Fall 2005 Course Description
Policy Research Project
Description: Texas House Bill 588 amended Section 51 of the Texas Education Code. HB 588 enacted the Top 10% Rule (Uniform Admission Policy). That was in 1997. The Regular Session of the 79th Legislature tried to abolish the Rule. It failed. What?s next? Will the 80th Legislature succeed where the 79th failed? Should it?
Powerful forces shape the ethic and culture of higher education. We can see their impact in the admissions policy and practice of the country?s elite universities. The University of Texas has a long history and significant handprint on that ethic and culture. While talk suggests an ethic grounded in a respect for individual merit and achievement, practice reveals a strong market culture that perpetuates cumulative privilege and advantage in college admissions. ?Where? you go to college is as important as ?if? you go!
This research project examines the Top 10% Rule in anticipation of renewed attempts to abolish it by the next Legislature. The specific policy-related task is to use GIS techniques to understand the Rule. What would geographic maps look like that plot Texas? public high schools and their ?sending patterns? to the flagships? Has 10% changed the patterns of admission to UT and A&M? The questions should be answered given the ongoing political controversy surrounding access to higher education, campus diversity, and the value of a college degree.
The project?s immediate focus is the campus-level admissions policies developed, implemented, and managed at the state?s flagship institutions ? the University of Texas at Austin, and Texas A&M University at College Station. In effect, the project is a case study of the interplay of policy research and analysis; policymaking; and policy implementation and management.
Last Updated: August 3, 2005
Return to Fall 2005 Course Schedule
