Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Announces Star Award Finalists

Aug. 28, 2019, Austin, Texas – The Coordinating Board has announced the names of seven finalists for the 2019 Star Awards for exceptional contributions toward meeting one or more of the goals of the Texas higher education plan, 60x30TX. The Coordinating Board received 45 nominations and 37 applications for this year’s Star Award program.

This year’s finalists are:

•  Austin Community College – Z Degrees (Zero Cost Textbooks) at ACC
• Citizens 1st Bank, Perkins Foundation, Rusk & Tyler Junior College –Rusk TJC Citizens Promise
• El Centro College, Garland ISD, and Garland Fire Department – Triple Credit Model Fire Academy
• El Paso Community College – Pasos Program
• San Antonio College – Student Advocacy Center
• The University of Texas at Arlington – Supporting Innovation, Diversity, Excellence, Access, and Success (I.D.E.A.S.) for High-Need Students
• The University of Texas at San Antonio – Resilience & Retention Advising Program

The Star Award program recognizes exceptional contributions toward meeting one or more of the 60x30TX goals:

• Increasing the postsecondary educational attainment level of the state’s 25-to 34-year-old population (Educated Population Goal).
• Increasing the number of students completing a certificate, associate, bachelor’s, or master’s degree from an institution of higher education in Texas (Completion Goal).
• Increasing the number of programs with identified marketable skills at Texas public institutions of higher education (Marketable Skills Goal).
• Implementing programs or cost efficiencies that help to ensure undergraduate student loan debt will not exceed 60 percent of first-year wages (Student Debt Goal).

Star Award finalists will be publicly recognized for their efforts. The winner(s) will be announced on Nov. 22 during the annual Star Awards luncheon and ceremony that will be held in conjunction with the 2019 Texas Higher Education Leadership Conference on Nov. 21-22 in Austin. The annual leadership conference brings together regents, trustees, chancellors, presidents, chief academic/instructional officers, and other higher education leaders to discuss critical higher education issues such as the 60x30TX strategic plan. Interaction among higher education stakeholders will be a key part of the conference. The orientation/conference sessions on Nov. 21 will satisfy the training requirement for newly appointed regents and elected trustees (Texas Education Code, Section 61.084). Conference registration is available at https://www.highered.texas.gov/2019leadershipconference/.