Honorable Bevington Reed Opinion No. M-365 

Commissioner of Higher Education 

Sam Houston State Office Building Re: Whether establishment of 

Austin, Texas 78701 a Center as recommended 

by the Coordinating Board, 

Texas College and University System, r,equires 

Dear Dr. Reed: 

specific authorizing legislation. 

In your letter requesting the Attorney General to render an opinion on the above question, you advised that the Coordinating Board, Texas College and University System, has 

adopted a recommendation reading as follows: 

"That there be established immediately a 

Center in Laredo to offer upper-division collegelevel work giving special emphasis to upperdivision programs in teacher education and business administration leading to the baccalaureate 

degree. 

"The Board is of the opinion that the Center 

should be administered by Texas A&I University, 

which has a distinctive teacher education program 

and is rapidly developing a bilingual business 

administration program with a grant from the federal government. 

"The Coordinating Board is of the further 

opinion that Texas A&I can provide these facilities through contract with Laredo Junior College 

for the use of its appropriate facilities. The 

use of the Center by Laredo residents can demonstrate to the Coordinating Board the effectiveness 

of higher educational opportunities in helping to 

solve the problems of the region and can serve to 

support a recommendation for the ultimate establishment of a free-standing upper-division master's 

level institution in Laredo." 

You advised us, further, that the Southern Association 

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Hon. Bevington Reed, page 2 (~-365) 

of Colleges and Schools, through the college delegate assembly, 

establishes the standards by which institutions in Texas are 

accredited by that regional organization, and that said association defines a Center in the following terms: 

"A center is a non-degree granting division 

or unit of an institution, located in a geographical setting separated from the parent institution and established for a stated purpose in 

relation to the parent institution and to the area 

served. The center shall have a pattern or sequence of courses which leads to terminal programs or degrees on the parent campus or at other 

degree granting institutions. 

"The center shall operate under the supervision of an administrative officer responsible 

to the parent institution. Its admission requirements and procedures, courses to be offered, and 

faculty shall have the approval and be under supervision of the appropriate departments on the home 

campus. Each course offered shall have physical 

facilities (including space and equipment) and 

library holdings equivalent to those required for 

the same course on the home campus. Academic requirements and instructional quality shall be 

equivalent to those maintained at the parent campus. 

"For the purposes of identification, the parent 

institution must indicate on its transcripts the 

name of the center where courses are completed." 

Subsequent to your request for an opinion we have received the following information from your office: 

"In making its recommendations on Laredo, 

the Coordinating Board: 

"a) Did not intend to create a permanent installation in Laredo by Texas A&I University. 

(note the language in the recommendation, emphasis 

added.) 

"'The use of the Center by Laredo residents can 

demonstrate to the Coordinating Board the effectiveness of higher educational opportunities in helping to solve the problems of the region and can 

serve to support a recommendation for the ultimate 

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Hon. Bevington Reed, page 3 (M-365) 

establishment of a free-standing upper-division 

master's level institution in Laredo.' 

"b) Considered a 'center'~as a place where 

extension work may be done. 

"C) Recognized that offering extension 

courses was within the present 

University. 

roie of Texas A&I 

"d) Did not believe that the.establishment 

of a center would establish or create any university system because a 'center' has no individual 

life within itself but draws life from the institution offering extension services. 

"e) ~Understood that this concept of a 

'center' is in agreement with the accreditation 

definitions of the Southern Association of 

Colleges and Schools, ie. a center is a place 

where one does extension work,, and as long as 

students do a prescribed portion of their curriculum on'the Texas A&I campus for the degree 

the Association will judge it as a 'Center.' 

"f) Determined that extension work as 

described above would be the only function of 

the 'Center.' 

"g) Believed that a 'system' is made up of 

independent units, each of which has a life of 

its own and each of which can exist and function 

without the other units, all of which are under 

a common Board of Governance." 

The duties of the Coordinating Board, Texas College 

and University System, are defined in Section 10 of the Higher 

Education Coordinating Act of 1965 (Article 2919e-2, Vernon's 

Civil Statutes); and, insofar as creation of such Center is 

concerned, the Board's duties are set forth in sub-sections 

(3) and (9) of said Section 10, in the following language: 

"Sec. 10. The Board shall represent the 

highest authority in the State in matters of 

higher public education and shall 

* * * t 

"(3) Classify, and prescribe the role and 

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Hon. Bevington Reed, page 4 (M-365) 

scope 'for, each public institution of higher 

education in Texas and make such changes in 

classifzcationor role dsti- an 

tutions as it deems necessary. 

* * * * 

"(9) Make continuing studies of the needs 

of the State for research and for extension and 

public services and designate the institutions 

of higher education to perform research, public 

service and, extension programs, including limitation of extension programs for credit to specific 

geographic areas." (Emphasis added.) 

Texas A&I University is among the institutions subject 

to the provisions of the Higher Education Coordinating Act of 

1965. Article 2919e-2, Section 2, subdivision (c). Therefore, 

the Coordinating.Board~must prescribe-that- university's role 

and scope within.the State's higher education system, in compliance with Section lO(3) of the Act. The act of the Coordinating Board, authorizing establishment of such Center, as a 

facility of Texas A&I University, wholly managed by and dependent 

upon that institution, broadens the role and scope for Texas 

A&I University, as an institution of higher education, by providing,educational services for a given area of the State, 

through its central campus and its Center at Laredo. Thus, in 

authorizing,creation of the Center at Laredo, the Board will 

have done exactly as it is authorized to do in Section lO(3) 

of the Coordinating Act. 

Section lO(9) of the Coordinating Act requires the 

Board to designate those institutions which are to carry out 

educational extension services within the State 

to be carried out at the proposed Center, in of;er?$!$%?ed 

college level courses for credit from Texas A&I University, 

will be an.extension program of that university. Therefore, 

the Coordinatina Board. in addition to hauina,orescribed an 

aspect of the.educations role and scope ~of Texas A&I University, 

will have complied with the Legislature?s direction that the 

Board designate the institutions to.carry out extension programs. Texas A&I University has been designated by the Board 

as the institution,to carry out any extension program in that 

area of Texas, through a Center in Laredo. 

The Board, having had authority delegated to it as 

*the highest authority in the State in matters of public education," clearly has the authority,and duty to act, with additional legislative affirmance of its acts, within the area 

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I . 

Hon. Bevington Reed, page 5 (M-365) 

of its delegated powers and duties. Within that area lie 

prescription of the educational role and scope for each educational institution covered by the Act, and a designation 

of the institutions to carry out extension programs, without 

geographic limitation. Since the Board, in recommending 

establishment of the Center, has acted wholly within the scope 

of the powers and duties delegated to it, there exists no need 

for legislative affirmance of such action. 

SUMMARY 

Establishment of a Center at Laredo, to be administered by Texas A&I University, as recommended 

by the Coordinating Board, Texas College and University System, will not require specific legislative 

authorization prior to its inaugu 

i"p 

tion. 

General of Texas 

Prepared by Rick P. Fisher 

Assistant Attorney General 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Kerns Taylor, Chairman 

George Xelton, Vice-Chairman 

Charles Parrett 

Neil Williams 

Fisher Tyler 

Robert C. Crouch 

W. V. GEPPERT 

Staff Legal Assistant 

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