The Future of Higher Education in Texas In March 2014, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board appointed a Higher Education Strategic Planning Committee charged with developing recommendations for the state’s next long-term strategic plan for higher education. I have been privileged to co-chair the Strategic Planning Committee, along with my colleague Mr. Woody Hunt. Now, we are looking forward to the next 15 years as we design a plan that establishes a globally competitive workforce in Texas by 2030. The success of achieving the goals of the plan is going to rest heavily on collaboration among higher education, public education and the workforce. Higher Education Strategic Planning Committee Preliminary Recommendations June 1, 2015

Since its inception, the committee has received expert testimony from individuals from across the state, the U.S., and from around the world. The final plan will be presented to the Coordinating Board on July 23rd for adoption. We are seeking input from stakeholders through meetings such as this one today, webinars, and an online portal.

A New Texas Higher Education Strategic Plan The new draft plan – 60x30TX– is firmly founded on the critical need that Texas produces an educated workforce that is able to adapt to change and compete at the highest levels, nationally and internationally. The world’s most competitive workforces have younger populations with more education compared to the U.S., and compared to Texas. 60x30TX emphasizes all forms of post high school education, from certificates to associate and bachelor’s degrees, to graduate and professional education. The plan also highlights the overarching goal that 60 percent of “Generation Texas” will have a postsecondary credential or degree by 2030. (Paul Turcotte notes a potential concern/question that may need to be addressed: While doctoral degrees are included in the 60x30 goal, they are not emphasized as they are excluded from the completion goal.)

60x30TX Builds on Achievements of CTG 2030-2045 Plan 60x30TX will build on the success of Closing the Gaps. We don’t expect work that began with Closing the Gaps to end. We expect those accomplishments will continue, and that 60x30TX is the beginning of a new series of accomplishments. We anticipate this pattern of building on successes will be true well into the future.

The 2015-2030 draft plan proposes four student-centered goals The Strategic Planning Committee has developed four student-centered goals. The first deals with educational attainment, which is a fraction of the Texas population actually holding a degree or certificate. The second goal deals with degree and certificate completion at Texas colleges and universities. The third goal highlights the need for graduates to know the marketable skills they have acquired through their degree program. The fourth goal recognizes the need to hold down student debt. (PT concern: The term address was specifically used to avoid implying a restricted revenue source)

60x30 By 2030, at least 60 percent of Texans ages 25-34 will have a postsecondary credential or degree. Summary of Targets Incrementally increase overall postsecondary attainment. Strategy Respond to the needs of the changing population of Texas so students are supported to and through higher education. The first and overarching goal is – By 2030, at least 60 percent of Texans ages 25-34 will have a postsecondary credential or degree. This is a big percentage to shoot for, because right now only about 38 percent of Texans in this age group have any kind of *postsecondary* degree or certificate. The best-educated societies in the world have already reached 60 percent – or close to it – in this age group. This includes our northern neighbor and international competitor Canada. We need to move the level of attainment up dramatically among young Texans. The new plan calls for *ambitious, yet* realistic interim targets and strategies that will get us to our final goal, if we stay on course through 2030. Critical to achievement is the focus on and success in improving the education level of young Hispanic Texans who will make up a majority of the students in school between now and 2030. A broadly stated strategy for the 60x30 goal is to “respond to the needs of the changing population of Texas so students are supported to and through higher education.”

60x30 By 2030, at least 60 percent of Texans ages 25-34 will have a postsecondary credential or degree. Strategy examples: Aggressively promote college attainment to students and parents prior to high school Develop and implement education and curriculum delivery systems to make higher education available to a broader and changing population. Provide high-quality adult education programs to improve educational attainment for educationally underserved adults. Improve opportunities for students to pursue and complete higher education, including developing practices to encourage stop-outs with more than 50 semester credit hours to return and complete a degree or certificate. Collaborate with the Texas Workforce Commission to identify critical fields and to update them periodically. What would that strategy look like when implemented? Some examples, given here, include efforts to target high school students and adults needing basic education as well as those who have started but not completed a postsecondary credential.

Our future workforce will demand even more postsecondary trained and educated workers In 1973, only 28% of all U.S. jobs required postsecondary education/skills. By 2020, 65% of all new jobs will require this level of education. 59% of all new jobs in Texas will require postsecondary training or education by 2020. Currently, 35% of Texans aged 25-34 have an associate degree or higher. As Woody shared we will need substantially more Texans with postsecondary credentials to meet workforce demand. Source: Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, June 2013

COMPLETION Goal: By 2030, at least 550,000 students in that year will complete a certificate, associate, bachelor’s, or master’s from a Texas higher education institution. Summary of Targets Increase the number of Hispanic, African American, male, and economically disadvantaged completers. Increase the percent of public high school graduates who enroll directly in a public institution of higher education. The next goal reads – By 2030, at least 550,000 students in that year will complete a certificate, associate, bachelor’s or master’s from a Texas public, independent or for-profit college or university. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics make clear that students don’t get much of an economic lift from college attendance unless they complete a degree or certificate. We can do better at this than we are doing now. Under Closing the Gaps, Texas has been able to generate impressive growth in degree and certificate production. We need to continue that record. The plan includes targets for Hispanic Texans *to earn* 285,000 certificates or degrees in 2030. Another important target is to increase the percentage of students who enroll in higher education directly after high school, from the current 53 percent to 65 percent. The plan includes other specific targets and we encourage everyone to read through these carefully. The plan includes key strategies to reaching the completion goal. These are intended to focus resources to continue the progress of Closing the Gaps by boosting preparation, access, success, and support over the next 15 years. I’ll share each of these strategies and some examples. Strategies Support the completion pipeline by providing access to multiple postsecondary options. Improve academic preparation and academic support for students to enter and complete higher education. Structure programs and support services to be responsive to the changing needs of the student population to help students persist through key transitions in higher education.

COMPLETION Goal: By 2030, at least 550,000 students in that year will complete a certificate, associate, bachelor’s, or master’s from a Texas higher education institution. Support the completion pipeline by providing access to multiple postsecondary options. Strategy Examples Scale up and share practices that guide students to higher education. Increase the participation of economically disadvantaged high school students in dual credit and other college-level courses. Build credentials at each level with the aim of reducing course work duplication and time to subsequent degrees. Reach out to K-12 to collaborate in improving college and career readiness. For example, activities that could fall under the first proposed strategy, “Support the completion pipeline by providing access to multiple postsecondary options,” could include Scaling up and sharing practices that guide students to higher education; Increasing participation of economically disadvantaged high school students in dual credit and other college-level courses; Building credentials at each level with the aim of reducing course work duplication and time to subsequent degrees; and Reaching out to K-12 to collaborate in improving college and career readiness.

COMPLETION Goal: By 2030, at least 550,000 students in that year will complete a certificate, associate, bachelor’s, or master’s from a Texas higher education institution. Improve academic preparation and academic support for students to enter and complete higher education. Strategy Examples Scale up and share practices that support students in their academic preparation for postsecondary education. Streamline credential pathways through the P-16 continuum to ensure that secondary education prepares high school graduates for completing a postsecondary credential. Scale up and share practices that support underprepared students to increase persistence and completion and to reduce their time- to-degree. Examples of the second suggested completion strategy “Improve academic preparation and academic support for students to enter and complete higher education,” are provided here. These examples all give the institutions broad latitude in how to help improve postsecondary preparation as well as academic support of underprepared college students once they have been admitted.

COMPLETION Goal: By 2030, at least 550,000 students in that year will complete a certificate, associate, bachelor’s, or master’s from a Texas higher education institution. Structure programs and support services to be responsive to the changing needs of the student population to help students persist through key transitions in higher education. Strategy Examples Use innovative approaches for content delivery and assessment to improve completion and reduce student cost. Employ High-Impact Practices (HIPs). HIPs are evidence-based teaching and learning practices shown to improve learning and persistence for college students from many backgrounds. Various practices demand considerable time and effort, facilitate learning outside of the classroom, require meaningful interactions with faculty and students, encourage collaboration with diverse others, and provide frequent and substantive feedback. Increase use of predictive analytics to identify and assist students at risk of not completing. The third and last suggested strategy for completion is to “Structure programs and support services to be responsive to the changing needs of the student population to help students persist through key transitions in higher education.” Examples of this strategy could include innovations in content delivery and assessment, use of predictive analytics to identify and assist students at risk of not completing, and greater use of evidence-based teaching and learning practices.

What is a marketable skill? MARKETABLE SKILLS Goal: By 2030, all graduates from Texas public institutions of higher education will have completed programs with identified marketable skills. What is a marketable skill? Students exit from any degree program with a variety of skills. Marketable skills are those valued by employers that can be applied in a variety of work settings, including interpersonal, cognitive, and applied skill areas. These skills can be either primary or complementary to a major and are acquired by students through education, including curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular activities. The third goal reads – By 2030, all graduates from Texas public institutions of higher education will have completed programs with identified marketable skills. Marketable skills are those valued by employers that can be applied in a variety of work settings, including interpersonal, cognitive, and applied skill areas. These skills can be either primary or complementary to a major and are acquired by students through education, including curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular activities

Identify marketable skills in every higher education program. Goal: By 2030, all graduates from Texas public institutions of higher education will have completed programs with identified marketable skills. Summary of Targets By 2020, institutions will identify and regularly update marketable skills for programs. Maintain the percentage of students who are found working or enrolled within one year of earning a degree or certificate. All programs develop skills of value in the marketplace. The plan requires institutions to formally identify those skills for each of its degree programs so that students are aware of and can communicate these skills to future employers. The goal calls for every institution in Texas to articulate how it prepares its students to succeed after completion. Strategies Identify marketable skills in every higher education program. Communicate marketable skills to students, families, and the workforce.

Identify marketable skills in every higher education program. Goal: By 2030, all graduates from Texas public institutions of higher education will have completed programs with identified marketable skills. Identify marketable skills in every higher education program. Strategy Examples Convene a statewide group to explore general characteristics of marketable skills by meta-majors. This group should include representatives from institutions, industry, and other relevant stakeholders. Establish collaborations among institutions, state, regional, and local employers to define desirable skills, and identify in-demand programs and courses that offer those skills. Leverage existing efforts to ensure that marketable skills are addressed in every program. The first strategy is to “Identify marketable skills in every higher education program.” Some examples of this could include efforts to Convene a statewide group to explore general characteristics of marketable skills by meta-majors. This advisory group should include representatives from institutions, industry, and other relevant stakeholders. Establish collaborations among institutions, state, regional, and local employers to define desirable skills, and identify in-demand programs and courses that offer those skills. Leverage existing efforts to ensure that marketable skills are addressed in every program.

MARKETABLE SKILLS Goal: By 2030, all graduates from Texas public institutions of higher education will have completed programs with identified marketable skills. Communicate marketable skills to students, families, and the workforce. Strategy Examples: Increase the quality and availability of information targeted to students about the transition from higher education to the workforce, including information about the transferability and alignment of skills. This information should be available through academic and career advising strategies. Ensure marketable skills are integrated into curricula so that students can demonstrate and communicate those skills through established mechanisms. The second strategy is to communicate those skills identified to students, families, and the workforce. Institutions could implement this strategy by ensuring that information about the transferability of their skills is communicated through academic and career advising channels. Also, institutions can ensure that marketable skills are integrated into their curricula so that students demonstrate and communicate those skills through established mechanisms.

STUDENT DEBT Goal: By 2030, undergraduate student loan debt will not exceed 60 percent of first-year wage for graduates of Texas public institutions. Summary of Targets Maintain student loan debt at or below 60 percent of first-year wage for undergraduate completers. Decrease the excess semester credit hours that students attempt when completing an associate or a bachelor’s degree. Work to limit debt so that no more than half of all students who earn an undergraduate degree or certificate will have debt. The fourth goal is - By 2030, undergraduate student loan debt will not exceed 60 percent of first-year wage for graduates of Texas public institutions. We have an opportunity to balance student loan debt and improve how higher education is financed to reduce financial barriers that students and families encounter when pursuing any level of higher education. We think the best way to focus on financial issues is to set the goal of maintaining debt load, as measured against student earning power at graduation. Success will require collaboration among elected officials and higher education leaders, and will probably require imaginative reinvention of paths for students and methods for teaching and learning.

Make higher education more affordable for students. STUDENT DEBT Goal: By 2030, undergraduate student loan debt will not exceed 60 percent of first-year wage for graduates of Texas public institutions. Strategies Finance higher education in a manner that provides the most effective balance among appropriations, tuition and fees, and financial aid. Make higher education more affordable for students. Affordability Examples: Fully fund grants for eligible students. Support innovative approaches for more affordable credentials. Reduce time to degree through alternate degree pathways to completion. Again, these key strategies are proposed to help guide the state to focus resources in a way to achieve this goal. The first suggested strategy is Finance higher education in a manner that provides the most effective balance among appropriations, tuition and fees, and financial aid. The second broad strategy is to make higher education more affordable for students. Efforts to employ this strategy could include Fully funding grants for eligible students Supporting innovative approaches for more affordable credentials, and/or Reducing time to degree through alternate degree pathways to completion.

STUDENT DEBT Goal: By 2030, undergraduate student loan debt will not exceed 60 percent of first-year wage for graduates of Texas public institutions. Strategies Build financial literacy of Texans to promote a better understanding of how and why to pay for higher education. Financial Literacy Examples: Implement personal financial literacy programs to support students going to college. Convene a statewide advisory group to determine ways to better advise students and parents on financial aid options and the impact of those options on students’ finances before and during their college careers. The third strategy is to “Build financial literacy of Texans to promote a better understanding of how and why to pay for higher education. This strategy could be implemented at the institutional level by colleges and universities implementing personal financial literacy programs for their students. At the state level, a statewide advisory group could determine ways to better advise students and parents on financial aid options and the impact of those options on students’ finances before and during their college careers.

For more information visit Texas Higher Education Strategic Planning Committee http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/txhespc To email comments ginger.gossman@thecb.state.tx.us or nina.wright@college4texans.org I’ve provided a great deal of information, and am happy to take any clarifying questions before we move on to a guided discussion. If you wish to provide additional information or have questions after today’s meeting, the contact information is included in your materials, on the last slide. I look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions.