Certain issues, that were discussed, are regional in nature due to the fact that this dialogue was directed toward South Texas higher education. Also, the legislative imperatives that are put forth were considered in terms of their impact on all regions of the state.

There are several points that require special attention since they further set the tone for the dialogue. First, is the sense that the Texas Higher Education Plan’s baseline assumes that all Texas colleges and universities are at the same starting line with the same capacities to respond to the Closing the Gaps goals and strategies. This observation led to the development of what became known as "Gap Institutions," defined as, "those colleges and universities that still lack the necessary resources to fully attend to the goals and strategies set forth in the Texas Higher Education Plan as addressed in Closing the Gaps." There were "gaps" in the participating institutions that are also evident in other regions of the state. The primary "gaps" are identified as, any one or a combination of the capacity of the following: facilities, instructional/training programs, technology, faculty, libraries, support services, media and the outcomes from the regional public schools that provide the potential registrants. The "Gap Institutions" model is represented in Figure 1.

There was also consensus by the participants that only by the development and maintenance of integrated and collaborative responses by all primary elements of a region, would the goals of Closing the Gaps be met. These essential elements are represented in Figure 2, an Integrated Response Model for Closing the Gaps. The participants felt that the extended family and the business community are the primary sectors of society that must be involved in the implementation of the Texas Higher Education Plan in collaboration with their institutions. There was unanimous agreement that the shared vision and response for this plan must involve volunteers, Parent Teacher Organizations (PTOs), the non-profit community based organizations and all regional government agencies.

While the discussion principally addressed the four Closing the Gaps goals, the dialogue’s content analysis revealed that the focus and interest of the participants also included community participation and research. As one of the participants noted, "without success in attending to the participation goal there will be no success in the other goals." [Paraphrased] A key statement that was made in this context was that colleges and universities must change their recruitment strategies. Generally, it was observed, that institutions target students that have already demonstrated an interest or propensity to pursue college enrollment. Emphasis on recruiting, it was suggested, should be on targeting those students that do not see college as a realistic option or the basis for making their career choices.

The research goal also received much attention because there was a commonly held belief by the participants that regional institutions in South Texas have been traditionally relegated to the periphery of the research agenda and or not been taken seriously as being able to conduct research. The participants were emphatic that regional institutions should receive more of the research funds that are available from the state. These research funds would become the nexus of a capacity building process and lead to the expansion of institutions’ ability to attract top scholars and develop outstanding graduate students. Developing and supporting research agenda at regional institutions would serve to expand collaborations with emerging industries and provide best practice research to impact the quality of life in the diverse and economically marginalized communities of South Texas.

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