University of Houston–Downtown

Overview

UH-Downtown is a special institution, one that can truly make a difference in the lives of students. Expanding access to quality higher education has been a central component of the University's mission since its founding in 1974. Through flexible scheduling of courses, innovative use of technology and distance learning opportunities, and a policy of open admissions at the undergraduate level, UHD provides educational opportunities for many who might not otherwise be able to pursue a college degree. While firmly committed to expanding access to higher education, UHD has always operated under the conviction that access and excellence are not mutually exclusive values, but that the quality of an educational program is actually enhanced when it is offered in a culturally and ethnically diverse environment.

Evidence of the University's commitment to both access and excellence can be found in its steadily growing enrollments. A variety of factors can influence where an individual chooses to go to have his or her educational needs met, but chief among them are an institution's reputation for quality programs and its responsiveness to marketplace demands. Enrollment also is a measure of the university's success in expanding educational access to higher education by developing new markets among groups not currently being served by any institution.

UHD's total enrollment has increased by 40% over the past ten years and now stands at 11,793. Further, the 1,957 students who earned a degree from UHD in FY 2007 represented a 140% increase over the 896 who graduated ten years earlier. Minority graduates have increased at an even greater rate—from 407 to 1036 or about 185% for the same time frame. UHD leads its institutional peers in the production of STEM graduates. As the university prepares for the new biennium, its highest priority will continue to be on providing those programs and support services that will enable students to achieve their academic objectives and become productive and responsible members of society. With a student body that is 37% Hispanic, 27% African-American, 24% White, and 10% Asian, UHD remains the most ethnically diverse university in the state.

Significant progress has been made in the last two years in providing additional space for UHD's growing student body. The opening of the new Shea Street Academic building last fall provided the university with much needed classroom and faculty office space. The relief provided by the opening of the Shea Street Building will only be temporary, however, as the University continues to have a space deficit according to Coordinating Board standards and its enrollments continue to grow.

As a university strongly committed to the state's Closing the Gaps goals, UH-Downtown has made expanding educational access and promoting student success its highest priorities. One element of accessibility is cost, and UHD prides itself on being among the best values in Texas public higher education. UHD chose not to increase tuition for FY2009, although adjustments to selected mandated fees resulted in an overall 4.2% increase – or $84 - for a student taking 12 SCHs. In Fall 2008, a student at UHD taking a 12-hour load will pay $2,104 while students attending the state's other master's level institutions will pay an average of $2,309. UHD's continuing ability to keep its costs well below the state average is particularly impressive when the general revenue funding it receives from the state is just $3,542 per student FTE, as compared to an average appropriation of $8,790 for its institutional peers.

Significant Changes in Policy

There have been no significant changes in basic university policies during the last biennium.

Significant Changes in Provision of Service

The basic mission of the university remains unchanged but a number of actions have been taken in the past two years to expand and improve the services that it provides. New baccalaureate program have been added in the areas of social work, fine arts, and philosophy while a Security Management for Executives programs has been instituted at the master's level. UHD has also launched two new Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences (BAAS) programs, one in safety management and the other in criminal justice. These programs were specifically designed for students who hold the Associate of Applied Sciences degree (AAS) from a community college.

UHD is now admitting twice as many transfer students each year as it does first-time-in-college students and continues to work to make the transition from the community college as easy as possible through articulation agreements and joint-admissions programs. The university also offers selected four-year degree programs on-site at several area community colleges. Enrollment in its teacher education program at Cy-Fair College has now grown to 350 students.

In addition to its community college partnerships, UHD is working with area school districts to help students more quickly achieve their college degrees through dual-credit courses, for which students can earn college credits while still in high school.

The university is relying on new ways of delivering its programs in response to changing population patterns in the Houston metropolitan area. Between 2000 and 2007 the City of Houston grew by approximately 9% while surrounding counties like Fort Bend and Montgomery were growing by more than 40%. To better serve the region's outward growing population, UHD has increased the number of courses available online and at various off-campus sites. The dramatic increase in the last five years in the number of UHD students taking courses online and off-campus demonstrates the importance of distance education in providing convenient access to higher education for both new and currently enrolled students. In Spring 2008, 15% of UHD's students were taking at least one course online, and a total of 20% of its students were taking at least one course online or at the off-campus locations. High gas prices are expected to further increase the demand for online courses. Other actions taken to reduce student travel time and expense include scheduling more ‘hybrid' courses that meet just one time a week.

One challenge confronting the university is that in the region's fast growing outlying areas it is still often seen as university that exists primarily to serve the central city. UHD does have a long tradition of working with inner city schools and community organizations and will continue to do so, but as it has added more programs and developed a reputation for quality education, it has attracted ever larger numbers of students from the metropolitan area's outlying regions. A zip code analysis of its current students revealed that 47% of them lived outside the beltway, 35% lived inside the beltway but outside the I-610 loop, and only 15% lived inside the loop. While UHD is clearly an institution serving the entire metropolitan region, the downtown part of its name suggests a much more limited service area. For this reason, the university is currently reviewing alternative names and expects to be able to come to the legislature in early 2009 with a specific name change proposal.

Significant Externalities

The contribution that the university is able to make to the state’s priority educational goals in the years ahead will be affected by a number of external factors.

Changing demographics pose critical challenges for all educational institutions. Educational forecasts suggest that 2008 will produce the greatest number of high school graduates in the nation's history, with sustained high numbers for several successive years as a result of the baby boom echo. While the traditional white, middle-class, 18-22 year-old group is declining in size, the numbers of minority students and older returning students will be increasing. The university anticipates continued strong enrollment growth, as those fast growing segments of the college-going population are groups that the university has served effectively in the past.

While UHD has been able to keep its costs significantly below the state average, many students would be unable to attend UHD without substantial financial aid. Changes in state and federal student aid programs have a significant impact on UHD's student body, over 80% of which is currently receiving some form of financial aid. Of particular concern are the recent recommendations of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) that would raise the eligibility requirements for the Texas Grant program. As Senator Ellis has pointed out, "the students these recommendations cut out of the financial aid pot are the very students who will make up the greater population of this state and its workforce in the future." (July 14, 2008 letter to the THECB).

UHD has a similar concern over the recent recommendation by the THECB that the legislature fund only completed hours. UHD serves many students who attend on a part-time basis while holding full-time jobs and raising families. Changed work schedules or family crises often result in some students withdrawing from courses before the end of a semester, but the cost of offering these courses will remain the same whether students withdraw from them or not.

The overall state of the economy will also have an impact on university attendance patterns. The conventional wisdom is that enrollments will go up in a weak economy because of more limited employment opportunities. But if costs for food and gasoline continue to go up without a corresponding increase in spending power, many may decide that they simply cannot afford a college education. A prolonged economic slump, especially one which resulted in decreased state revenues, would adversely impact the university in many different ways.

Another factor that will affect how UHD carries out its mission is the academic preparation of its incoming students. The performance of students on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) exit-level test has shown some improvement in recent years. UHD has traditionally had a disproportionate number of students requiring some form of remediation but is now seeing some decrease in the number of students entering with academic deficiencies. Of the new freshman admitted last fall, 80% required some remediation, a decline of 5% from what it had been five years earlier. The continuation of this trend will permit UHD to reduce the resources it must now commit to developmental education.

UHD's ability to respond to its region's educational needs is influenced by a number of different state rules and regulations. Before responding to new program needs, the university must first obtain the approval of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Reporting and compliance requirements from the state and from accrediting agencies can often place a serious strain on the university's limited resources.

Plan for dealing with a 10 percent Baseline Budget Reduction

The LAR instructions sent out by the Legislative Budget Board and the Governor's Office of Budget, Planning and Policy ask that agencies detail how they would deal with a request to reduce their current baseline budgets by 10 percent. To meet such a request, which would amount to $719,474, UH-Downtown would reduce its two special items. Specifically, the amount requested for Institutional Enhancement would be reduced by $642,974 and the amount for its Community Development special item would be reduced by $76,500.

There is little doubt that reductions of this magnitude would seriously impact the progress the university has made in increasing the number of students it enrolls and graduates. The Institutional Enhancement special item funding has enabled the university to make significant improvements in the quality of services delivered to students. The university requires full funding of this special item to support student services that are critical to the successful fulfillment of its urban mission. While needed in large part to support basic operations, Institutional Enhancement funding permits the University to support a number of mission-specific activities. One example is the Academic Support Lab. UHD's open admissions policies provide educational access for students from a wide variety of backgrounds, including those who have not received adequate preparation for college-level work in their high schools.

Purpose of Any New Funding Being Requested

UHD urges that efforts continue to provide for Texas’s economic future through greater investment in all levels of the state’s educational system. Increased support for the state’s formula funding system will be necessary if Texas universities are to compete effectively with institutions from other states. The University urges that every effort be made to reverse the recent tend of shifting more and more of the cost of higher education to the individual student. The impact of this trend has had the most direct impact on lower-income groups, but as the Closing the Gaps plan recognizes, the state as a whole will suffer if it fails to develop the educated workforce needed to remain competitive in today’s economy. An educated citizenry is a public good and should be recognized as such.

The university strongly supports the incentive funding that was approved during the 80th session of the Legislature and urges that this program be continued by the 81st Legislature. Institutions that have had the greatest success in helping the state to achieve its higher education goals should be provided additional support so that they can continue with and expand those efforts.

In addition to seeking greater overall support for higher education through the formula system, UHD is seeking special funding for the following institution-specific special item requests.

Construct Science and Technology Building

The University of Houston-Downtown (UHD) requests special line item authority to issue up to $51,429,000 in tuition revenue bonds to fund the construction and equipping of a state-of-the-art 120,000 sq. ft. building with attached multi-level parking garage. This facility will serve as the home of the College of Sciences and Technology, one of four academic units at the University of Houston-Downtown. The college is home to all STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) academic programs and provides opportunities for underrepresented groups to attain degrees in STEM fields. The funding requested is $9,335,000 for the biennium, which will provide for the projected debt service costs associated with the bond issue described.

In addition to seeking debt service funding for the project described above, the university is seeking continued support to pay the debt service on $22.4 million in bonds issued in 1995 for the construction of the Academic/Student Services Building, on $7.5 million in bonds issued in 1999 for projects relating to development of the campus infrastructure, on $18.2 million in bonds issued in Fall 2002 for the construction of the College of Public Service building, and on $31.6 million in bonds issued in 2007 for the construction of the College of Business building.

Expansion of the Community Development Grant program

The University is currently appropriated $382,500 of Community Development Grant (CDG) funds, which is allocated to support community projects in the Acres Homes community and in Houston’s Near Northside. To this point, the funds have essentially been pass-through, with limited university involvement. This proposal is for the Community Development Grants appropriation to be doubled to $765,000, with UHD taking a more active, participative role going forward. The University could bring to bear its knowledge and expertise in areas like economic development, early childhood development, and criminal justice. UHD views the expanded CDG as a series of excellent opportunities to engage in service learning and community engagement activities.

UHD Scholars Academy – College of Sciences & Technology

Key components of the UHD Scholars Academy are its programs to prepare high school students and college freshman for the rigors of college-level science curriculum. Successful recruitment of students into careers in STEM requires research, mentoring, and tutoring. While external funding has provided most of the monies needed for the activities of the Scholars Academy , future external funding programs may not be able to fund all of the programs listed below. This $1,600,000 special line item will provide critical funding while UHD seeks new external funding and private foundational support. This request focuses on three key components for student success beginning in high school: (1) Preparation of high school students entering college-level STEM Programs; (2) Mentoring of college freshman via a faculty and peer mentoring system; and (3) Early and frequent independent research opportunities for undergraduate students.

Behavioral Health Program – University College

House of Tiny Treasures

The University is requesting $441,600 in support for its House of Tiny Treasures (HTT) project, a collaborative research and program development partnership that includes Baylor's Meyer Center for Developmental Pediatrics, Houston Independent School District , The Center for Research, Evaluation and Assessment of Teacher Education, and several criminal justice agencies (family courts, Juvenile Probation). The Project serves the community by addressing issues of at-risk youth by making positive changes in the futures of homeless and near-homeless children and their families through the accredited day-care/pre-school known as the House of Tiny Treasures. The UHD faculty and collaborative partners, work with students and HTT employees to implement early childhood education teaching theory and community-based research.

Conclusion

The University of Houston-Downtown is an institution that is deeply committed to the state’s goal of providing “an affordable, accessible, and high quality system of higher education that prepares individuals for a changing economy and workforce.” Demographic projections indicate that there will be 500,000 new students coming through the educational pipeline over the next decade, many will be first-generation college students and a disproportionate number of them will be minorities. As the most ethnically diverse institution in the state, UHD will play a major role in providing access to this group. It has already made major contributions to meeting the “Closing the Gaps” goals and can make even greater contributions in the future. Whatever its name in the future might be, the institution's commitment to serving the complex educational needs of a diverse urban constituency, its emphasis on quality instruction and community outreach will remain unchanged.

For the past 34 years, UH-Downtown has been helping the state build for the future by offering citizens affordable, accessible, and high quality education programs. With appropriate support we can make an even greater contribution to the realization of the state’s educational goals.

Community Development Project
(New Item)

Description and Justification
This strategy provides continued funding for community development activities on the near north side of Houston . These funds serve as seed money for community-based efforts to revitalize two separate economically depressed north side neighborhoods - the predominately African-American Acres Homes subdivision and the largely Hispanic area bound by downtown, I-45N, 610 Loop North and Highway 59N.

Factors Impacting Strategy
The individual projects include a variety of economic development and community enhancement programs. Each project must provide semi-annual progress reports to the university leadership.

Exceptional Funding Request
The University is currently appropriated $382,500 of Community Development Grant (CDG) funds, which is allocated to support community projects in the Acres Homes community and in Houston 's Near Northside. To this point, the funds have essentially been pass-through, with limited university involvement. This proposal is for the funding for Community Development Grants be doubled, with UHD taking a more active, participative role going forward. The University could bring to bear its knowledge and expertise in areas like economic development, early childhood development, and criminal justice. UHD views the expanded CDG as a series of excellent opportunities to engage in service learning and community engagement activities.

During its strategic planning process, the strengthening of the University's level of engagement in the community was recognized as a basic goal that the institution needed to more aggressively pursue. Beyond their classrooms and labs, universities are increasingly being evaluated in terms of the larger contribution they make to the cities/communities in which they reside.

UH-Downtown has a long history of civic engagement and has always prided itself on its community partnerships and other community connections. To gain greater recognition for the many civic activities in which it is engaged, the University is currently seeking the new Carnegie Foundation classification for universities distinguished by their level of civic engagement. In this context, expansion of the existing Community Development Grant program, with a more engaged role for UH-Downtown, makes good sense.

	Appropriated		Requested
	FY08	FY09	FY10	FY11	Priority
Base Dollar Funding	$382,500	$382,500	$883,159	$883,159
Exceptional Funding			382,500	382,500	2
Total	$382,500	$382,500	$765,000	$765,000

Tuition Revenue Bond – Debt Service
(Existing Item)

Description and Justification
Continuation of this special item provides funds for debt service on tuition revenue bonds issued for UHD's three classroom buildings – the 147,000 gsf Academic & Student Services Building (Fall 1998), the 90,000 gsf Commerce Street Building (Fall 2003), and the 132,000 gsf Shea Street Building (Fall 2007). This item also provides funds to service debt on bonds issued in 1999 for implementation of Phase II of the UHD Campus Development plan.

Exceptional Funding Request
Debt Service Request for the new Tuition Revenue Bond includes Science & Technology Building ($4,667,500).

Factors Impacting Strategy
In the recent past, during a period of budgetary challenges for the state, the decision was made to provide less than full funding for these fixed obligations. Full funding was later restored but as the state and national economies begin to slow down, the possibility of the legislature providing something less than full funding for these bonds again becomes a concern. From the university's perspective, it is imperative that the state continue to provide the funding needed to fully meet the commitments that have already been made.

	Appropriated		Requested
	FY08	FY09	FY10	FY11	Priority
Base Dollar Funding	$6,253,196	$6,249,872	$6,238,320	$6,238,316
Exceptional Funding			4,667,500	4,667,500	1
Total	$6,253,196	$6,249,872	$10,905,820	$10,905,816

UHD Scholars Academy – College of Sciences & Technology
(New Item)

Description and Justification
Key components of the UHD Scholars Academy are its programs to prepare high school students and college freshmen for the rigors of college-level science curriculum. Successful recruitment of students into careers in STEM requires research, mentoring, and tutoring. While external funding has provided most of the monies needed for the activities of the Scholars Academy , future external funding programs may not be able to fund all of the programs listed below. This special line item will provide critical funding while UHD seeks new external funding and private foundational support. This request focuses on three key components for student success beginning in high school:

Preparation of high school students entering college-level STEM Programs: START Summer Program, START Teacher Institute ($203,200);
Mentoring of college freshmen via a faculty and peer mentoring system: Freshman Workshop, College Success Program, Tutoring & Mentoring ($169,500); and
Early and frequent independent research opportunities: Summer Undergraduate Research Program, Academic-Year Research Program, Student Research Conference ($427,300)

Factors Impacting Strategy
Over the past decade UHD has developed a true ‘center of excellence’ with its nationally recognized Scholars Academy. The UHD Scholars Academy, winner of the THECB’s STAR Award for 2004, was cited in President Bush’s 2007 budget request for NSF funding as a model program in science preparation at the collegiate level. Further, in a recent report from the Accountability System for Texas Universities, UHD was first in its classification (Masters Universities) for Bachelor’s Degrees Awarded in Key (STEM) Fields.

It is a widely recognized national concern that American children are falling behind their global counterparts in the areas of science and mathematics proficiency. This request would provide funds that would better enable UHD to work with high school partners to identify promising math and science students and put them on a path toward earning degrees in these fields. .

Appropriated

Requested

FY08

FY09

FY10

FY11

Priority

Base Dollar Funding

Exceptional Funding $800,000 $800,000
3

Total
$0

$0

$800,000

$800,000

Behavioral Health Program – University College
(New Item)

Description and Justification
UHD seeks to implement a Behavioral Health Program, reinforcing a commitment to students who upon encountering the rigors of the academic curriculum must continue to deal with the multiple situations of urban life. Overwhelmed, they often begin questioning their own abilities and losing self-esteem. Financial sacrifice by the family intensifies the pressure. Moreover, medical problems that may have limited educational options in the past are increasingly being treated with medications that make attending the university a possibility. Maintaining a safe and productive learning environment for all is a priority of the University. A Behavioral Health Program would provide in-depth training for faculty and staff, including defusing potentially disruptive situations, recognizing multiple types of disabilities and their effect on learning, and developing innovative instructional strategies for those with different abilities. Additionally, the program would establish outreach initiatives and collaborations with local health organizations. The funding requested is $66,000.

Factors Impacting Strategy
For the 2007-2008 academic year, UHD had 338 students register with its Disabled Student Services (DSS) Office as having some form of disability. Of those, 32 percent were identified as having a psychiatric/psychological or ADD/ADHD condition. It is presumed that additional students with more mild behavioral health issues choose not to register with DSS.

Advances in modern medicine, specifically in the area of drug therapy, have made the higher education experience accessible to students who, in the past, could not have managed it. While this is a positive development, the result is that there are now more students on campus for whom behavioral health is an issue. Having the ability to address the needs of these students with such ‘invisible disabilities’ is vitally important for faculty and staff.

At the risk of being alarmist, the worst case scenario for unrecognized/untreated behavioral health conditions can be unthinkably tragic, as was evidenced at Northern Illinois University in 2008 and Virginia Tech in 2007.

	Appropriated		Requested
	FY08	FY09	FY10	FY11	Priority
Base Dollar Funding
Exceptional Funding			$66,000	$66,000	4
Total	$0	$0	$66,000	$66,000

House of Tiny Treasures – College of Public Service
(New Item)

Description and Justification
The University of Houston Downtown 's House of Tiny Treasures Project (HTTP) is a collaborative research and program development partnership that includes Baylor's Meyer Center for Developmental Pediatrics, Houston Independent School District , The Center for Research, Evaluation and Assessment of Teacher Education, and several criminal justice agencies (family courts, Juvenile Probation). The Project's goal is to serve the community by addressing issues of at-risk youth by making positive changes in the future of homeless and near homeless children and their families through the portal of the accredited day-care/pre-school known as the House of Tiny Treasures. The UHD faculty and collaborative partners work with students and HTT employees to implement early childhood education teaching theory and community-based research. These activities enrich the toddler/pre-school curriculum, provide mentoring for House of Tiny Treasure's teachers and enhance the service-learning focus of the UHD Teacher Education and Criminal Justice Programs by including experiences with this at-risk population.

Factors Impacting Strategy

In this context, strengthening the role of UHD faculty and students in this important community project makes good sense.

	Appropriated		Requested
	FY08	FY09	FY10	FY11	Priority
Base Dollar Funding
Exceptional Funding			$220,800	$220,800	5
Total	$0	$0	$220,800	$220,800

TRB Project Request Science & Technology Building
(New Item)

Description and Justification
The University of Houston-Downtown (UHD) requests special line item authority to issue up to $51,429,000 in bonds to fund the construction and equip a state-of-the-art 120,000 sq. ft. building and attached multi-level parking facility to serve as the home of the College of Sciences and Technology, one of four academic units at the university. The college is home to all STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) academic programs and provides opportunities for underrepresented groups to work for and attain degree goals in STEM areas. The funding requested would provide for the projected debt service costs associated with the bond issue described.

Factors Impacting Strategy
Over the past decade UHD has developed a true ‘center of excellence' with its nationally recognized Scholars Academy . The UHD Scholars Academy , winner of the THECB's STAR Award for 2004, was cited in President Bush's 2007 budget request for NSF funding as a model program in science preparation at the collegiate level. Further, in a recent report from the Accountability System for Texas Universities, UHD was first in its classification (Masters Universities) for Bachelor's Degrees Awarded in Key (STEM) Fields.

As the university’s STEM programs have grown in size and recognition, the deficiencies in existing science and technology classroom and lab space have become an increasing challenge. At present, science and technology labs are located in the original UHD structure, the One Main Building, which was never designed for this purpose. Beyond the design and functionality of the space, there are safety issues when laboratory facilities are located in a building that increasingly serves primarily as academic, administrative, and student support space.

Even with the new Shea Street Building coming on line for Fall 2007, UHD went into FY2008 with an overall space deficit of 153,000 sq. ft. (assignable), with most of that coming in the areas of Teaching and Research. As the institution matures, it will increasingly need more ‘special-use’ as opposed to ‘general use’ space. A dedicated Science & Technology Building will be the first step in that direction.

	Requested		Priority
TRB Bonding Authority Request		$51,429,000	1



Total		$51,429,000