The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (Coordinating Board) adopts new §5.52, concerning Assessment of Existing Degree Programs, without changes to the proposed text as published in the May 8, 2009, issue of the Texas Register (34 TexReg 2739).

Specifically, new §5.52(a) would require each public institution of higher education to have a process to assess the quality and effectiveness of existing degree programs for continuous improvement and §5.52(b) would authorize the Coordinating Board staff to develop a process for conducting a periodic audit of the quality and effectiveness of existing bachelor's and master's programs at public institutions of higher education.

There were no comments received regarding this new section however at the July 30, 2009 Coordinating Board meeting, the Board voted to remove "and/or Selected Public Colleges" from Chapter 5 and Subchapter C titles.

The new section is adopted under the Texas Education Code, Chapter 61 which gives the Coordinating Board the authority to regulate the awarding or offering of degrees, credit towards degrees, and the use of certain terms.