THECB adopts rule changes to community college finance, FAST eligibility and free application week

The Higher Education Coordinating Board voted to adopt a package of rule changes implementing legislative directives including Senate Bill 1786 and related bills, adjusting how community college performance funding is calculated, changing eligibility for the Financial Aid for Swift Transfer (FAST) dual‑credit program, and establishing a waiver of undergraduate application fees during a designated ApplyTexas free application week.

The rules package, presented across seven agenda items, will affect community college finance methodologies for fiscal years 2025 and 2026, data reporting timelines and retention, forecasting methods for performance funding, the definition of “credentials of value,” and the FAST dual‑credit financial aid program. The board approved all items on voice votes.

Charles Cantero Pohls, assistant commissioner for financial aid programs, presented the proposed FAST rule changes that implement provisions of House Bill 120 and Senate Bill 1786. He said the rules "implement the provisions of house bill 120 and senate bill 1786" and noted three main changes: (1) the definition of high school will align to grades 9 through 12; (2) the program will allow students who are educationally disadvantaged in the current year, but were not in any of the prior four years, to enroll in dual credit at no cost under FAST; and (3) eligibility is extended to high school students within the Windham School District. Pohls said the changes are "effective starting with the upcoming school year."

Chris Fernandez, senior director for community college finance and resource planning, presented multiple amendments to chapter 13 rule subchapters affecting data reporting, audit and over‑allocation procedures, performance tier methodology, high‑demand field linkages, forecasting methodology, and a new subchapter to take effect for fiscal year 2026. Fernandez described the data‑reporting amendments as addressing three primary issues: reporting deadlines, record retention, and clarity around when the formal data error process applies. He said the amendments would set a seven‑year record retention aligned to potential recoveries of overallocated funds, limit the period in which corrected…