Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Association

104^th Tennessee General Assembly

Session Summary

TennCare, ethics, and pre-kindergarten have been just a few of the ominous issues consuming the 104^th Tennessee General Assembly.  The final days of the session were filled with tension and somber moods as four members of the Tennessee General Assembly were arrested by the FBI for violating the Hobbs Act.  Senators John Ford, Kathryn Bowers, and Ward Crutchfield and Representative Chris Newton were indicted for taking bribes to influence legislation. Senator Ford resigned from the Senate on Saturday, May 28, 2005 while the remaining members returned to Capitol Hill to finish the year’s business.   

TICUA followed a number of bills this year with special focus on the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship programs.  Below is the summary of a select number of key bills TICUA monitored during the session.

Lottery Scholarship Changes:

TICUA supported a bill which makes the following changes to the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship programs:

• Hope Scholarship increase by $300
• Need Base Supplement increase by $500 and changes the name to the “Aspire Supplement.”
• Wilder-Naifeh Technology grants increase by $50
• Allow non-traditional Tennessee resident students (25 years of age and older) with an adjusted gross income below $36,000 to be eligible for the Hope Scholarship after completion of 24 semester hours with a cumulative grade point average of 2.75
• $500 grant for dual enrollment of high school students
• Allows for foster children who have been a ward of the court for at least one year after the age of 14 and who meet the qualifications for the program to receive additional funds to cover full tuition, fees, room, board and other related expenses
• Allow college students who have lost the Hope Scholarship to regain it once if their GPA rises to the renewal standard
• Allow students to retake one course one-time and use the higher grade for TELS GPA
• Allow Tennessee residents attending out-of-state colleges to qualify for the Hope Scholarship if they transfer to an eligible Tennessee college or university
• Use weighted High School GPA by fall of 2007
• Allow high school graduates 16 months before enrolling in college
• Allow more students dependent on Department of Defense contractors to be eligible
• Allow students attending institutions that have been in operation for 30 years, are nationally accredited and have articulation agreements with a public college or university to be eligible

The estimated total cost of the improvements is $26.8 million for the first year of implementation and $35.5 million once fully implemented.  The full analysis of these changes will be posted on the TICUA website once available.

Governor Phil Bredesen’s pre-kindergarten initiative passed as well.  This program adds $25 million from the lottery’s excess funds to a $10 million pilot program for four year olds in Tennessee.  The focus of the program is to offer education programs to financially disadvantaged families.

Tennessee Student Assistance Award:

Even with over 600 student e-mails sent to Capitol Hill on behalf of increasing the State’s only need-based grant, this program received very little attention.  No additional appropriations were considered for the $47 million program.  Consequently, the program will continue to serve approximately 25, 000 students while leaving over 30,000 eligible students without support.

Nursing Scholarship:

TICUA supported a bill which replaces loan programs for graduate nursing students with a new scholarship program. The program limits amount of scholarship to a maximum of four years of attendance with award preference to persons who plan to enter faculty or administrative positions in Tennessee immediately upon completion of their master's or doctoral degree program.  The scholarship would have been funded through a partnership of State funds and private matching dollars. The bill would have made the program available beginning July 1, 2005, however no State funds were appropriated to initiate the scholarship.

Campus Policing:

TICUA supported a bill brought by Christian Brothers University which authorizes private universities or colleges located within Davidson and Shelby counties to commission police officers to assist security departments. The bill declares such officers immune from lawsuit regarding failure to act.  The bill passed and became effective in early May 2005.

Credit Services:

This bill would have restricted the solicitation of credit cards and other credit services on campuses.  TICUA’s concern centered around the limitation of other credit services on campus.  Many TICUA members use third party companies such as Tuition Plan to assist students and their families in paying their tuition bills throughout the year.  This bill would have disallowed such services to be offered on campus.  The bill failed to be considered in Senate Commerce Committee which keeps it from moving until next session.

Student Records:

TICUA opposed a bill that would allow those with financial responsibility of a student’s account to have access to their student records.  The original wording of the bill clearly violated FERPA regulations.  Ultimately, the bill passed by being amended to launch a pilot study at Middle Tennessee State University.  The pilot program will allow students to sign a waiver permitting their complete record to be viewed on the web by those financially responsible for the student’s accounts.  Students would have the right to cease participation at anytime.  This bill was brought by Senator Rosalind Kurita to allow parents to be informed when a student is seeking counseling for suicidal tendencies or other emotional stress. 

Crime Notification:

 
TICUA remained neutral on a bill which removes the requirement of campus security to report a sexual assault occurring on campus if the victim does not give consent to the reporting.  Campuses will be required to provide victims with information concerning sexual assault programs and counseling in the area.  These programs will be required to report annually the number of persons seeking such assistance by January 31.  The bill arose in an effort to protect victims of sexual assaults and to remove barriers for victims seeking help. The bill also requires the reporting of medically unattended deaths on campus.  If a death occurs, the local law enforcement will lead in the investigation.  If a rape occurs and the victim gives reporting consent, the campus security will lead in the investigation.

Academic Freedom:

TICUA opposed a bill that enabled the State of Tennessee to dictate student academic freedom rights.  TICUA does believe it is the appropriate role of State government to dictate academic policies on private college or university campuses.  The bill affirms students' rights to academic freedom, freedom from discrimination based on political or religious beliefs, and the right to information concerning grievance procedures. Directs commissioner of the Tennessee higher education commission to develop and enforce statewide institutional grievance procedures. The bill was taken off-notice which keeps it from further consideration until next session.

Please feel free to contact me if you have questions about any of these bills or other issues.