Audio: How the UT System spends portions of its $20 billion endowment

It’s no secret that college is getting more expensive – or that America’s student debt has erupted into a full-on crisis. But it’s not just loans that are putting pressure on Americans seeking an education. This segment, produced by Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX — and reported by The Texas Tribune's Matthew Watkins and Neena Satija of the Tribune and Reveal — explains that students face a variety of obstacles, from rising tuition rates to hard-line immigration laws.

A little over a year ago, administrators tapped Bill McRaven, a former four-star admiral, as chancellor of the University of Texas System. McRaven immediately proposed a series of “quantum leaps” that he promised would put UT’s enormous endowment to good use – and make it “the envy of every system in the nation.” Several huge purchases later (including a land parcel worth more than $215 million), questions still linger about whether students are benefiting from McRaven’s sweeping changes.

Reveal is a weekly radio program produced by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX. For more, check out their website and subscribe to their podcast.

Disclosure: The University of Texas System has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors is available here.