Appropriations for Developmental Education in Texas Public Institutions of Higher Education.

This document is the fifth in a series of biennial reports on appropriations for developmental education in Texas. Overall general revenue appropriations for developmental education increased from $182.8 million in the 2000-2001 biennium to $184.8 million in the 2002-2003 biennium. Appropriations in the 1998-1999 biennium were $38.5 million. From the 2000-2001 to the 2002-2003 biennium, the amount of developmental instruction provided increased by 1.8% in community colleges, by 3.9% in universities, 4.3% in the Texas State Technical College System, and 4.6% in the Lamar State Colleges, for an overall statewide increase of 1.5%. More than 88% of developmental instruction takes place in 2-year colleges, and 65% of developmental instruction costs are for mathematics, with the balance split about equally between reading and writing. The percentage of appropriations for developmental education as a percentage of appropriations for lower-level instruction varies significantly throughout the state, from 3.3% in Central Texas to nearly 14% in the Upper Rio Grande Valley. An appendix contains a table of developmental education appropriations as a percentage of lower-division instruction for individual institutions in the Texas system. (SLD)