Relating to the period for which an applicant for admission as an undergraduate student to a public institution of higher education is entitled to an academic fresh start.

Contracts

• Student Information Systems (SIS): Service agreements with vendors (e.g., Ellucian, Oracle, Workday) require immediate review. Scope of work must be amended to reprogram degree audit logic. Systems must now simulate GPA calculations excluding a custom range (Years 5–10) while retaining Years 0–5, rather than a simple >10-year exclusion.
• Third-Party Admissions Processors: If your institution outsources application review, vendor contracts must be updated to reflect your specific institutional policy on the 5-to-10-year window to ensure consistent application of the "Fresh Start" rule.

Hiring/Training

• Admissions Officers: Staff must be retrained immediately. They must understand that the new law allows for a discretionary window. Training must emphasize that if the institution applies the Fresh Start to the 5-to-10-year window, all credits and grades within that period must be disregarded; staff cannot selectively drop failing grades while keeping passing credits.
• Registrars: Staff responsible for state reporting must be trained to distinguish between legacy "10-year" Fresh Start students and new "5-year" Fresh Start students for formula funding coding.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

• Policy Submission: You must file your institution's specific policy regarding the 5-to-10-year lookback with the THECB.
• Public Notice: The law requires this policy to be published on the institution's website immediately.
• Formula Funding Flags: Student records must be tagged correctly under Section 61.0595(c). Credits disregarded under this new authority are exempt from the "excess credit hour" funding cap. Failure to tag these records correctly will result in lost state funding.

Fees & Costs

• IT Reprogramming: Expect one-time costs associated with updating SIS logic to handle variable lookback periods.
• Tuition Revenue: No direct fee changes, but potential revenue impact (positive) as students may be required to retake courses previously passed but disregarded under the "all-or-nothing" rule.