EDUCATION CODE
SUBTITLE C. THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SYSTEM
CHAPTER 65. ADMINISTRATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SYSTEM
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
§ 65.01. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "System" or "university system" means The
University of Texas System.
(2) "Board" means the board of regents of The
University of Texas System.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3144, ch. 1024, art. 1, § 1, eff. Sept.
1, 1971.
§ 65.02. ORGANIZATION. (a) The University of Texas
System is composed of the following institutions and entities:
(1) The University of Texas at Arlington, including:
(A) The University of Texas Institute of Urban
Studies at Arlington; and
(B) The University of Texas School of Nursing at
Arlington;
(2) The University of Texas at Austin, including:
(A) The University of Texas Marine Science
Institute;
(B) The University of Texas McDonald Observatory
at Mount Locke; and
(C) The University of Texas School of Nursing at
Austin;
(3) The University of Texas at Dallas;
(4) The University of Texas at El Paso, including The
University of Texas School of Nursing at El Paso;
(5) The University of Texas of the Permian Basin;
(6) The University of Texas at San Antonio, including
the University of Texas Institute of Texan Cultures at San Antonio;
(7) The University of Texas Southwestern Medical
Center at Dallas, including:
(A) The University of Texas Southwestern Medical
School at Dallas;
(B) The University of Texas Southwestern
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Dallas; and
(C) The University of Texas Southwestern Allied
Health Sciences School at Dallas;
(8) The University of Texas Medical Branch at
Galveston, including:
(A) The University of Texas Medical School at
Galveston;
(B) The University of Texas Graduate School of
Biomedical Sciences at Galveston;
(C) The University of Texas School of Allied
Health Sciences at Galveston;
(D) The University of Texas Marine Biomedical
Institute at Galveston;
(E) The University of Texas Hospitals at
Galveston; and
(F) The University of Texas School of Nursing at
Galveston;
(9) The University of Texas Health Science Center at
Houston, including:
(A) The University of Texas Medical School at
Houston;
(B) The University of Texas Dental Branch at
Houston;
(C) The University of Texas Graduate School of
Biomedical Sciences at Houston;
(D) The University of Texas School of Health
Information Sciences at Houston;
(E) The University of Texas School of Public
Health at Houston;
(F) The University of Texas Speech and Hearing
Institute at Houston; and
(G) The University of Texas School of Nursing at
Houston;
(10) The University of Texas Health Science Center at
San Antonio, including:
(A) The University of Texas Medical School at San
Antonio;
(B) The University of Texas Dental School at San
Antonio;
(C) The University of Texas Graduate School of
Biomedical Sciences at San Antonio;
(D) The University of Texas School of Allied
Health Sciences at San Antonio; and
(E) The University of Texas School of Nursing at
San Antonio;
(11) The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer
Center, including:
(A) The University of Texas M. D. Anderson
Hospital;
(B) The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Tumor
Institute; and
(C) The University of Texas M. D. Anderson
Science Park.
(b) The University of Texas System shall also be composed of
such other institutions and entities as from time to time may be
assigned by specific legislative act to the governance, control,
jurisdiction, or management of The University of Texas System.
Added by Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 1186, ch. 435, § 1, eff. Aug.
27, 1973. Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 644, § 2, eff.
June 14, 1989; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 325, § 1, eff. Sept. 1,
2001.
SUBCHAPTER B. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
§ 65.11. BOARD OF REGENTS. The government of the
university system is vested in a board of nine regents appointed by
the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. The board
may provide for the administration, organization, and names of the
institutions and entities in The University of Texas System in such
a way as will achieve the maximum operating efficiency of such
institutions and entities, provided, however, that no institution
or entity of The University of Texas System not authorized by
specific legislative act to offer a four-year undergraduate program
as of the effective date of this Act shall offer any such four-year
undergraduate program without prior recommendation and approval by
a two-thirds vote of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
and a specific act of the Legislature.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3144, ch. 1024, art. 1, § 1, eff. Sept.
1, 1971. Amended by Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 1188, ch. 435, § 2,
eff. Aug. 27, 1973; Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 644, § 3, eff. June
14, 1989.
§ 65.12. QUALIFICATIONS; TERMS. Each member of the
board shall be a qualified voter; and the members shall be selected
from different portions of the state. The members hold office for
staggered terms of six years, with the terms of three expiring
February 1 of odd-numbered years.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3144, ch. 1024, art. 1, § 1, eff. Sept.
1, 1971. Amended by Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 2837, ch. 484, art.
III, § 1, eff. June 19, 1983.
§ 65.13. BOARD OFFICERS. The board shall elect a
chairman from its members to serve at the will of the board. The
comptroller shall be the treasurer of the university system.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3144, ch. 1024, art. 1, § 1, eff. Sept.
1, 1971. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1423, § 5.16, eff.
Sept. 1, 1997.
§ 65.14. EXPENSES. The reasonable expenses incurred by
members of the board in the discharge of their duties shall be paid
from the available university fund.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3144, ch. 1024, art. 1, § 1, eff. Sept.
1, 1971.
§ 65.15. SEAL. The board may make and use a common seal
and may alter it at will.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3145, ch. 1024, art. 1, § 1, eff. Sept.
1, 1971.
§ 65.16. SYSTEM CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION OFFICE;
EXECUTIVE OFFICER. (a) The board shall establish a central
administration of the university system to provide oversight and
coordination of the activities of the system and each component
institution within the system.
(b) The board shall appoint a chief executive officer and
such other executive officers of the system central administration
as the board considers appropriate. The board shall determine each
officer's term of appointment, salary, and duties.
(c) Subject to the power and authority of the board, the
chief executive officer is responsible for the general management
of the university system within the policies of the board and for
making recommendations to the board concerning the organization of
the university system and the appointment of the chief
administrative officer for each component institution within the
system.
(d) In addition to other powers and duties provided by this
code or other law, the central administration of the system shall
recommend policies and rules to the governing board of the system to
ensure conformity with all laws and rules and to provide uniformity
in data collection and financial reporting procedures.
Added by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 464, § 1, eff. June 14, 1989.
SUBCHAPTER C. POWERS AND DUTIES OF BOARD
§ 65.31. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES. (a) The board is
authorized and directed to govern, operate, support, and maintain
each of the component institutions that are now or may hereafter be
included in a part of The University of Texas System.
(b) The board is authorized to prescribe for each of the
component institutions courses and programs leading to such degrees
as are customarily offered in outstanding American universities,
and to award all such degrees. It is the intent of the legislature
that such degrees shall include baccalaureate, master's, and
doctoral degrees, and their equivalents, but no new department,
school, or degree-program shall be instituted without the prior
approval of the Coordinating Board, Texas College and University
System.
(c) The board has authority to promulgate and enforce such
other rules and regulations for the operation, control, and
management of the university system and the component institutions
thereof as the board may deem either necessary or desirable. The
board is specifically authorized and empowered to determine and
prescribe the number of students that shall be admitted to any
course, department, school, college, degree-program, or
institution under its governance.
(d) The board is specifically authorized to make joint
appointments in the component institutions under its governance.
The salary of any person who receives such joint appointment shall
be apportioned to the appointing institutions on the basis of
services rendered.
(e) The board is specifically authorized, upon terms and
conditions acceptable to it, to accept, retain in depositories of
its choosing, and administer gifts, grants, or donations of any
kind, from any source, for use by the system or any of the component
institutions of the system.
(f) No component institution which is not authorized to
offer a four-year undergraduate program shall offer a four-year
undergraduate program without the specific authorization of the
legislature.
(g) The board by rule may delegate a power or duty of the
board to a committee, officer, employee, or other agent of the
board.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3145, ch. 1024, art. 1, § 1, eff. Sept.
1, 1971. Amended by Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3360, ch. 1024, art. 2,
§ 37, eff. Sept. 1, 1971; Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 5010, ch. 900,
§ 1, eff. Aug. 29, 1983; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 213, § 1,
eff. May 23, 1995.
§ 65.32. REMOVAL OF OFFICERS, ETC. The board may remove
any officer, member of the faculty, or employee connected with the
system when in its judgment the interest of the system requires the
removal.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3145, ch. 1024, art. 1, § 1, eff. Sept.
1, 1971.
§ 65.33. EMINENT DOMAIN. (a) The board has the power
of eminent domain to acquire for the use of the university system
any land that may be necessary and proper for carrying out its
purposes in the manner prescribed in Title 52, Revised Civil
Statutes of Texas, 1925, as amended.
(b) Whenever the board has been made trustees by a will,
instrument in writing, or otherwise of a trust for a scientific,
educational, philanthropic, or charitable purpose, or other trust
for a public purpose, it may act by a quorum of the board or a
majority of all members. Unless otherwise directed by the terms of
the will or instrument, as trustees the board may exercise for the
purpose of the trust the power of eminent domain and may condemn
land and other property as provided by Title 52, Revised Civil
Statutes of Texas, 1925, as amended.
(c) In the event that the federal government awards the
Super-conducting Super Collider Accelerator project to one or more
institutions of higher education in the State of Texas, one of which
is a component of The University of Texas System and/or The Texas A &
M University System, and the governor with the advice of the
Houston Area Research Center Board determines that the board of
regents of The University of Texas System should select the site for
the construction of this project on permanent university fund
lands, the board shall use its best efforts to find a suitable site
on permanent university fund lands. If the board determines that it
is not feasible to locate the project wholly on permanent
university fund lands and the legislature has appropriated funds
for such purpose, the board may exercise the power of eminent domain
to acquire, on behalf of the state, title and right-of-way
easements in such land in addition to permanent university fund
lands as the board may determine is necessary and appropriate for
the project. If a component of both The University of Texas System
and The Texas A & M University System are members of the consortium
that is awarded the Super-conducting Super Collider Accelerator
project, the board of regents of The University of Texas System
shall not proceed to select a site and to exercise the power of
eminent domain without a resolution of concurrence from the board
of regents of The Texas A & M University System.
(d) The taking of the property is declared to be for the use
of the state. The board shall not be required to deposit a bond or
the amount equal to the award of damages by the commissioners as
provided in Paragraph 2, Article 3268, Revised Civil Statutes of
Texas, 1925.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3145, ch. 1024, art. 1, § 1, eff. Sept.
1, 1971. Amended by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 922, § 1, eff. Aug.
26, 1985.
§ 65.34. CONTRACTS. A contract must be approved by the
board or otherwise entered into in accordance with rules of the
board relating to contracting authority.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3146, p. 1024, art. 1, § 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1971. Amended by Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 562, ch. 197, § 2, eff.
May 20, 1977; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 213, § 2, eff. May 23,
1995.
§ 65.35. EXPENDITURES. All expenditures may be made by
the order of the board and shall be paid on warrants from the
comptroller based on vouchers approved by the chairman of the board
or his delegate, or by the institutional head or his delegate of the
component institution making the expenditures.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3146, ch. 1024, art. 1, § 1, eff. Sept.
1, 1971.
§ 65.36. DONATIONS FOR PROFESSORSHIPS AND
SCHOLARSHIPS. (a) Donations of property may be made and accepted
by the board for the purpose of establishing or assisting in the
establishment of a professorship or scholarship in the university
system or any of its component institutions, or for creating in the
university system or any of its component institutions any trust
for any lawful, educational, or charitable purpose, either
temporarily or permanently, and the donations or trusts thereby
created will be governed by the rules prescribed by this section.
(b) The legal title to the property shall be vested in the
board acting as an entity, or the State of Texas, to be held in trust
for the purpose under any directions, limitations, and provisions
that may be declared in writing in the donation or trust agreement,
not inconsistent with the objectives and proper management of the
system or its component institutions.
(c) The donor may declare and direct the manner in which the
title to the property shall thereafter be transmitted from the
trustee in continued succession, to be held for and appropriated to
the declared purposes.
(d) The donor may declare and direct the person or class of
persons who shall receive the benefit of the donation and the manner
of their selection.
(e) The declarations, directions, and limitations shall not
be inconsistent with the objects and proper management of the
system or its institutions.
(f) In case of failure to transmit the title to the property
or to bestow its use in the manner declared and directed in the
donation, or in case the uses, or either of them, become
impracticable from the change of circumstances, the title to the
property, unless otherwise expressly directed by the donor, shall
vest in this state to be held in trust to carry into effect the
purposes of the donation as nearly as practicable by such agencies
as may be provided therefor.
(g) The title to the property donated shall be received, and
the trust conferred in the donation shall be assumed, subject to
laws that may be passed and carried into effect from time to time
which may be necessary to prevent the loss of, or damage to, the
property donated, or an abuse or neglect of the trust so as to
defeat, materially change, or prevent the objects of the donation.
(h) Copies of the donation shall be filed with the board or
the branch to which the donation applies; and the board shall
report the condition and management of the property and the manner
in which the trust is being administered as part of the matters
reported pertaining to the institution.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3146, ch. 1024, art. 1, § 1, eff. Sept.
1, 1971. Amended by Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 1577, ch. 568, § 1,
eff. Aug. 27, 1973.
§ 65.37. FUNDS RECEIVED FOR TRUST SERVICES. The board
may deposit in an appropriate university account all funds received
as administrative fees or charges for services rendered in the
management and administration of any trust estate under the control
of the university system or any institution of the system. The
funds so received as administrative fees or charges may be expended
by the board for any educational purpose of the university system.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3147, ch. 1024, art. 1, § 1, eff. Sept.
1, 1971.
§ 65.38. NONSECTARIAN. No religious qualification
shall be required for admission to any office or privilege in the
university system. No course of instruction of a sectarian
character shall be taught in the system.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3147, ch. 1024, art. 1, § 1, eff. Sept.
1, 1971.
§ 65.39. MANAGEMENT OF LANDS OTHER THAN PERMANENT
UNIVERSITY FUND LANDS. The board of regents of The University of
Texas System has the sole and exclusive management and control of
the lands set aside and appropriated to, or acquired by, The
University of Texas System. The board may sell, lease, and
otherwise manage, control, and use the lands in any manner and at
prices and under terms and conditions the board deems best for the
interest of The University of Texas System, not in conflict with the
constitution. However, the land shall not be sold at a price less
per acre than that at which the same class of other public land may
be sold under the statutes. No grazing lease shall be made for a
period of more than 10 years.
Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3147, ch. 1024, art. 1, § 1, eff. Sept.
1, 1971.
§ 65.40. M.D. ANDERSON SCIENCE PARK. (a) The board is
hereby authorized to establish, maintain, and support an
environmental science park in Bastrop County, Texas, on lands owned
or controlled by it, the administration and business management of
which shall be delegated to The University of Texas M. D. Anderson
Cancer Center.
(b) The board shall have authority to cooperate with
agencies, institutions, instrumentalities, and subdivisions of
this state, other states, and the federal government; and with
private institutes, institutions, foundations, and organizations,
in the furtherance of this section, and the promotion of
educational and environmental science programs.
(c) The board is specifically authorized upon terms and
conditions acceptable to it, to accept and administer, gifts,
grants, or donations, of any kind, from any source, to aid in the
establishment, operation, maintenance, or administration of the
environmental science park.
Added by Acts 1971, 62nd Leg., p. 3336, ch. 1024, art. 2, § 2,
eff. Sept. 1, 1971. Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 644, §
4, eff. June 14, 1989.
§ 65.41. MEDICAL SCHOOL ADMISSION POLICIES. The Board
of Regents shall promulgate appropriate rules and regulations
pertaining to the admission of students to medical schools which
will provide for admission of those students to its entering class
each year who are equally or as well qualified as all other students
and who have entered a contract with or received a commitment for a
stipend, grant, loan or scholarship from the State Rural Medical
Education Board. The State Rural Medical Education Board may
contract with medical students providing for such students to
engage in a general or family practice of medicine for not less than
four years after licensing and a period of medical residency, as
determined by the rules and regulations established by the State
Rural Medical Education Board, in cities of Texas which have a
population of less than 5,000 or in rural areas, as that term may be
defined by the State Rural Medical Education Board, and said Board
is hereby given the authority to define and from time to time
redefine the term rural area, at the time the medical practice is
commenced. This contract shall provide for a monthly stipend of at
least $100 to be granted by the State Rural Medical Education Board
to each person under contract with the state while enrolled as a
medical school student.
Added by Acts 1975, 64th Leg., p. 2408, ch. 740, § 3, eff. Sept.
1, 1975.
§ 65.42. DELINQUENT ACCOUNTS; VENUE. A suit by The
University of Texas System on its own behalf or on behalf of a
component institution of The University of Texas System to recover
a delinquent loan, account, or debt owed to The University of Texas
System or a component institution of The University of Texas System
may be brought in Travis County.
Added by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 403, § 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
§ 65.43. SALE OF OBSOLETE MEDICAL EQUIPMENT. The board
shall have the authority to sell and transfer, after due
notification by journal or mail, on fair and reasonable terms, to
any hospital within the State of Texas operated by the state, a
city, a county, a hospital district, a nonprofit corporation, or a
tax-exempt charitable organization any medical equipment that has
been in use at an institution or facility governed by the board and
is obsolete with regard to the instructional objectives of The
University of Texas System.
Added by Acts 1981, 67th Leg., p. 2068, ch. 459, § 1, eff. June
11, 1981.
§ 65.45. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT,
MANAGEMENT, AND TRANSFER. (a) The legislature finds that it is
essential to the economic growth of the state that the potential for
the development and growth of high technology industry be promoted
and expanded. As a means of accomplishing this purpose, the board
(b) Subject to the rules and regulations of the board, the
centersolicit and submit for approval of the board
(b) As a means of carrying out the purposes of this section,
the board may, through one or more corporations incorporated by the
board or under any other cooperative arrangement:
(1) own and license rights to products, technology,
and scientific information;
(2) own shares in corporations engaged in the
discovery, development, manufacture, management, or marketing of
products, technology, or scientific information in this state or
outside this state;
(3) participate, either directly or through a
subsidiary corporation or other legal entity formed for that
purpose, in the discovery, development, manufacture, management,
or marketing of products, technology, or scientific information on
behalf of the United States or a state or local governmental entity;
and
(4) carry on and support such other activities as the
board may deem appropriate for achieving the purposes of this
section.
(c) The board may cooperate in any manner the board
considers appropriate with similar programs operated by other
state-supported institutions of higher education in this state or
in other states.
Added by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 818, § 1, eff. Aug. 26, 1985.
Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1266, § 4.04, eff. June 20,
2003.
§ 65.46. POWERS RELATED TO ISSUANCE OF BONDS AND
NOTES. (a) In this section:
(1) "Bond" or "note" means a bond or note that the
board is authorized to issue according to law, including Article
VII, Section 18, of the Texas Constitution, Chapter 55 or 66 of this
code, or other applicable law.
(2) "Credit agreement" means a loan agreement,
revolving credit agreement, agreement establishing a line of
credit, letter of credit, reimbursement agreement, insurance
contract, commitment to purchase bonds or notes, purchase or sale
agreement, or another commitment, contract, or agreement
authorized and approved by the board in connection with the
authorization, issuance, security, exchange, payment, purchase, or
redemption of bonds or notes or interest on bonds or notes.
(b) To enhance the security for, or provide for the
purchase, payment, redemption, or remarketing of, bonds or notes
and the interest on bonds or notes, or to reduce the cost of
interest payable on bonds or notes, the board may enter into credit
agreements in relation to bonds or notes, and may secure its
obligations under the credit agreements by pledging, encumbering,
or granting liens on or security interests in revenues, funds, or
other property or security that may be pledged or encumbered or made
subject to a lien or security interest to secure the bonds or notes
that are secured by the credit agreement. The cost to the board of
the credit agreement and the obligations of the board under the
credit agreement may be paid from proceeds of the sale of bonds or
notes to which the credit agreement relates or from any other source
that is available for the purpose of paying the bonds or notes and
the interest on the bonds or notes or that may otherwise be legally
available to make those payments. The credit agreement shall be
submitted, together with the bonds or notes, to the attorney
general for review. If the attorney general finds that the credit
agreement conforms to applicable law, the attorney general shall
approve the credit agreement with the bonds or notes. On approval
and delivery, the credit agreement is incontestable for any cause.
(c) The board may authorize bonds or notes to bear interest
at a rate or rates (either fixed, variable, floating, adjustable,
or otherwise, all as determined in accordance with the resolution
authorizing the issuance of the bonds or notes, which may provide a
formula, index, or contractual arrangement for the periodic
determination of interest rates without the requirement of specific
approval, by the board, of each determination) not to exceed the
maximum net effective interest rate allowed by law. The resolution
under which the bonds or notes are issued may delegate to one or
more designated officers, employees, or agents of the board the
authority to act on behalf of the board, while the bonds or notes
remain outstanding, in fixing dates, prices, interest rates,
interest payment periods, and other procedures specified in the
resolution so that, among other things, the interest on the bonds or
notes may be adjusted from time to time by the officer, employee, or
agent to permit the bonds or notes to be sold or resold at par in
conjunction with secondary market transactions.
(d) The board may enter into financing programs under which
the board may issue notes for any lawful purpose for which bonds or
notes may be issued and may make provision for the notes initially
issued under the programs to be refinanced, renewed, or refunded
throughout the period of the programs by the issuance, sale, and
delivery of additional notes. The notes may be secured in any
manner provided by law for securing notes or bonds, and also may be
secured by the proceeds of the sale of notes, the proceeds of the
sale of bonds, or credit agreements, all as the board provides in
the resolution authorizing the financing program and the issuance
of notes under the program. The board may:
(1) provide in the resolution authorizing the
financing program for the maximum principal amount of notes to be
outstanding at any time under the financing program;
(2) provide for the authorization of one or more
officers or employees of the board to act on behalf of the board in
selling and delivering notes and fixing their dates, prices,
interest rates, terms of payment, and other procedures relating to
the notes as specified in the resolution;
(3) contract for the future sale of notes under which
designated purchasers are committed to purchase notes from time to
time on the terms and conditions stated in the contract, including a
credit agreement executed in connection with the notes;
(4) provide for the payment of consideration that the
board considers proper for the purchase commitments, and provide
for the payment of the consideration out of proceeds from the sale
of notes or from any other source that is available for the purpose
of paying the notes or that may otherwise be legally available to
make the payments; and
(5) exercise any other rights and powers that are
granted to issuers of obligations under Chapter 1371, Government
Code, which also governs the approval by the attorney general of the
notes, related credit agreements, and other contracts or
instruments and the registration of the notes by the comptroller.
(e) This section shall be construed liberally to effect the
legislative intent and purposes of this section, and all powers
granted by this section shall be broadly interpreted to effect that
intent and those purposes and not as a limitation of powers.
Added by Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 919, § 1, eff. June 15, 1985.
Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1420, § 8.223, eff. Sept. 1,
2001.
