House Bill 1833, also known as Senate Bill 2079, amends various sections of the Tennessee Code Annotated related to higher education. The bill introduces new provisions regarding the appointment of voting members to the governing boards of public higher education institutions, specifying the roles of the governor, the speaker of the senate, and the speaker of the house of representatives in these appointments. It also establishes a definition for "on-time graduation" and mandates the commission to set target graduation rates for state institutions, which must be published every five years. Additionally, the bill allows for separate tuition and fee policies for institutions based on their specific needs and performance in graduation rates.

Furthermore, the bill prohibits public institutions from charging excessive tuition for online undergraduate courses compared to in-person courses unless a comparable in-person option is available. It also requires the boards of trustees for the University of Tennessee and other state university boards to create a policy for utilizing revenues from out-of-state undergraduate tuition to help reduce costs for in-state students, with implementation required by July 1, 2026. The initial sections of the bill take effect immediately upon becoming law, while the remaining provisions will be effective starting July 1, 2026, applying to the 2026-2027 academic year and beyond.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 49-7-204(a)(1)(B), 49-7-204, 49-7-204(b)(1), 49-7-202(f), 49-7-202, 49-7-202(n)(2)(B)