CE & Workforce Training FAQ

Q: What is the minimum age restriction for CE students enrolled in courses reported for formula funding?

A: There is no minimum age restriction written into state statute or rules at this time. Each college should have its own written policy on this. Many colleges establish 16 or 17 as a minimum age but allow exceptions in special cases. Colleges are urged to use common sense about this. The Legislature devotes a certain amount of money to higher education, and would not be pleased to hear that this money has been used to fund courses for the under-16 set. They see that that is what K-12 funding is for.

Q: How does the Hazlewood Exemption (Texas Education Code 54.203; http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/statutes/edtoc.html) apply for CE courses submitted for formula funding?

A: The Hazlewood Exemption would apply to the tuition and fees (other than property deposit or student service fees) paid to any public institution of higher education. The one exception allowed in statute is when the relevant courses are CE courses for which the college is NOT receiving state funding. Only in this latter case can a college deny the Hazlewood exemption.

Q: Is CE contact hour funding available for Alternative Teacher Education?

A: No, not at this time. Traditionally, community and technical colleges have not been authorized to receive funding for education courses and it is understood that the cost for this training is borne by the individual student and/or the public school district in which the student plans to teach. Note: In the fall of 2003, this issue was presented to the Community and Technical College Formula Funding Committee, but no decision has been made as of yet.

Q: Can TPEG funds be used for CE?

A: Yes. The purpose of TPEG is to provide grants to students attending institutions of higher education who show financial need. Need is determined by using the federal methodology (FAFSA calculation). For the first six weeks of each semester, funds set aside from resident students are to be used for resident students, and set asides from non-residents are to be used for non-residents. Thereafter, they may be used as needed, though with preference for resident students. Any restrictions beyond these that a particular institution may have in place would be the result of that institution’s decision for prioritizing eligible students.

Q: What is the refund policy for CE courses at Community and Technical Colleges?

A: Refund policies for continuing education courses offered by public community and technical colleges are established by the local institution. An exception to this policy would be when TITLE IV federal funding monies are applied. Examples would be Pell, SEOG, Stafford Loans, Federal Direct Loans and Federal Work-Study. In these cases, colleges should follow the Coordinating Board rules regarding refunds which can be found in Chapter 21, Subchapter A, 21.5 Refund of Tuition and Fees at Public Community and Technical Colleges. (http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/CBRules/PDF/Ch21SubA.pdf).

Q: May a college receive state funding for CE courses that are targeted for staff development for college staff members?

A: No. Staff development costs are included in the cost study for all colleges and are embedded in the contact hour funding that colleges get whenever they report a course to the Coordinating Board. To receive funding for staff development would be “double dipping”.

Q: Must colleges charge out-of-state tuition to non-resident students who are brought from out-of-state for contract courses provided to organizations?

A: Yes. This is referenced in CB rules, Chapter 9, Subchapter G, Contractual Agreements 9.123 (f) (http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/CBRules/PDF/Ch9SubG.pdf)

Q: May a college charge $0 tuition in some cases for CE courses?

A: Yes, but only in one of two special circumstances as referenced in the Guidelines for Instructional Programs for Workforce Education (GIPWE), Chapter Three, B. 8. (3):

(a) If all or a significant portion of the institution’s costs for facilities, instructor salaries, equipment, and/or other expenses are covered by business, industry, or other local public or private clients, individual students may be exempt from tuition. These in-kind contributions must satisfy a definition of sufficiency as determined by the local governing board.

(b) If the workforce continuing education course is taught in federal prisons and facilities, equipment, and supplies, and/or other expenses are borne by the federal government.

Q: May colleges receive CE reimbursement for 3rd party contract instruction for contracts with companies i.e. ED2Go?

A: Yes, as long as the college fulfills its complete responsibility as stated in CB Rules Chapter 9 Subchapter G. Contractual Agreements 9.123 and maintains consistency with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) criteria. Colleges must be in FULL CONTROL of their instructional offerings, particularly third-party contract courses, and will be held directly accountable for verifying that all instructional quality standards are met for any contact hours reported for formula funding. The CB’s view of third-party contract instruction is that it imposes greater responsibility on the college not less. If in doubt, do not report the courses for funding.

Q: Are there any cases whereby colleges may receive formula funding for CE courses with fewer than seven (7) contact hours?

A: Yes. This is referenced in CB Rules Chapter 9, Subchapter F, Rule 9.115 (b). Workforce continuing education courses with fewer than seven (7) contact hours of instruction will not receive state funding unless the specific type and length of instruction are required by local, state, or national licensing, certifying, regulatory, or accrediting agencies. If the course is not in the WECM, then colleges must submit a Local Need application.

Q: May a college receive formula funding for CE courses that are taught entirely in Spanish?

A: Yes, but only if the courses are clearly intended for workforce training or retraining for a specific occupation.

Q: Are ESL and GED courses eligible for CE formula funding?

A: ESL courses for CE must be clearly intended for workforce training or retraining for a specific occupation.

GED courses are never available for formula funding through the Coordinating Board. Funding for GED courses comes from TEA.

Q: Do CE Special Topics (ST) courses have to be submitted to the Coordinating Board? Do they have to be workforce related? Can they be submitted with the college’s marketing title and description?

A: Yes, Yes, and Yes.

Colleges MUST submit ST courses to the CB through the electronic submission process PRIOR to the end of the semester/quarter in which the courses are offered. The term LOCAL TITLE on the electronic submission form refers to the local workforce marketing title. AUDIT PENALTIES MAY APPLY IF COLLEGES ARE NOT CAREFUL TO INCLUDE ONLY LEGITIMATE WORKFORCE EDUCATION CONTENT AND AVOID COMMUNITY INTEREST COURSES WHICH ARE NOT STATE FUNDABLE (see GIPWE, Chapter 3 B.8.2; http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/ctc/ip/GIPWE2003/Chapter(3)Three-Workforce_Education_Program_Elements.doc). Even though the content of the courses is clearly workforce education, colleges should also be careful to include a local marketing workforce title that is also workforce related and not community interest.

Q: What guidelines should be used to convert a continuing education course to a credit course?

A: The decision for a college to award academic credit for coursework taken on a non-credit basis is a local college decision and each college should have a policy that follows the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) guidelines. The Criteria for Accreditation 1998 Edition published by the SACS addresses the awarding of academic credit for work taken on a non-credit basis in Section 4.6, page 47 which reads as follows.

“An institution must not award academic credit for work taken on a non-credit basis without appropriate documentation that the non-credit coursework is equivalent to a designated credit experience. In such cases, the institution must document that the credit awarded for non-credit coursework represents collegiate coursework relevant to the degree, with the course content and level of instruction resulting in student competencies equivalent to those of students in the institution’s own degree programs and coursework taught by faculty members qualified to teach the appropriate degree level.”

Q: A CE program must appear on a college’s program inventory at the CB if it contains a minimum of 360 contact hours. (Programs that are 780 contact hours or more must be offered for SCH not CE). Under what circumstances must a college submit a program REVISION?

A: If a college modifies the length of a CE workforce education program by more than 100 contact hours, then a program revision must be submitted.

Q: How does a college report the contact hours for a CE course in the case of a contract training course where it is not practical to pre-register the students and the class is held on a holiday or weekend, making the first opportunity to post the information about the students in the class the first work day after the holiday or weekend?

A: The contact hours of students in the following scenario should be allowed for state funding in cases where it is not practical to pre-register before the class meets and the first opportunity to post the information about the students in the class is the first work day after the holiday or weekend. Under these conditions the hours should be allowed for state funding.

Example Scenario:
- Approved valid contract in place with the company for whom the training is being conducted. - A one-day training event is scheduled for a Saturday and advance registration is not possible. The census date for the training will be the date of the training.
- On the day of the training, twelve students are present. Registration forms are completed, signed and dated for each of the twelve students. The college’s business office is not open on Saturdays, so events cannot be entered into the automated system until the following Monday.
- On Monday, the first business day following the training event, the registration forms are processed and recorded into the automated system for reporting.

Q: How can colleges report a CE class that goes over 18 weeks, but stays within the allowable contact hour range?

A: There are various ways that a CE class can be reported on the CBM00C when it is offered for over 18 weeks and stays within the allowable contact hour range:

1. In one quarter, if both the official census date and the course end date occurred in the same quarter.
2. In two quarters, if the two dates did not occur in the same quarter; the quarter the official date occurred and the quarter that the course end date occurred.
3. If the census date occurred in quarter 1 and the course-end date occurred in quarter 3, no CBMOOC record for the class is reported in quarter 2.

For other reporting information, go to the THECB Reporting Manual which can be found on the Coordinating Board website at www.thecb.state.tx.us/DataAndStatistics . Click on Reporting and then, in the drop-down box, click on Community and Technical Colleges. You may also e-mail Mr. Kenneth Dalley, who is in the Educational Data Center (EDC) at the Coordinating Board, at kenneth.dalley@thecb.state.tx.us.

Q: Where do we find the FUNDING RATES for Public Community/Junior and Technical Colleges courses for the most recent biennium?

A: These can be found on the Coordinating Board’s website at http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/ctc/ip/wecm2000/PJC_CIPRubric.xls. Or go to the THECB website at http://www.thecb.state.tx.us, click on Community and Technical Colleges; Instructional Programs; Workforce Education Course Manual; and then click on the picture of the note cards that are labeled CIP/Rubric Index. If you have questions regarding this, please email Amanda Green at amanda.green@thecb.state.tx.us. NOTE: This website will be changed in the near future to reflect the reorganization of the THECB.