Keller: Financial changes coming to higher ed

There is a comprehensive package of community college finance reforms making its way through the legislature that include additional financial aid for students in workforce education programs and dual credit students. The budgets in the House and Senate include significant increases in funding for emergent research universities that don't benefit from the Permanent University Fund, including Texas Tech, the University of Houston, University of North Texas and Texas State. 'There's significant funding in the filed versions of the budget for healthcare workforce education programs, for example funding to support education of more mental health professionals, nurses and other health professionals and there is much more that's been proposed just over the last several days,' Texas Commissioner of Higher Education Harrison Keller said in a phone interview Monday.