Gov. Rick Perry convened a task force this week to re-examine how the state will divvy out the $100 million it allocated for higher education incentives during the 2007 legislative session.
The five-member Task Force on Higher Education Incentive Funding will look at various uses for the provided funds and must submit its recommendations for the 2009 Legislature to Perry by July 15.
Administrators have said the current funding formula - which awards money to universities based on enrollment growth - unfairly penalizes UT for limiting its bloated student population. In 2006, President William Powers and former Texas A&M President Robert Gates co-founded Horns and Aggies: Together For a Change, a program to highlight the research the state's two flagship universities conduct. Powers has said he believes UT should be compensated for the quality research it produces, not snubbed because it is not growing in size.
University officials declined to comment on the task force, saying they did not know how the changes would affect UT students.
The incentives for public colleges and universities will be based on student and institutional achievements, said Krista Piferrer, a spokeswoman for the governor.
"Colleges and universities deserve to be rewarded for not only graduating students, but for graduating more qualified students," she said.
Piferrer said she believes higher education institutions need to provide incentives for students who graduate with degrees in science, math and engineering. The allocated money will also include incentives for graduating at-risk students. Institutions will have to produce more graduates and higher graduation rates of at-risk students to receive more money.
"The goal is to increase competition within the marketplace," she said.
The task force will be chaired by Dr. Kern Wildenthal, president of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.
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