number of students who complete a postsecondary degree or certificate program and would reward institutions that are successful in increasing their completion rates.

The third topic will be possible priorities and structure for a Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) “First in the World” competition proposed in the President’s FY 2012 budget. The purpose of this discussion is to obtain analyses and recommendations concerning institutional reform efforts that show the most promise for increasing college completion, expanding institutional capacity, and improving quality of outcomes. These analyses and recommendations will be used to inform the development of competitive preference and invitational priorities and the structure of the FIPSE “First in the World” competition.

Individuals desiring to participate in the roundtable discussions must register by sending an email to HigherEducationRoundtable.2011@ed.gov. The email should include the name of the participant, affiliation, and identify which policy roundtable discussion she or he would like to participate in, and at which location. The Department will attempt to accommodate each participant’s preference but, if unable to do so, the determination will be based on the time and date the email was received. The Department will notify registrants by email of the specific location and roundtable he or she was selected to participate in. An individual may only participate in one roundtable discussion per location.

DREAM Act Update

President Obama was in Texas on Wednesday and announced new plans to overhaul the country’s immigration programs. As a follow up to that, the House and Senate introduced bills which would grant legal status to undocumented immigrants brought to the USA illegally if they attend college or serve in the military, and meet other conditions.

Durbin, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey and 30 other Democrats have signed onto the Senate bill, S 952.

In the House, the DREAM Act, HR 1842, was introduced by Democratic Reps. Howard Berman of California and Luis Guitierrez of Illinois, along with Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla. The full text of both bills has not been released yet to the GPO.

Under the measure introduced Wednesday, people can obtain legal status if:

They came to the United States when they were 15 or younger and have had a continuous presence in the states for at least five years.
They have good moral character
They graduated from high school or obtained a GED.
They completed two years of college or military service in good standing.

Last December the House passed a broader version of this bill but it was blocked in the Senate during the lame duck session. Please see press release attached for more details. Dream Act Press Release

FERPA Update

The Department of Education released several weeks ago proposed changes to FERPA guidelines. The press release from the department is listed below and the language is attached. The deadline for comments to the Department of Education is May 23^rd.

AACRAO released this statement, ‘The proposed FERPA regulations would "strengthen" enforcement provisions to ensure that every entity working with personally identifiable information from student education records is using it for authorized purposes only. While this change represents a step in the right direction, it does not extend to individuals such basic rights as awareness and notice, consent, access and correction/emendation of personally identifiable information in possession of third parties in the manner that they currently enjoy those rights when those same records are maintained by institutions. The change gives some covering to the proposed change permitting these entities to designate any outside party as an "authorized representative" of the educational authority, thus allowing the release of student education records to those "authorized representatives." In addition to the new privacy guidelines, the department announced the appointment of a new chief privacy officer, Kathleen Styles, a former official with the U.S. Census Bureau. It also issued briefs on best practices for data security and privacy protections and established the Privacy Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) within the National Center for Education Statistics. The center is intended to serve as a one-stop resource on privacy, confidentiality, and data security.

http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/safeguarding-student-privacy.pdf

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

Legislative Updates - Texas Senate OKs Concealed Handguns on College Campuses

2011-05-10T06:03:00.000-07:00

Readers,

Several bills in the Texas House and the Texas Senate directly affect higher education institutions. We will post updates directly from the Senate and House websites, legislative updates compiled from college and university email newsletters, and articles from several major newspapers in Texas to keep you informed.

Here are several articles related to the Texas Concealed Carry on college and university campuses:

Texas Senate News - CONCEALED CARRY ON CAMPUS PASSES SENATE

Houston Chronicle - Senate OKs Bill for Guns on Campus

Star Telegram - State Senate OKs Concealed Handguns on Camus as Amendment

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

2011-03-25T13:26:00.000-07:00

Hello, fellow Texans!
It's me, Cynthia from Texas State here to post a few quick lines about student affairs and academic affairs collaboration ideas.
Ideas pertaining to collaborative efforts between student affairs and academic affairs are broad and diverse. Campus-wide programming or events, hall programming, service learning opportunities, etc. can all be opportunities for student affairs professionals and faculty to collaborate to impact student learning. Inviting academic affairs personnel to impart their knowledge in any way is collaboration. However, I think that as we encourage collaboration between academic affairs, we can also contribute to student learning by asking questions that force students to explore topics deeper and look at relationships among other ideas. Thus, incorporating Depth and Complexity into programming efforts gives us a way to impact student learning and foster critical thinking skills, empathy and overall knowledge about a subject.
Depth and Complexity is a concept from Sandra Kaplan and is used in curriculum and instruction, especially in GT courses. However, the questions and the categories are helpful in giving student affairs professionals ideas in questions to ask when facilitating discussions after programming. Many times I've been to programs where that were really creative and well put together, but did not facilitate group discussion to get students really thinking abou the topic and how it will impact their lives. If we are going to be intentional in what we want our students to take from our services and programs, we must start by asking the some thought-provoking questions.

http://corp.lvusd.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=148&Itemid

http://sped.lausd.net/sepg2s/pd/schwideintegration/diffinstruction/toolboxes/toolboxmod3.pdf

Strong and Steady Wins the Retention Race

2011-03-15T11:49:00.000-07:00

Readers,

March's Topic in the Graduate Student Blogs is Student Affairs and Development. In this article the new Director of Retention at Cal Lutheran University works to build “holistic” strategy to continue to increase their freshmen retention.

Enjoy!
Ashley Bruner
Graduate Student Social Media/Current Issues Co-Chair

2011-03-09T08:37:00.000-08:00

Readers,

Recently, Dr. Francisco G. Cigarroa, the Chancellor of the University of Texas System, wrote a letter to Governor Rick Perry about the issue of concealed handguns on the campuses of institutions of higher education.

Read the letter here - LINK

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

UNT Law Conference - GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE (DEADLINE - This FRIDAY - March 11th)

2011-03-07T12:07:00.000-08:00

TACUSPA Members,
 TACUSPA is sponsoring four graduate student scholarships to attend the Texas Higher Education Law Conference on March 28 & 29, 2011. Please consider submitting an application by completing the form below. The EXTENDED scholarship deadline is FRIDAY - March 11th. 

TACUSPA SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION - http://tinyurl.com/higheredlawconference

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE CONFERENCE: http://www.unt.edu/administration/conference2011.htm 

The Texas Association of College and University Student Personnel Administrators (TACUSPA) will be awarding four (4) scholarships to graduate students attending the Conference. Each scholarship will cover conference registration fees. Transportation and lodging are the responsibility of the recipient.

Eligibility and Criteria for Selection: 
- Must be a student member of TACUSPA ($20 annual dues) 
- Must be a full-time graduate student pursuing a career in student affairs, counseling, higher education or related field 
- Expected career benefits to the recipient 
- Quality of plans to apply conference experience to professional preparation -All applicants must be endorsed by a graduate faculty member at the institution where the student is enrolled or by a professional member of TACUSPA (signature required on application) 
Note: Scholarship recipients will be asked to volunteer up to one hour of their time at the conference (if needed).
 Recipients will be contacted prior to the conference as to when that time will be utilized. Recipients also are expected to notify Matthew Park four days in advance if they are unable to attend. Recipients are required to prepay the conference registration fee. If selected, the recipients will receive a reimbursement at the end of the conference. 

If you have any questions, please contact: 
Matthew Park
TACUSPA Scholarships and Fellowships 
Chair (940) 397-4500 matthew.park@mwsu.edu

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

Texas Council of Student Services Vice-Presidents - Letter to Legislators about Guns on Campus

2011-03-04T07:26:00.000-08:00

Readers,

Recently, the Texas Council of Student Services Vice-Presidents sent a letter to Texas legislators explaining the different scenarios raising concerns about guns on campus.

To read the letter, click here - "Council Explains Different Scenarios Raising Concerns about Guns on Campus".

Sincerely,

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

82(R) HB 750 - Introduced version - Bill Text

2011-03-03T06:49:00.000-08:00

Readers,

Here is the introduced version of the senate bill focused on higher education institutions in Texas and handguns.

82(R) HB 750 - Introduced version - Bill Text

Author: Driver

Caption: Relating to the carrying of concealed handguns on certain premises of or locations associated with schools or institutions of higher education.

Excerpt: CARRYING OF HANDGUNS BY CERTAIN LICENSE HOLDERS ON CAMPUSES. (a) For purposes of this section: (1) "Institution of higher education" and "private or independent institution of higher education" have the meanings assigned by Section 61.003, Education Code. (c) In this section: (1) "Institution of higher education" and "private or independent institution of higher education" have the meanings assigned by Section 61.003, Education Code.

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

FREE Webinar, "The Vulerability Assessment Process" will be presented by Dr. Arthur Cummins on February 28th at 11:00 a.m. (CST).

2011-02-21T08:33:00.000-08:00

Readers,

This is a GREAT opportunity (sponsored by the American Clearinghouse on Educational Facilities) for those of you who are focused on educational facilities (K-12 and higher education).

This FREE Webinar, "The Vulerability Assessment Process" will be presented by Dr. Arthur Cummins on February 28th at 11:00 a.m. (CST).

Here's some information about the webinar:

Dr. Cummins is currently serving youth as Director of Safe and Healthy Schools within the Orange County Department of Education. He oversees programming such as Health & Wellness, Sports & Physical Education, Food & Nutrition, Drug & Alcohol prevention, and Mental Health services. He has served as a classroom teacher and school site administrator in both middle and high school in the states of Oklahoma, Texas, and California.

Dr. Cummins also serves as the Southern California Lead for the School & Law Enforcement Partnership, which facilitates collaborative relationships between law enforcement agencies and school district personnel. He serves on the Executive Board for the California School Resource Officers Association as well. Dr. Cummins sites on the Board for the Orange County Drug & Alcohol Advisory Committee as serves as Co-Chair for the California Child Abduction TASK Force. Finally, Dr. Cummins serves on the Board for the Joyful Child Foundation providing prevention and intervention resources for missing and abducted children.

In addition to holding multiple certifications in emergency management, Dr. Cummins is also an approved trainer for the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation which provides psychological recovery services to public and private school populations.

Register for the Webinar Today! - LINK

Enjoy!

Dr. J. Edwards

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

Shelving Hunger

2011-02-14T12:26:00.000-08:00

Readers,

Feburary's Topic in Graduate Blogs is Programing Ideas. As I was looking through articles this is not exactly what i was looking for, but with the crazy weather we have been having in Texas and some students not able to be very mobile, this caught my eye. This Article from Inside Higher Ed reports of universities such as Iowa State University and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville opening campus food pantries to help out students who can not afford meals and also can not commute to local food banks.

Stay warm & enjoy!

Ashley Bruner

Graduate Student Social Media/Current Issues Co-Chair

Programming Ideas

2011-02-14T09:03:00.000-08:00

Cynthia Sullivan-TACUSPA Social Media Specialist

Programming is a vital part of student affairs because it actively engages our students and brings topics to life. Well, if you're looking for some ideas on how to get your students involved, consider some of these options:

101 Ideas for Combining Service and Learning

http://www2.fiu.edu/~time4chg/Library/ideas.html

Professors of different disciplines have listed brief descriptions of assignments they used to combine learning and service. This is a great place to start generating ideas.

The Student Affairs Blog: Event Ideas

http://www.thesablog.org/event_ideas/

This is right up our alley!! Visit this site and see what other student affairs professionals have been doing to engage their students. I promise, there are some good ideas here. :)

Residential Education at Texas State University...Go Bobcats!!!

http://www.reslife.txstate.edu/resed/Programming/Advertising.html

Finally, even the perfect event can flop if no one attends, so be sure to advertise your event well. Check out these ideas about creative advertising tips to catch students' attention.

Texas Higher Education Law Conference - Scholarships (DEADLINE - MARCH 1st)

2011-02-11T12:26:00.000-08:00

TACUSPA Members,  

TACUSPA is sponsoring four graduate student scholarships to attend the Texas Higher Education Law Conference. Please consider submitting an application by completing the form below. The scholarship deadline is Tuesday, March 1st.

Here is the link to the scholarship application - http://tinyurl.com/higheredlawconference

The Texas Association of College and University Student Personnel Administrators (TACUSPA) will be awarding four (4) scholarships to graduate students attending the Conference. Each scholarship will cover conference registration fees. Transportation and lodging are the responsibility of the recipient.  

Eligibility and Criteria for Selection:
-  Must be a student member of TACUSPA ($20 annual dues) 
-  Must be a full-time graduate student pursuing a career in student affairs, counseling, higher education or related field 
-  Expected career benefits to the recipient 
-  Quality of plans to apply conference experience to professional preparation 
-  All applicants must be endorsed by a graduate faculty member at the institution where the student is enrolled or by a professional member of TACUSPA (signature required on application)  

Note: Scholarship recipients will be asked to volunteer up to one hour of their time at the conference (if needed). Recipients will be contacted prior to the conference as to when that time will be utilized. Recipients also are expected to notify  Matthew Park four days in advance if they are unable to attend. Recipients are required to prepay the conference registration fee. If selected, the recipients will receive a reimbursement at the end of the conference.  

If you have any questions, please contact: Matthew Park TACUSPA Scholarships and Fellowships Chair (940) 397-4500 matthew.park@mwsu.edu  

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE CONFERENCE:  The 15th Annual Texas Higher Education Law Conference is scheduled for March 28 & 29, 2011, on the UNT campus. Partial information on the conference, including registration, is available at http://www.unt.edu/administration/conference2011.htm

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

TACUSPA Board - Open Positions (Call for Nominations)

2011-01-25T19:05:00.000-08:00

TACUSPA is seeking nominations of professionals to serve in the following volunteer leadership positions:

President Elect

Vice President of Administration

Director of Technology

To see a listing of duties associated with each position go to (page 8) http://www.tacuspa.net/File%20Attachments/TACUSPA%20Operations%20Manual-2010.pdf . Those elected will take office in October 2011. Self-nominations will be accepted.

To nominate someone for a position, please email Amanda Drum at amanda.drum@tamucc.edu no later than February 11, 2011.

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

The House's New Higher Ed Leader

2011-01-18T17:59:00.000-08:00

Readers,

The topic for this month’s Graduate Blog is Interviews with Student Affairs Professionals. I have found this interview with Virginia Foxx whom has been asked to chair the subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness for the House Education and Labor Committee. Foxx is one of the few members of Congress to have worked in higher education and shares her thoughts with Doug Lederman in an Inside Higher Ed interview.

Enjoy!
Ashley Bruner
Graduate Student Social Media/Current Issues Co-Chair

"Additional Information about the 2011 Texas Reach Convening" - Guest Blogger: Dr. Keri Rogers (SHSU)

2011-01-06T09:52:00.000-08:00

Readers,

We are very pleased to have Dr. Keri Rogers (Sam Houston State University) as GUEST BLOGGER this week.

Her post is a follow-up post to last week's entry titled, "2011 Foster Care Convening: Helping Foster Youth Reach their Dream of a College Education (June 2-3, 2011)".

Each year in the state of Texas, almost 10% of the children or approximately 1,200 youth will be raised by the foster care system rather than a family. 60-70% of these young people will not graduate from high school. 90% will not even attempt college. And only 3% who attempt college will go on to graduate.

The inaugural Texas Reach Convening was held on May 26‐27, 2010 at Texas State University‐San Marcos. Over 150 people from community colleges, technical/vocational colleges, four‐year universities, Child Protective Services, after care service providers, community partners, and foster care alumni from across Texas attended the event. The goal for the convening was to improve the lives of former foster youth by ensuring their access to and success in higher education through sharing best practices to bring student success initiatives to foster youth, by strengthening higher education and child welfare partnerships, and by increasing access to resources for youth aging out of foster care. Attendees heard not only from their colleagues, but also from legislative representatives and alumni of care. Just as important, participants met others in their region and began discussions for improving existing services or creating new ones. The 2010 program can be found at www.texasreach.info.

The 2011 Texas Reach Convening will be held on June 2-3 at Sam Houston State University. Participants can expect the same great information and networking that was gained at the 2010 convening. As the convening schedule develops, it will be posted on the convening website, www.texasreach.org. If you’d like to be put on the email list to receive updates about the upcoming convening, please email Keri Rogers at krogers@shsu.edu.

2011 Foster Care Convening: Helping Foster Youth Reach their Dream of a College Education (June 2-3, 2011)

2010-12-27T16:06:00.000-08:00

Readers,

If you are interested in effective in student success initiatives for former foster youth, this conference is for you! The Texas Reach conference is focused on initiatives from numerous colleges/universities and foster care advocates who seek to eliminate barriers to success for foster youth. This year's conference will feature the latest updates on local, state, and federal supports for former foster youth in education.

For more information and/or to be added to the contact list for this conference, please e-mail Dr. Keri Rogers at krogers@shsu.edu.

Here is a link to the materials from last year's conference in San Marcos - http://texasreach.info/resources.html.

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

Register for the Prepárate Conference - March 10th & 11th

2010-12-22T17:06:00.000-08:00

Readers,

Prepárate™ brings together professionals from higher education, secondary schools, middle schools and community-based organizations, with the common goal of increasing Latino student access to and success in college. The conference will be held March 10–11, 2011 at the Hyatt Regency San Antonio in San Antonio, Texas.

Please follow the link below to view the flyer for more information.
http://www.naspa.org/regions/regioniii/Preparate%202011%20Flyer%20(1).pdf

You may contact Dr. Alderman for any additional information.

Here's the link to the conference - Prepárate Conference - Schedule & Session Information

Rosalind V. Alderman, Ph.D.

Assistant Vice President for Retention Management

St. Mary's University

One Camino Santa Maria

San Antonio, TX 78228

210 436-3995 office

210 431-8038 direct

210 431-8020 fax

ralderman@stmarytx.edu

www.stmarytx.edu/retention

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

The Baylor Graduate Research, Advancement, and Development Conference - January 27-28, 2011

2010-12-20T13:19:00.000-08:00

Readers,

ATTEND and/or PRESENT at the Baylor Graduate Research, Advancement, and Development Conference on January 27-28, 2011. This conference is sponsored by TACUSPA.

What is the GRAD Conference?

- A two-day professional development opportunity for students, program directors, and faculty members from Higher Education and Student Affairs graduate programs across the state of Texas. We invite you to participate in this exciting opportunity to network, present research, and discuss relevant issues to your campus and your future in higher education.

Cost

The registration for this conference is ONLY $20.00 and the registration deadline is Friday, January 21, 2011.

Call for Papers/Call for Programs

- Program proposals will be accepted through Friday, January 14, 2011 and will be included in registration materials and on the Baylor HESA website. In addition, any student presenting at a national conference in the spring will have an opportunity to present their program at the GRAD conference AUTOMATICALLY.

Are you interested?

- Please contact buhesa@gmail.com or click this link - http://www.baylor.edu/soe/studentaffairs. You can also join the GRAD conversation on Twitter @baylorhesa and #gradconf.

Click here for the conference flyer - http://tinyurl.com/BaylorGRADConference

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.
Vice-President for Education and Professional Development

When Student Behavior Becomes a Media Crisis: Mitigation and Recovery

2010-12-15T13:21:00.000-08:00

Readers,

A fellow Graduate Student, Cynthia Sullivan, and I will be updating the blog on the first and fifteenth of each month with Higher Education articles that we find interesting and will relate to a chosen topic for the upcoming months. The December topic is Student Conduct.

This article published by Academic Impressions depicts the trials and tribulations Duke University has been facing the past years with student conduct and its effect on the University.

Enjoy!

Ashley Bruner
Graduate Student Social Media/Current Issues Co-Chair

Career-Services Department Jumps on App Bandwagon - Wired Campus - The Chronicle of Higher Education

2010-12-13T15:38:00.000-08:00

Readers,

TCU's Career Services office created a Career App (https://careers.tcu.edu/resources/careerapp.aspx) that focused on Business Etiquette, Creating Your Personal Pitch, Dining Etiquette, Interview Preparation, Interview Questions, and After the Interview.

What are great resource for our students! Do you have any apps for your student services dept?

Check this app out!

Let us know what you think!

Career-Services Department Jumps on App Bandwagon - Wired Campus - The Chronicle of Higher Education

Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards

VP for Education and Professional Development

American Council on Education Report - "Recent Graduates Say Degrees Are Worth Time, Money Spent"

2010-12-13T13:07:00.000-08:00

Readers,

Today, the American Council on Education released a reported, "Recent Graduates Say Degrees Are Worth Time, Money Spent".

This article featured the following figure:

Prepare for employment	28%
Prepare to be responsible citizens	11%
Teach to learn and think critically	31%
Conduct research that benefits community	1%
Serve the community	2%
Prepare to solve problems facing our country	17%
Produce innovations that fuel economic development	6%

This report focuses on the curricular and extra curricular benefits of higher education.

Here's the link to the article - Nearly 90% of Young Alumni Say Going to College Was Worth It, Survey Finds - Government - The Chronicle of Higher Education

Enjoy!

Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards

VP for Education and Professional Development

"Shout, Shout - Let It All Out: Telling the STUDENT AFFAIRS Story" - A Neat Symposium with GREAT Resources

2010-11-04T14:18:00.000-07:00

Readers,

A few weeks ago, the University of Arizona hosted their fourth annual Student Affairs Symposium titled, "Shout, Shout - Let It All Out: Telling the STUDENT AFFAIRS Story". This symposium featured the following presentations - click the links below to see the presentations!

Enjoy!

Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D. - Vice President of Education and Professional Development

NAGAP Announces Research Grant ~ Deadline for Submission December 15

2010-10-28T03:31:00.000-07:00

The National Association of Graduate Admissions Professionals is the only professional organization devoted exclusively to the concerns of individuals working in the graduate admissions and recruitment environment. The NAGAP Graduate Student Enrollment Management Research Grant is designed to encourage emerging knowledge and understanding of the complexities of graduate enrollment management including all aspects of admissions and recruitment, enrollment, retention, and graduation in higher education. The grant is open to all graduate students who desire to conduct research in the wide range of graduate enrollment management activities and programs including any aspect of recruiting, enrolling, retaining and graduating professional, masters, and doctoral level degree students.

This award includes:

* $2,500, payable directly to the individual researcher. NAGAP will not pay institutional overhead or indirect costs.
* One year of NAGAP membership with full privileges.
* Travel to and registration for the NAGAP national conference during the year of the award.
* Recognition at the NAGAP national conference.

The deadline for submissions is December 15. Please visit our website for more information and guidelines http://www.nagap.org/research/. Please contact Kristen Sterba (kmsterba@uams.edu) with any questions.

TACUSPA Conference - Evaluation Link and Presentations!

2010-10-22T11:43:00.000-07:00

TACUSPA Members,

Thank you for attending this year's conference! Please remember to take the conference evaluation and access the conference presentations!

CONFERENCE EVALUATIONS - Please help us make this conference better next year by filling out this short questionnaire by November 3rd. Please click on this link to complete evaluation http://studentvoice.com/uta/TACUSPAconferenceevaluation

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS - The conference presentations have been loaded to the conference website and be viewed at http://blog.uta.edu/tacuspa/.

Have a great fall semester and we will see you next year in Austin, October 16-18, 2011.

Lisa Nagy

Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards and Dr. Sandi Osters - Graduate Education and Research Co-Chairs

TACUSPA Conference - Google Documents Presentation

2010-10-22T11:35:00.001-07:00

Readers,

As promised, here is the Google Applications presentation from the 2010 TACUSPA Conference. Please let me know if you have ANY questions! :)

Thanks for coming to the session!

Dr. Jennifer Edwards

Office of the Governor Rick Perry - Press Releases - Gov. Perry Promotes Higher Education Opportunities at GenTX.org Launch

2010-10-21T08:28:00.000-07:00

Office of the Governor Rick Perry - Press Releases - Gov. Perry Promotes Higher Education Opportunities at GenTX.org Launch

Gov. Rick Perry today touted Texas' efforts to ensure young Texans graduate either college- or career-ready, and have access to the resources they need to pursue higher education opportunities. The governor spoke at the launch of Generation TX's new website, http://www.GenTX.org, which provides students with online tools and resources to pursue higher education in Texas.

"All over Texas, students are stepping up, finding their voices and fueling the movement called Generation TX, which will help them compete for a job in the workplace of the future," Gov. Perry said. "Education provides all Texans a shot at a better life, and Generation TX is playing an essential role in helping young Texans achieve success by inspiring and informing students as they pursue educational opportunities after high school."

Generation TX, a project of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, works to create a college-going culture in Texas public schools that prepares all students for a post-secondary education; guides students through the processes of applying for admission and student financial aid; and supports Texas' college and career readiness standards.

Ensuring that Texas remains a leader in job creation depends on the continued development of our workforce. Gov. Perry has previously outlined several education initiatives for the 2011 legislative session, including:

· A $160 million expansion of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) program, increasing the number and scope of T-STEM Academies and funding STEM scholarships to help ensure students receive a competitive education in these subjects.

· Expansion of the Virtual School Network (VSN) to create the Texas Virtual High School that will provide students who have dropped out of school an opportunity to earn a high school diploma through virtual courses, while improving access to high-quality courses for all students. The VSN was created during the 2007 Legislative Session to establish a statewide network of online courses available to students across the state. These virtual courses give students access to classes their schools may not offer, additional access to dual credit opportunities, and additional flexibility to help keep students in school.

· Generation Adelante/Generación Forward, which encourages Texas high school graduates to pursue higher education by providing them with information about college applications, financial aid and college visits. These college fairs also give students the opportunity to speak with representatives from more than 30 colleges, universities and technical colleges from across the state.

· Requiring high school students to be enrolled in school or working toward a GED to be eligible to keep a Texas driver license.

· Providing a tax incentive to employers who grant their employees two hours a week of paid time off to return to school or study for their GED. Once the employees have received their diploma or GED, the employer is eligible to receive $1,500 per student in credit toward sales tax liability.

· Texas Education on iTunes U, which offers a modern approach to keeping teachers and students engaged and informed by providing free, supplementary educational content that can be accessed anywhere.

Additionally, because a college education is so important, the governor worked with lawmakers last session to secure $22.6 billion for higher education for the current biennium, including $1.1 billion in state financial aid. To help further keep the cost of attending college low, Gov. Perry signed an executive order in September 2009 calling for a comprehensive review of higher education cost efficiencies.

To improve the quality of higher education in the state, Gov. Perry signed House Bill 51 and voters passed Proposition 4, which will create more tier one universities in the state, giving Texas students the opportunity to study in the most premier research facilities available. HB 51 also provides a performance incentive funding mechanism for all of the state's general academic institutions based on the average number of degrees awarded annually and an increase in the average number of degrees awarded annually, with weighted consideration for at-risk students and critical fields.

For more information about Generation TX, please visit http://www.generationtx.org/

For more information about Gov. Perry's education initiatives, please visit http://governor.state.tx.us/initiatives/education/

TACUSPA - Graduate Education and Research Commission