1. (a) The governing board of a community college district requesting authority to create or convert a branch campus must submit a notice of intent to apply to the Commissioner, on the form required by the Coordinating Board.

2. (b) The community college district must conduct a self-study to assess whether the proposed branch campus meets the following criteria:

   1. (1) Role and Mission; Purpose. In its program aspects, a branch campus shall be equivalent to a public community college. Therefore, the branch campus must provide:

      1. (A) career and technical programs up to two years in length leading to associate degrees or certificates;
      2. (B) lower-division courses, including the state-mandated core curriculum;
      3. (C) continuing education programs for occupational training, upskilling, reskilling, licensure or certification;
      4. (D) developmental education programs designed to fulfill the commitment of an admissions policy allowing enrollment of disadvantaged students;
      5. (E) a continuing program of counseling and college and career advising designed to assist students in achieving their individual goals;
      6. (F) career and technical education programs designed to meet local and statewide needs;
      7. (G) adult literacy and other basic skills programs for adults; and
      8. (H) such other purposes as may be prescribed by the Coordinating Board or local governing boards in the best interest of postsecondary education in Texas.

   2. (2) Programs and Courses. All courses, programs, and degrees shall be offered in the name of the parent district, approved by THECB pursuant to applicable rules, included in the parent district's program inventory as applicable, and shall be subject to the following criteria:

      1. (A) Courses and programs must meet the role, mission, and purposes described in paragraph (1) of this subsection.
      2. (B) Courses and programs must be developed and operated with the ongoing assistance and involvement of the parent district faculty and staff.
      3. (C) Instructional faculty credentials, full-time/part-time faculty ratios, teaching loads, faculty performance evaluation and effectiveness, student accessibility to faculty, etc., must be reviewed to ensure that these elements contribute to the quality of courses and programs offered in accordance with accreditation standards.
      4. (D) If the proposed branch campus is within the service area of another operating public junior college, said public junior college must not offer or be capable of offering the proposed course. This requirement does not apply to a course offered in a county with a population of more than three million high school students enrolled in a school district located wholly or partly in a county with a population of more than three million.
   3. (3) Description of Staffing Plan. There must be sufficient academic and student support staff to meet the needs of faculty and students at the branch campus.

   4. (4) Funding.

      1. (A) The branch campus shall be supported either by means of a branch campus maintenance tax as set forth in Chapter 8, Subchapter E, of this title (relating to Branch Campus Maintenance Tax), or by local sources of community and/or economic support.
      2. (B) If a local tax is not levied, local sources of support must be furnished at a level sufficient to provide adequate facilities needed at the proposed branch campus location. "Facilities" include the operation and maintenance of the physical plant including any rehabilitation and repairs. Local sources of support may be "in kind."
      3. (C) Appropriate accounts which comply with generally accepted accounting principles for the branch campus must be kept and financial reports submitted as required for community college districts.
      4. (D) State aid shall be earned according to community college finance methodologies as specified in Title 19.
3. (c) The Commissioner shall appoint a team, a majority of which should be community college presidents, for the purposes of reviewing the self-study and determining if the self-study meets the criteria set forth in §8.74(b) of this subchapter (relating to Action and Order of the Board). The team shall deliver a report on its findings to the Commissioner and Board staff.
4. (d) Board staff shall conduct a site visit and complete a report on whether the proposed branch campus meets the criteria set forth in §8.74(b). Board staff shall submit the report to the Commissioner. The report shall include a recommendation for approval or denial.

5. (e) A Board Committee may conduct one or more public hearings on the proposed branch campus to:

   1. (1) assess public sentiment regarding the proposed branch campus;
   2. (2) determine whether programs in the proposed branch campus will create unnecessary duplication or seriously harm programs in existing community college districts or other institutions of higher education in the area; and
   3. (3) assess the potential impact of the proposed branch campus on existing community colleges or other institutions of higher education in the area and on the State of Texas.

Source Note:The provisions of this §8.73 adopted to be effective May 13, 2026, 51 TexReg 3100.