Higher education improves the lives of Texans. This new higher education plan, 60x30TX, focuses on the common goal by striving for 60 percent of the 25- to 34-year-old Texas population to hold a certificate or degree by 2030. The plan seeks to increase student success through the combined expertise and resources of many stakeholders. Because of these collaborative efforts, Texas institutions of higher education will have more opportunities to grow, which will enrich students and the state. The 60x30TX ("60 by 30 Tex") higher education strategic plan contains four broad goals presented in this report: (1) 60x30: By 2030, at least 60 percent of Texans ages 25-34 will have a certificate or degree; (2) Completion: By 2030, at least 550,000 students in that year will complete a certificate, associate, bachelor's, or master's from an institution of higher education in Texas; (3) Marketable Skills: By 2030, all graduates from Texas public institutions of higher education will have completed programs with identified marketable skills; and (4) Student Debt: By 2030, undergraduate student loan debt will not exceed 60 percent of first-year wages for graduates of Texas public institutions. Each goal contains a set of targets that will move the state toward reaching one or more goals. Many stakeholders across Texas will need to develop and implement a wide range of strategies to meet each target. The following are appended: (1) History of the Texas Higher Education Strategic Planning Committee for the 60x30TX Plan; and (2) Glossary.

This report was developed in response to Texas Education Code 61.051(i), requiring the Coordinating Board to develop a long-range plan for higher education, by region. A wide variety of factors, including educational attainment of the current population, existing degree programs, programs where significant unmet need may exist, programs provided by independent institutions, and geographic areas of the state which may have a greater need for higher education services were reviewed. In addition, through a cooperative effort with the Texas Education Agency, the Coordinating Board is for the first time able to track public school students through higher education enrollment and degree completion. As a result, a discussion of the 1992 cohort of public school seventh-grade students by ethnicity, gender and region as they enrolled in and graduated from public higher education by 2003 is now possible. Analysis of this and other longitudinal data offers more detailed and definitive information that can lead to better policy decisions for improving higher education in Texas. The report concludes with recommendations that build upon recommendations originally presented in 2002: (1) The state should ensure that all regions have access to quality undergraduate and graduate education opportunities; (2) The Coordinating Board should study future faculty needs at all levels of higher education throughout the state; (3) Coordinating Board staff will meet with representatives of institutions in each region to discuss any unmet high-demand degree program needs in their regions. Program proposals submitted to address unmet needs would continue to go through the Coordinating Board?s normal review and approval process and would be considered in the context of statewide needs. The following are appended: (1) Legislative Requirements; (2) State Overview; (3) High-Demand Degree Areas; (4) Review of Select Professions in Texas; and (5) Texas Institutions of Higher Education. (Contains 8 tes.).

The report offers a comprehensive overview of the rapidly changing phenomenon of Open Educational Resources and the challenges it poses for higher education.

Addressing the growing concerns about reading, math, and writing skills of freshman-level students, this volume provides different perspectives and approaches to the assessment of basic academic skills in higher education. The book provides an in-depth investigation into the Texas Academic Skills Program (TASP). More generally, the book provides insights into the construction of testing programs and their evaluations. The development and implementation of testing programs is discussed by outstanding educators involved and will be of great value to program administrators, policymakers, deans and faculty members of colleges, state legislators, and educational professionals working directly with institutions of higher learning.