• March 7, 2017

Oliverson’s HB378 better informs students applying for college

Oliverson’s HB378 better informs students applying for college

Oliverson’s HB378 better informs students applying for college 150 150 Dr. Tom Oliverson

The Shorthorn
Madelyn Edwards

A Texas lawmaker proposed a bill which would give students applying for college more information about debt accrual and possible salary amounts based on majors.

Rep. Tom Oliverson, R-Cypress, authored House bill 378 to link Texas Consumer Resource for Education and Workforce Statistics to the ApplyTexas website, which is the site students use to apply for college in Texas. He filed this bill November 2016.

This is Oliverson’s first term in the Texas House of Representatives, and this bill is the second one he has filed.

This bill is one of his top priorities, said Eiman Siddiqui, Oliverson’s chief of staff.

“This is a very good first step,” Siddiqui said. “He just wanted to have students be a little bit more aware and supply this information out there so people aren’t necessarily surprised.”

HB 378 is a bipartisan bill, coauthored by three other Republicans and one Democrat, Rep. Roberto Alonzo, D-Dallas. Siddiqui said parents, students, business owners, the Center for Public Policy Priorities and others have discussed this bill with Oliverson’s staff, and it has gotten positive responses. Some people from these and other entities have volunteered to testify in support of this bill.

If passed, this link would be available to students by January 2018, and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board would be responsible for setting up the link. Currently, the bill is being fitted for adjustments, like the possibility of multiple links, Siddiqui said. The goal is to make the bill flexible for the coordinating board to work with.

Kelly Carper Polden, assistant director of communications for the coordinating board, said she couldn’t predict the cost of this procedure, the amount of time it would take to install the link or the affect on students.

Read more here: http://www.theshorthorn.com/news/proposed-house-bill-offers-college-students-financial-information/article_54ce4932-02c1-11e7-8e2f-0bd2da492348.html