The Attorney General of Texas 

December 11, 1978 

JOHN L. HILL 

Attorney General 

President Philip G. Hoffman 

University of Houston 

Houston, Texas 77004 

Opinion No. H-12 7 7 

Re: Authority of the University 

to promulgate a regulation 

defining the term “full-time 

basis” in section 51.352(4), 

Education Code. 

Dear Dr. Hoffman: 

You inquire about the authority of the University of Houston Board of 

Regents to promulgate a rule defining “full-time basis” as it appears in a 

provision relating to the Optional Retirement Program. Section 51.353 of the 

Education Code provides that “[aIll faculty members are eligible to 

participate in the optional retirement program,” subject to rules prescribed 

by the governing board of their institution. “Faculty member” is defined as 

follows: 

. . . a person who is employed by an institution of 

higher education on a full-time basis as a member of 

the faculty or staff and whose duties include teaching, 

research, administration, . . . or the performance of 

professional services. . . . 

Educ. Code S 51.352(4) (emphasis added). You wish to know whether the 

Regents may define employment on a “full-time basis” to mean “employment 

for one-half or more of the standard workload at a rate comparable to the 

rate of compensation for other persons employed in similar positions.” You 

note that the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) has adopted the quoted 

standard in its rule defining “full-time” service under section 3.02(a)(3) of the 

Education Code. 

In Attorney General Opinion H-871 (1978) we considered the TRS rule 

and declined to hold it invalid. We found numerous factors supporting its 

validity which are not present in the case of your proposed rule. The TRS 

definition was an administrative construction of long standing, and employees 

had accumulated credit and received benefits under it. When the legislature 

placed the TRS provisions in the Education Code in 1969, it expressly provided 

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President Philip G. Hoffman - Page 2 (H-1277) 

that present members of TRS would continue their membership. Educ. Code S 

3.03(a). In addition, TRS served employees in diverse job classifications with 

various ways of measuring workload. We concluded that the courts would not 

disregard the long-standing administrative construction, particularly in view of the 

legislature’s acquiescence in it. 

However, we stated that we would not have construed the statute in this 

manner. We noted that the courts will disrenard an administrative construction 

which is contrary to the plain meaning of a itatute. See Brown Express, Inc. v. 

Railroad Commission, 415 S.W.2d 394 (Tex. 1967); Eddins-alcher Butane Company 

v. Calvert, 298 S.W.2d 93 (Tex. 1957). The rule you propose is subject to this 

objection. 

The Code Construction Act provides that “[wlords and phrases shall be . . . 

construed according to . . . common usage. ” V.T.C.S. art. 5429b-2, S 2.01. See also 

-- 

National Life Co. v. Stegall, 169 S.W.2d 155 (Tex. 1943) (words used in statute are 

given ordinary meaning). A dictionary may be consulted to ascertain the meaning 

of a word. Board of Insurance Commissioners v. Duncan, 174 S.W.2d 326 (Tex. Civ. 

App. - Amarillo 1943, writ ref’d). The dictionary defines “full time” as follows: 

employed for or working the amount of time considered 

customary or standard. 

Webster’s Third International Dictionary at 919. ln contrast, “part time” is defined 

as follows: 

employed for or working less than the amount of time 

considered customary or standard. 

Ia, at 1648. In our opinion, a definition of “full time basis” that includes 

employment at half time or less than full time is contrary to the plain meaning of 

the statutory language. In the absence of strong countervailing factors like those 

outlined in Attorney General Opinion H-871, see also V.T.C.S. article 5429b-2, 

section 3.03, we do not believe your administrative definition would be upheld by 

the courts. ln our opinion, you may not adopt the proposed definition of “full-time 

basis.” 

SUMMARY. 

The governing board of an institution of higher education 

may not promulgate a rule defining employment on a “fulltime basis” in section 51.352(4) of the Education Code to 

mean “employment for one-half or more of the standard 

workload. . . .I’ 

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President Philip G. Hoffman - Page 3 (~-1277) 

Very truly yours, 

Attorney General of Texas 

APPROVED: 

%L 

DAVID M. KENDALL, First Assistant 

C. ROBERT HEATH. Chairman 

Opinion Committee ’ 

jsn 

p. 5052