Texas Higher Education Commissioner Harrison Keller says that the state’s higher education board may revise its long-term performance goals for the statewide system of public universities and colleges.
The current “60×30” plan dates to 2015 and focuses on several student-centered metrics, including increasing the number of young Texans who have a certificate or degree, and ensuring that students graduate with “marketable skills.”
Keller said at an event at the Texas Tribune today, “It’s time to tweak and update a little bit,” explaining that he wants to see the university system also prioritize research, not just graduate more students.
The first goal of the 60×30 plan calls for at least 60% of Texans ages 25-34 to have a certificate or degree by 2030. Keller commented that he wants the board to “focus a little more on, well, 60 (percent) of what? What kinds of credentials are going to be important?”
“The other piece that I would argue we need to pay a little more attention to is our research and development mission. The 60×30 plan is entirely silent on that.” He noted that the state’s Closing the Gaps plan, which predated 60×30, did pay attention to that. “I understand some of the reasons for that, I just have a different view.”
Keller was asked by Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith whether he may “lead the coordinating board to overhaul or revise” the 60×30 plan before too long. He responded, “I think that there is going to be a lot of interest in updating, refining our goals.”
Changing the 60×30 plan might make it less likely that Texas will fail to meet key targets by 2030. Keller said that he doesn’t think the state is on track to hit the first goal of seeing 60% of the population aged 25-34 with a degree or certificate.
Progress has been only “incremental” and the pace of it has slowed, he admitted.: “We would have to accelerate the progress that we’re making. It’s slowed down a little bit… I wouldn’t expect that if we just keep doing what we’re doing that we’re going to be able to hit it.”
Texas is also not on track to meet the second goal of the 60×30 plan, which is to graduate at least 550,000 students in 2030 with a certificate, associate, bachelor’s, or master’s from an institution of higher education.
The completion rate has slowed among key demographics, including Hispanics, African Americans, men, and lower-income Texans.
Keller commented, “I’m more interested in credential production than I am in graduation rates. Because there are a lot of folks that get left out of traditional calculations of graduation rates. Some of our institutions, two-thirds of their students aren’t included in the calculations of their graduation rates because they have so many part-time students.”
Changing Role of Higher Ed Board
Keller, who took office on October 1, also said he was interested in pushing higher education programs toward teaching students skills that employers actually want.
“We’re going to reposition the Coordinating Board from a more traditional regulatory posture to being more of a resource, being more of a thought partner, being more of an advocate with employers, with policymakers. I envision a different role for the coordinating board, particularly for things like our education and workforce data. We’re the hub for education and workforce data for the state,” he said.
Keller also suggested that the board might give looser rein to universities on certain issues, for instance, giving them more latitude in deciding what constitutes core curriculum, while seeking to ensure transferability of courses among institutions.
The board overall is interested in shifting focus from “less in the weeds to more of a strategic view,” he said.
Commissioner’s Background
Harrison Keller formerly served in a number of high-level roles at UT Austin including as deputy to the president for strategy and policy, and vice provost for higher education policy and research.
As a researcher, Keller has studied educational policies and programs that improve college readiness for the poor.
His political experience includes stints as director of research and education advisor for former Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives Tom Craddick.
Keller is the sixth person to serve as commissioner of the Higher Education Coordinating Board since it was founded under Gov. John Connally in 1965. He succeeded Dr. Raymund Paredes, who stepped down after serving as commissioner for 15 years.
A native of the Texas Panhandle, Keller resides in Austin with his wife Gena and their three children. He holds degrees from the University of Notre Dame and Georgetown University, and he has served in the U.S. Navy Reserve.
