HB2230/SB2180 was significantly amended in both the House and Senate this week to address the concerns of the University of Tennessee and other higher education stakeholders. The bill in its original form required public colleges and universities to post to their websites standardized information about each course and course section offered each semester, including every assigned reading, audio, or video for the course as well as the details of each “required” course assignment.
The bill also originally contained a maintenance requirement so that if any course requirements changed, the materials posted online also must change.
Each year, across the University of Tennessee System alone, roughly 24,000 individual course sections are offered. The bill would have carried with it high implementation costs in IT development and compliance.
UT led the negotiations with the House Sponsor, Rep. Bud Hulsey (R-Kingsport), to amend the bill. The amended version simply requires Tennessee’s public college and universities to post to their websites information regarding parent’s rights to student records under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974.
The University appreciates the Sponsor’s willingness to accept amendatory language to the bill.
Tags: tn leg, Transparency in Higher Education Act