Expanding college financial aid will help Texas meet workforce needs, new higher ed chief says

Wynn Rosser, a bow tie-wearing East Texan with multigenerational familial roots in rural life, will take the helm of Texas’ higher education agency in the new year.

As higher ed commissioner, Rosser will serve as the chief executive officer of the Coordinating Board, the state agency with a $2.9 billion budget that oversees Texas’ financial aid programs and helps enact the state’s strategic vision for public higher education.

Rosser said he is focused on getting more low-income Texans to college because a postsecondary degree is a pathway to a stable job and can transform future generations of families. And the state can get there by expanding financial aid programs, investing in research and emphasizing associate degrees and certificates.

In front of higher education leaders and policymakers on Friday, Rosser reflected on how his mother grew up in a house the size of the stage he was on, using an outhouse because they did not have indoor plumbing. And how his father’s decision to get a degree at Texas A&M University changed the trajectory of his family’s life.

“How lucky am I that dad managed to get into (college) and succeed? Mom and Dad made wise decisions,” said Rosser, his voice choking up and trying to find balance. “That’s why I get to sit with you guys talking about the seventh largest economy and setting more students up for success.”

Rosser spoke with journalists about his plans as commissioner before his public remarks. Here are three takeaways from his comments.

Texas must help more students pay for college

Students want to go to college but are afraid of taking on debt to continue their education after high school, Rosser said.

“Aspiration isn’t the challenge in Texas but, yet, we still have only about half the students enrolling directly,” Rosser said. “That’s a big opportunity for us. How do we take advantage of the aspiration and support students into their dreams, whether it be sub-baccalaureate or baccalaureate?”

The board is requesting $340 million from the Legislature to expand financial aid for students. The appropriations request would allow the board to guarantee low-income students in the top 25% of their high school graduating class financial aid through the Texas Education Opportunity grant and the Toward EXcellence, Access and Success, or TEXAS, grant, said David Troutman, the deputy commissioner for academic affairs, at a quarterly board meeting in October.

Higher education leaders also need to help them understand the cost of college – and the degrees they need to get the jobs they’re interested in, Rosser said.

“We need to help students and families understand ‘What does it take to achieve that dream?’ and provide that information early, consistently, so that students and families can plan,” Rosser said.

To achieve workforce goals, a shift to focus on adult learners

Rosser will be inheriting the state’s 60x30 plan, which set an ambitious goal to increase the number of Texans ages 25 to 34 with a postsecondary credential to 60% by 2030. The plan was created to meet the workforce needs of the state: About 71% of jobs are expected to require postsecondary education by 2036.

In rural East Texas, students often hear they “have to leave to succeed.” But there are thousands of high-demand, well-paying jobs in the area, Rosser said. He’s currently the president and CEO of the T.L.L. Temple Foundation, which analyzed jobs in the region. Those jobs don’t require a bachelor’s degree but do require a credential beyond high school.

“All credentials aren’t necessarily created equal,” Rosser said.

More rural students have been enrolling in dual credit, where they can take a college class while they are enrolled in high school. That has put more young people on the path to college, getting the state closer to its goal.

His predecessor, Harrison Keller, oversaw the expansion of the 60x30 plan to include Texans ages 25 to 64.

Adult students have different needs when they are returning to school to complete their degrees. That means the coordinating board and Texas colleges need different strategies to support those students, Rosser said.

“Life’s more challenging when you are working, when you have dependents that you’re supporting,” Rosser said. “How do you balance all of those things with trying to go to class? So that makes the more flexible credential options perhaps more attractive.”

Texas universities should expand their research arm

The incoming commissioner is also considering how Texas can help “emerging” research universities expand their research capabilities.

Rosser spent 14 years in teaching and administrative roles at Texas A&M University, one of the top two public research institutions in the state.

Universities across the country have been actively investing in their research because it helps attract grants and industry partners who might want to work on research projects and helps recruit faculty and graduate students.

“We’ve got to ensure that we’re preparing students, not only for the job today but the jobs of the future. And why we do that is with research universities, funding that the Legislature has invested in,” Rosser said. “I hope that more Texas students take advantage of that opportunity and become researchers and faculty members themselves, so that we can reinforce the economy.”

In the 2023 legislative session, Texas lawmakers created the Texas University Fund, a $3.9 billion endowment to help other universities meet research milestones.

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This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.