Comité Higher Education de la Cámara de Representantes, 18 de marzo de 2026

Transcripción

59 turnos. Seleccione un tiempo para reproducir ese momento del video.

1. 0:00:00

   Okay. Good afternoon, everyone. I'll, uh, go ahead and call the meeting of the House Higher Education to order, um, on this 33rd legislative day.

2. 0:00:30

   We had two items listed on the agenda. We will hear, uh, Senate Bill 400. We're, we're holding over Senate Bill 566. We're still working with the author on some, uh, uh, language changes to that. And in order to provide us the best opportunity, uh, to get those correct before we, uh, discuss the bill for, uh, a final time and take action, uh, we'll, we'll take a, a day to do that. And still, still plenty of time to get the, uh, the bill out, um, uh, for the author to get it to House Rules. So we will just be seeing Senate Bill 400 today.

3. 0:01:02

   The Senate is still in session, so, uh, I'm going to recognize at this time, um, Dr. Schuch, I don't know if you're executive director, president, chief operating officer, but you're the gentleman in charge of, uh, this organization, so I'm gonna recognize you to present to us, uh, the changes to SB 400. I think they were limited, but, uh, important. We're working off LC61-0478S. Good. Doctor, you have the ta- uh, you have the floor.

4. 0:01:32

   Sure. Thank you, uh, Chairman Martin and committee members. We had just a s- few slight, uh, changes here after the last committee hearing, uh, but not very many. So if you wanna look in the LC that, uh, the chairman mentioned, uh, the change starts at line 240.

5. 0:01:57

   When you get there, you will see that, uh, basically the change is this, I'll just summarize it for you. Uh, that for authorized institutions that's been authorized before January 1st, uh, of this year, basically it puts in to code a cap on the amount paid into TGTF. Um, and then if the fund balance falls below a certain amount, then, um, those institutions would have to start paying in along with any of the others, uh, as well.

6. 0:02:28

   So, uh, just basically codifying a cap so that it doesn't go into, um, uh ... Institutions have to pay ever higher amounts. Um, and we're seeing that seemed like a fair adjustment to add in. And, uh, there's still, um, the $10 million cap that's on, on the fund, uh, that's still there and still in mai- maintenance. But that's it. Everything else that we had talked about in the last hearing is still there. So if there's any questions, I'll be happy to address them.

7. 0:03:00

   And, and, doctor, th- this, um, goes, goes without saying that you, you feel like this still leaves the fund in a, in a place that it'll be, uh, sustainable and c- could, could be there for students in the hopefully unlikely, but it happens event that we would need to make them whole for, uh, uh, an inadvertent loss of their tuition.

8. 0:03:22

   Yeah, absolutely. And we have the, um, safeguard in place that if we end up having to spend out of the fund and it drops below that $4 million that's written into code, then institutions have to start paying back into it. But this basically just puts a cap, uh, so it helps those that, uh, you know, may pay hundreds of thousands of dollars a year into it, which some could, uh, 'cause it's based on their total tuition. Uh, it keeps from the, the burden being fully placed, uh, upon them versus the other, you know, 300 and some authorized institutions.

9. 0:03:54

   So I think it, uh, it provides a bit of equity, and it still has the safeguards in place.

10. 0:04:00

    You, you have a question if you take it. Uh, Representative Glaize.

11. 0:04:04

    It is not a question. It is just at the proper time.

12. 0:04:07

    Well, let, let's see if we have any more questions, then I'll come back to you. Are, th- th- does the, uh, committee have questions on this? This is new language. I want to give folks an f- opportunity to look at it. Dr. Clark.

13. 0:04:18

    Thank you, Mr. Chair. I just want to, um, confirm that all stakeholders, anyone who might be impacted by these changes, are in agreement with the changes.

14. 0:04:30

    Everyone that I've, I've heard from is. We've been working with stakeholders to make sure that we are taking all the considerations in from, uh, institutions and, and otherwise to make sure that, um, this is something that we can all agree upon.

15. 0:04:43

    Thank you.

16. 0:04:44

    Yeah. And, and, and I would say on this that, that Senator Burns initiated this a- a- along with Dr. Schuch. And, um, had sent me an email and then copied me to let him know that this was a, a, a substitute that you had put together on, on the behalf of the senator i- in, uh, consultation with, um, stakeholders that had brought, brought concerns and, uh, to, to his... So, so I, I failed to mention that with the, the senator being on the floor, so I w- will do that in his absence. Representative Burnough. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Can you give me an example of, of an institution that, that would be affected by this?

17. 0:05:19

    Uh, well, any of our authorized institutions will be affected by this because everyone that's authorized pays into our Tuition Guarantee Trust Fund. And again, just a reminder, because there's, I know it's been several weeks since we've heard this bill, uh, the Tuition Guarantee Trust Fund is the fund that is put into place that all the institutions that are authorized pay into, and then if there is a precipitous closure, um, then we can, as the agency and our board of trustees, can try to help make students whole through the funds that are there.

18. 0:05:49

    So this was created, uh, when the agency was created back in 1991, so the fund's been building up, uh, since then. And it's a small percentage that institutions pay in. It's one-tenth of 1% of their gross tuition annually. So, um, so yeah, so all of them will be affected, uh, by this. But, uh, we think that it's not going to be a, a huge burden on them because many are paying into this already. Um, and it just, again, places a cap so that it doesn't continue on indefinitely.

19. 0:06:21

    We also have the cap in code that says that once the fund balance reaches $10 million, that all institutions cease paying and, um, and then if it falls below a certain amount, everybody has to go back and pay into it. So again, safeguards in place if needed. Thank you. And, and if, if I can, just to, to be clear, the, the, the doctor's right in that all institutions, this applies to all institutions. There are going to probably a limited number that could ever, would ever achieve, uh, a student enrollment enough to be 5% of the fund, but it is available to all the institutions, um, that, that exist in, in Georgia as, as of, uh, the beginning of this year, correct?

20. 0:06:59

    Correct. Correct. And, and there are some that have very high tuitions that it, it will certainly benefit, but most will never reach the cap. A- and one of the reasons that that was, was brought to our attention, isn't it true, is that, that, you know, some of the larger institutions tend to be just statistically the more stable institutions, and, and without this, they would be carrying the burden of the fund past the, the, the... what would one c- consider a reasonable amount? Correct. Yes, sir. Um, further questions? Any- Further questions.

21. 0:07:30

    I'm turning myself off, off the mark. Do you have a question? Uh, yes. Just to, um, help me better understand this. So this isn't really like a, a guarantee trust fund that ebbs and flows. This is more in the event of collapse. Is that correct? Yeah. That's, that's the only time that this is used. Um, there are parameters set in place in our code that our board of trustees, which meets quarterly, and we review the fund balances and, uh, all the in- inflows and outflows. Uh, they have the power to be able to determine what are covered at a closure.

22. 0:08:02

    And so we don't typically have precipitous closures. Mm-hmm. Uh, since I've been there, we've had, uh, probably about five. Uh, the, the most recent large closure we had was Art Institute of Atlanta, which closed in September of '23, uh, that had some liabilities on the fund. Before that was Argosy University that closed in 2019, that had liabilities on the fund that were substantial. But, but most are, are pretty small in impact at this point. But again, the whole purpose of the bill is to get us to a point to make sure that our fund is even more stable because over the next 10 years we're expecting more precipitous closures, and we wanna make sure we're in a place to take care of Georgia students, um, uh, in the event that that happens.

23. 0:08:43

    Um, um, one follow-up question, if I may, M- Mr. Chair. So, you know, if we're kind of imposing this cap, which, which makes sense, and I, I see how that provides greater stability, if there is, um, an un- unexpected rash of closures and we see this gu- trust fund, um, you know, disappear in a year, um, would this cap inhibit that trust fund from being refilled quicker or? No. Uh, as part of this change as, uh, as well, um, uh, the... starting after line 240, it talks about that if the fund balance falls below $4 million, that the trustees would, uh, I think it says it alerts us to let us know that, okay, now we need to start collecting, uh, these funds again.

24. 0:09:25

    So even if they have reached the 50-... $500,000 cap, um, they would have to start paying in till the fund balance reaches $10 million again. So that's the safeguard on the back end to ensure that if we have some really bad times in higher ed in Georgia, that we're there still to pro- to be able to protect the students. So that's hopefully something that will give stability to our fund. It will give guidance to the institutions so they know where they stand as well. So, so I think it's, it, it works for all parties involved, the students and the institutions, which is the balance we're always looking for.

25. 0:09:59

    Thank you, doctor. Vice Chairman, the committee. Just for perspective, um, thank you. Uh, what is the largest hit to the, to the fund to date? I can only speak to my time, uh, at the commission, which started in 2019. Um, it was Argosy University, uh, in 2019. There was about 1,500 Georgia students across two campuses, uh, that were affected if, if I recall that correctly. Uh, thankfully, um, they, the institution had a bond in place at the time of the, um, at the closure, so we were able to collect, um, $400,000, uh, between those two campuses from Assurity.

26. 0:10:42

    So we were able to use those funds plus trust fund monies to be able to, uh, it was, it was basically about a $400,000 hit at one point for that one institution. So, uh, we're, we're also trying to prepare for as well, Argosy, Art Institute of Atlanta, these other big closures, um, that are accredited. Many of those students can go through the, uh, uh, student loan deferment at the federal government. And so if they accept student loan deferment, then we would not reimburse them for losses that they experience there.

27. 0:11:16

    So that's on the US taxpayer that those, uh, end up, uh, eating those costs. But there are institutions, uh, and some rather large ones in the state of Georgia, that do not participate in Title IV, and if they were to close, then they would, uh-

28. 0:11:32

    The whole, um, risk would be on, on us and our, our fund. Of course, our trustees are the ones who... And it's written into law that there's a specific amount. I wanna say it's $500,000, um, that is the cap per institution, but our trustees can adjust that upward if it is a bigger closure. So we have the, uh, some flexibility in law to be able to, um, to be able to make sure that we best address the needs that are there. But there are safeguards to prevent if 10 big schools close tomorrow, that we would not, um, have to have such big hits that we would be liable for $10 million, $20 million, $200 million, uh, in tuition.

29. 0:12:16

    So-

30. 0:12:18

    Do- doctor, you have a couple more questions, but y- can you, um, not to extend the meeting past, uh, um, where the committee has to go, but I think it's important. Can you give us just a brief, um, um, information about what your organization is- does, you know, y- year-round, if you will, or on an annual basis to make sure that these folks are performing? I know, 'cause I know you-

31. 0:12:37

    Yeah

32. 0:12:38

    ... you keep an eye on them. So per- perhaps that will, uh, give the committee members some more ease-

33. 0:12:42

    Sure

34. 0:12:42

    ... as to the, the financial stability-

35. 0:12:44

    Yeah

36. 0:12:44

    ... that you monitor.

37. 0:12:46

    Absolutely. So our agency, that is our, our goal. And we are one of all the other states have them as well, and they are all in different, um, uh, different agencies or independent agencies, whatever. So we do what other states do as well in this sector when we're dealing with private schools. Uh, in particular, most of them are proprietary. You know, they are owned by, um, uh, certain owners and, and groups. And so there are ones like we see on television, DeVry's and Strayer's and those things, all the way down to the mom and pops of, that have, uh, welding schools and horseshoeing schools and medical assistant, everything in between.

38. 0:13:22

    So everything that's post-secondary in nature. So that's, uh, generally what we're doing. So our staff, uh, are assigned these institutions, and they work with them every year. Every year do they come to us, and annually they have to give us their finances, and we, uh, do a review of those finances. For the accredited institutions, we have an external auditor that reviews their audits and, you know, calculates composite scores if we need them, um, any of those types of things. So we look at the finances of the institution. Um, back in 2021, this legislature and this committee, uh, was so kind to help us, uh, make sure that they put us the ability to add bonds in if we saw financial troubles.

39. 0:14:02

    So that's another safeguard that we have in place. If we see a school is struggling financially, we can place them on a bond. So in addition to any fund liabilities we might have, we can have some, uh, assurances through these surety funds, uh, that, uh, can be available through the bonds. Um, and so we look at that. We also look at their educational programming to make sure that they are, uh, offering quality education to students. Uh, just in this last year, uh, for unaccredited institutions in particular, which are a good chunk of the schools we oversee, we started putting in place, uh, parameters for which we looked at their programmatic integrity and looked at, in particular, their graduation rates and their job placement rates, uh, to support what the governor is doing in workforce development and those things.

40. 0:14:47

    And so we are continuing to ratchet up those efforts to make sure that as students are spending money at these institutions, they are getting a bang for their buck, that they are getting something out of this, and not just a credential, but something that leads to a job and career. Uh, it's the career training leads to a job. So that's in general what we do. And this fund, I know what's, 'cause that's what we're talking about today because of the change in the legislature, but, or in the legislation. But this, uh, will just help us further, uh, continue those jobs and ensure that Georgia students are protected, which in FY25, it was somewhere in the neighborhood of about 90,000 students, if I recall correctly, were enrolled at the schools that we regulate.

41. 0:15:28

    So it's not a insignificant number of Georgians that we're talking about here.

42. 0:15:32

    Thank you, doctor. You have one, uh, further question. Representative Burnough.

43. 0:15:37

    Um, thank you, Mr. Chairman. You mentioned, um, about, um, because I was, um, a person who went to college, and my parents paid, so I didn't have any student loans. But you were just talking, and you said that they would go, um, if they were owe- if they had student loans. And with the instability on the federal level, you know about people with student loans, who pays, how they pay. How would that fit in?

44. 0:16:04

    Well, that's part of what we're preparing for here.

45. 0:16:06

    Okay.

46. 0:16:07

    Right? You know, because right now, student loan deferment is something that is in place for these accredited institution, that if you meet certain parameters, and I don't know all the specifics, but, uh, our staff knows that a whole lot better.

47. 0:16:19

    Mm-hmm.

48. 0:16:19

    But students can, if they, uh, don't continue their education, they can basically get reimbursed for all the student loans that they pay, um, i- if they meet those parameters. So it, a big chunk of what happens at some of these institutional closures is that. However, we are preparing that the feds are likely gonna change the, some of those rules-

49. 0:16:40

    Okay

50. 0:16:40

    ... right, for a lot of different reasons. So we have to be prepared in the State of Georgia to make sure that we're ready to help students in the event that these rules, uh, are, are changed in a way that material- materially hurt Georgia students at a precipitous closure.

51. 0:16:59

    Thank you.

52. 0:16:59

    Thank you. You, you have no further questions. Um, ladies and gentlemen, we've, we've heard this the second time that you're, uh, actually, I'm not sure. Did we get this out electronically? I'm not positive we got this out electronically, but that is the, the gentleman went over the, um, operative changes to the bill. If, if the committee, um, is comfortable moving forward, we would do so, um, in order, you know, given the late date in the, in the session. Um, so with that, if, um, there are no further discussion, uh, I had someone that wanted to be recognized for a motion, and if there's not objection going that route, I'm gonna recognize, uh, Representative Glaize.

53. 0:17:37

    So I'd like to make a moti- motion of do pass.

54. 0:17:41

    We have a motion this, uh, move forward with a do pass recommendation, and we're talking about LC 610478S. Is there a second?

55. 0:17:48

    Second.

56. 0:17:49

    I have a motion and multiple seconds that this move forward to the Rules Committee with a do pass recommendation. Is there a discussion? Discussion on the motion? Hearing no discussion, all those in... Uh, no further discussion, all those in favor say aye.

57. 0:18:01

    Aye.

58. 0:18:01

    Any opposed, no. You're on to Rules. Well, actually, you're not on to Rules, but you would relay, uh, to Senator, uh, Burns that you've done a fine job for him, and he's on to Rules with a do pass recommendation. Uh, we have no further business for the, uh, committee this afternoon. We will, will look to convene perhaps tomorrow, perhaps quickly on Friday, um, hopefully for Senate Bill, uh, fif- 556. Uh, but we'll be working on that for Senator Payne and, and get back with you guys straight, straightaway and get you that information.

59. 0:18:32

    No further business before the committee. We'll stand adjourned without objection. Uh, hearing none, we are adjourned.