Legislative Session: 75(R)

HOUSE BILL 588

HOUSE AUTHOR: Rangel et al.

EFFECTIVE: 9-1-97

SENATE SPONSOR: Barrientos et al.

            House Bill 588 amends the Education Code to provide for uniform admission and reporting procedures for the state's public colleges and universities. The act requires each public college and university to: (1) admit automatically any student who has graduated in either of the two preceding academic years with a grade-point average in the top 10 percent of the student's graduating class and who applies before the institution's applicable filing deadline; (2) determine whether to extend its automatic admission policy to students who graduate from high school in the top 25 percent of their class and who apply for college admission as first-time freshman students; and (3) after admitting all automatic qualifiers, to admit other applicants upon consideration of academic, socioeconomic, and other enumerated factors. House Bill 588 also requires each institution to report annually to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board on the demographic composition of each entering class admitted under the provisions of this act.

            The act also requires institutions that offer graduate, postgraduate, or professional programs, or that offer scholarships and fellowship awards, to adopt and make available to the public written policies applicable to admission to these programs or the granting of such awards.