Tier-One Prize Money Bill Passes Texas Senate

[w8liftinglady]

http://www.texastribune.org/texas-education/higher-education/tier-one-prize-money-bill-passes-texas-senate/

After hitting a brief snag, the bill that creates a mechanism for the leaders in the race to become the state's next tier-one university passed the state Senate today.

Seven institutions that are designated as "emerging research universities" — University of Houston, Texas Tech University, University of North Dallas, and the University of Texas campuses in Dallas, Arlington, El Paso and San Antonio — have been competing to be designated the state's next "national research university." Currently, that group includes just three universities: the University of Texas, Texas A&M University and Rice University.

The biggest financial incentive, created by legislation that passed last session, is the National Research University Fund, currently valued at more than $600 million. The competing universities can only access it if they meet certain criteria, which the University of Houston appears to be on the brink of doing followed closely by Texas Tech and UT-Dallas.

However, before they can get their prize, the manner in which funds will be doled out to eligible institutions still needs to be determined by the Legislature. House Bill 1000 by House Higher Education Chairman Dan Branch seeks to do that. But there have been multiple models proposed and some disagreement about how to go about it, which stalled the legislation in the Senate after it passed the House.