The Carnegie R1 status is the highest designation for research universities in the country and is viewed as an important step to recruit high-quality faculty and obtain more prestigious research grants. Full Story
The University of Texas at Austin set a goal to have 70 percent of its students graduate in four years by 2017. It fell short — but managed to lift up the prospects of its poor and minority students in the process. Full Story
Ten renowned researchers are coming to Texas as a result of the inaugural grants under Gov. Greg Abbott's university research initiative, his office announced Thursday. Full Story
While the aggressive transformation of the University of Houston has drawn praise, it has also prompted questions about the college’s role in both the community and the university system. Full Story
The University of Houston System's plan to convert a teaching center in Sugar Land to a branch campus of its flagship was welcomed by locals but prompted questions in Victoria, where leaders fear what the change means for UH-Victoria. Full Story
For University of Houston President Renu Khator, the biggest challenge in her ongoing effort to raise the institution's reputation may be the public perception that it is merely a commuter campus in the middle of a dangerous urban area. Full Story
After a review, the state auditor's office confirmed Friday that Texas Tech University and the University of Houston are indeed the first institutions eligible for money from the state's tier-one award fund. Full Story
The chancellor of the Texas Tech University system on the tier-one race, why the state should invest in higher education and former head football coach Mike Leach. Full Story
Sam Houston State University administrators credit a nationally recognized advising center for moving their graduation rates in the right direction. Full Story
Texas Southern University has the state's lowest graduation rate, but TSU President John Rudley says that steps are being taken to put the university on the right track. Full Story
UTEP's graduation rates are among the worst in the state, but President Diana Natalicio is adamant that the metric doesn't accurately reflect the institution. Full Story
The four-year graduation rates at Texas' public universities are staggeringly low. State officials acknowledge the numbers are dismal and are working to improve them. But not all higher ed leaders buy into the notion that such metrics matter. Full Story
University of Houston President Renu Khator is setting aside $30 million to bring in 60 new faculty members over the next two years, all of them in the science, technology, engineering and math fields. Full Story
There are now eight Texas universities vying to be the state's next tier-one university. Texas State University has officially been reclassified as an "emerging research university." Full Story
M. Smith on Rick Perry's allergic reaction to federal school money, E. Smith elicits Ted Cruz's take on David Dewhurst, Root and Ramshaw cover Perry's first presidential debate, Ramshaw and Aguilar poke at Perry's immigration record and how it plays among Republicans, Hamilton on the dash for top status among Texas colleges, Galbraith on an environmental ruling from the White House that got conservative applause and one that didn't, Grissom has the latest on the Willingham arson case and the state's plans to look at other fires and Aaronson's widget for comparing the presidential candidates: The best of our best content from Sept. 5 to 9, 2011. Full Story
The report on UT teachers' productivity by Richard Vedder and the Center for College Affordability and Productivity is technically accurate — but substantively misleading. A deeper analysis raises troubling questions about how Vedder would change UT. Full Story
After hitting a brief snag, the bill that creates a mechanism for the leaders in the race to become the state's next tier-one university passed the state Senate today. Full Story
A panel of higher education and business executives at the University of Texas at Austin reflected high anxiety about the future of research universities — especially in Texas, which has just three of the nation's top research universities compared to California's nine. Full Story
There's a substantial cash prize awaiting Texas' seven emerging research universities, if they can meet the criteria to be considered "tier one." But there's no way to get at it right now, and there won't be unless they can all reach an agreement. Full Story
At last Thursday's TribLive conversation, I interviewed Bill Powers and Bowen Loftin, the presidents of the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University, respectively, about the need for higher education reform, the impact of budget cuts, the predicament of middling graduation rates and more. Full Story