Message from President Bailey

PRESIDENT, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS RIO GRANDE VALLEY

2020 was a challenging year, but I could not be prouder of how our university and our medical school worked together to keep our students and our community safe.  In addition to implementing safety protocols on our campuses and offering instruction primarily online, UTRGV led the way in COVID-19 testing and contact tracing in the region.  Testing sites were set up across the Rio Grande Valley and UT Health RGV, our practice plan, partnered with hospitals, cities, counties, and others to serve as their clinical/diagnostic lab.  Over 90,000 PCR tests have been conducted to date, with an average turnaround time of 24 hours for results.  Most recently, UT Health RGV became a vaccination hub and in a few short weeks, over 16,000 people have been vaccinated, with that number growing exponentially daily.  
 
Our School of Medicine could not have been established at a better time and in 2020, we were proud to graduate our first class.  The graduates matched 100% to a residency training program, with 62% staying in Texas.  Fifty percent of this year’s medical school class is from the Rio Grande Valley and we have one of the most diverse student bodies in the nation with 42% Hispanics, 14% Black, 16% Asian/Indian and 20% White/Caucasian.
 
Next to ensuring our student’s safety, our top priority is to assure our students’ academic success.  Maintaining one of the lowest tuitions in the country and increasing our Tuition Advantage Plan to the highest in the state, were key to keeping our students in school.  Students whose families earn less than $95,000 a year pay no tuition or mandatory fees.
  
We also guarantee tuition and mandatory fees for 4 years, and cap our tuition at 12 hours, while encouraging students to take 15 hours or more each semester.  It is no wonder that UTRGV ranks #1 among national public universities for the least student debt.  
 
Knowing that the health pandemic would affect many of our students and their families financially, UTRGV provided innovative Summer, Fall and Spring Relief Packages which, through a combination of CARES Act and university funds, provided eligible students direct cash grants and tuition relief.  And rather than reduce student employment when we transitioned most operations online due to the pandemic, UTRGV set aside over $2 million for student employment so our students would have jobs during this difficult time.  
 
These are challenging times, but despite the pandemic, UTRGV’s enrollment grew to over 32,000, making us the 9th largest public university in Texas.  And, we are especially proud to rank 2nd in Texas for enhancing the social mobility of our students.  Keeping tuition and debt low, keeping students on track to graduate, increasing our students’ social mobility, and keeping our region healthy are vital to our state’s economic recovery from the pandemic and to the future of Texas.  We thank you for your continued investment in UTRGV and look forward to what UTRGV will accomplish in the next five years.

COVID-19 has been especially devastating to the Rio Grande Valley, with few left untouched by the pandemic’s reach. Throughout the summer, the RGV made national news as our hospitals reached capacity and we accounted for 15% of the
state’s virus-related fatalities. UTRGV has been key in the fight against COVID-19 and in keeping the region healthy through testing, contact tracing and vaccination services, as well as increasing telemedicine capacity.

Having completed our fifth year as UTRGV, I must thank you, the Texas legislature, for creating and investing in UTRGV and our School of Medicine. Your investment has proved invaluable to South Texas.

THE FUTURE OF TEXAS

Legislative Priorities

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Site Policies | Privacy Policy | Required Links | Fraud Reporting | UTRGV Careers |Clery Crime Reports | Texas Homeland Security | Texas Veterans | Mental Health Resources

Legislative Priorities  |  87th Legislative Session

Coronavirus Response

General Academic
2022-2023 Biennium

MAINTAIN THE INTEGRITY OF FORMULA FUNDING AND FUND ENROLLMENT GROWTH
A sustained commitment to formula funding for enrollment growth and inflation is critical to maintaining the significant positive educational strides being made in the RGV and across the state. Funding enrollment growth is vital; not funding growth creates a disproportionate allocation of the formula.

MAINTAIN CURRENT LEVEL OF 
NON-FORMULA SUPPORT FUNDING
$21.4 Million For The Biennium
Maintain UTRGV’s current level of funding by restoring
the 5% budget reduction, including $16.8M for Institutional Enhancement which is critical to funding four new programs.
• Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM) the 1st in Texas
• Doctor of Nursing Practice
• Bachelor of Science in Integrate Health Sciences
• Bridge Pipeline Program to Biomedical Sciences 
   and Other Health Professional Programs

TUITION REVENUE BONDS
In the event the State is considering funding Tuition Revenue Bonds, UTRGV requests $76 million for a 130,000 sq. ft. Health Affairs Building, which is needed to address the increasing demand for existing and new programs and future workforce needs in all health professions in the RGV.

POLICY PRIORITIES
Financial Aid For Student Success
TEXAS Grants and work-study programs are cornerstones of student success. A large majority of UTRGV students are benefactors of these programs.
Tuition
Preserve tuition set-asides to provide critical student financial aid and the current tuition-setting process whereby the authority resides with boards of regents to set tuition.
Hazlewood
Provide funding for the increasing cost of the Hazlewood tuition benefit.
Research
Research investments are an important component of operations. Continued, stable support for research programs benefit the state and are especially critical to the mission of UTRGV and its School of Medicine.
Expand Broadband Coverage
Limited access to reliable broadband impeded many students’ transition to online education across the state and in the Rio Grande Valley.

Legislative Priorities

Legislative Priorities

School of Medicine (SoM): 
2022-2023 Biennium

SUSTAIN NON-FORMULA START-UP FUNDING
$39.8 Million For The Biennium (After 5% Reduction)
 UTRGV’s nascent SoM opened in 2016. General Revenue is derived primarily from non-formula support (NFS) and practice plan revenues. Formula funding is limited due to enrollment caps until full accreditation is received and our young practice plan, while it has grown to over 30 sites across the region, serves a largely uninsured/ Medicaid population and lacks a regional hospital district to help support operations. Continued start-up funding is necessary to maintain and grow operations and to achieve full accreditation.

CONTINUE FUNDING 
THE CANCER IMMUNOLOGY CENTER
$2 Million For The Biennium
The UTRGV SoM is building the first South Texas Center of Excellence on Cancer Research (ST-CECR). Continued NSF funding will allow research critical to developing advanced diagnostic, imaging, and therapeutic modalities for combating cancer in the RGV. The amount requested for the biennium has been reduced by $712,500 because UTRGV and UTMB agreed not to transfer operations of a clinic in downtown McAllen. 

RESTORE THE 5% BUDGET REDUCTION
$2.2 Million For The Biennium
The SoM stepped up as a leader in the fight against COVID-19 but was severely impacted by the pandemic. The 5% reduction was especially devastating and equates to the largest among the UT System HRIs.

FUNDING FOR COVID-19 RECOVERY
$3 Million For The Biennium
UTRGV is requesting ongoing relief associated with COVID-19 related expenditures not otherwise eligible for reimbursement by federal funds. The SoM has led the region in COVID-19 PCR-based testing, contact-tracing and is now providing vaccinations for the campus community and the larger community across the entire RGV region.

CONTINUATION OF DSRIP UNDER 1115 WAIVER
The Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) program under the 1115 Waiver has been instrumental in UTRGV’s ability to establish the SoM’s 16 residency and fellowship programs. DSRIP’s last funding cycle is set for FY21 and without this program, there will be a significant funding
gap for FY22 and beyond.

1^ST
in Texas 
for Least 
Student Debt

1^ST
in Texas for Performance of First-Generation
Students

1^ST
COVID
Testing Leader
in the RGV

81%
1st-Year
Retention
Rate

#2
in Texas for 
Social Mobility

“I was born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley and chose to continue my education here for my undergraduate studies and for medical school. My experiences here have been outstanding. The faculty really care about changing healthcare in the RGV and I really get a sense of community togetherness. I am so grateful for the creation of the UTRGV School of Medicine and I am excited that I can be part of the success. In fact, I plan to ultimately practice primary care in the RGV in order to continue to provide care to my community.”

VANESSA SANCHEZ
MS3, UTRGV School of Medicine 

1^ST
in Texas for Performance of Pell-Eligible 
Students

NEW UT HEALTH RGV CLINICAL LABORATORY
• Leader in COVID-19 testing in the RGV, UT Health RGV Clinical Laboratory has  processed over 90K COVID tests as of January 2021
• Average turnaround time of 24 hours
• Capacity of up to 2,000 samples per day

PATIENT COMMUNICATION CENTER
• Current daily volume is between 500-1,000 inquiries with over 200,000 calls/forms received to date

THREE DRIVE-THRU TESTING SITES 
& MOBILE TESTING SERVICE
• Offers mobile testing services across the Rio Grande Valley

VACCINATION SITES
• UT Health RGV, the practice plan arm of the UTRGV School of Medicine, has been designated a vaccine hub and has, in a few short weeks, vaccinated over 16,000 people, with that number growing daily

USING TELEMEDICINE TO CARE FOR PATIENTS
• In April, UT Health RGV launched telemedicine capability across our 25 clinical sites to improve access to healthcare across the county and region
• 8,500 telemedicine encounters and growing

SUPPORTING TEXAS CONTACT TRACING EFFORTS
• Contracted with the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) for contact tracing
• A total of 299 contact tracers, investigators, and epidemiology leads are available to help with state efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19

Legislative Priorities