The latest higher education news from The Texas Tribune.
The announcement of a new online university for Texas, Western Governors University Texas, has united members of the higher education community who have recently found themselves at odds over the future of the state's colleges and universities. Full Story
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DAY 4 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: Less financial aid will be available for college students in Texas. Full Story
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Higher education leaders in Texas have been pushing for more pathways to college degrees for Texas. Today, Gov. Rick Perry, along with higher education committee chairs Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, and Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, announced a new one: Western Governors University Texas. Full Story
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Aaronson examines the Texas jobs "miracle," Root on how Rick Perry built his financial portfolio, Tan and Wiseman on Perry vs. Ron Paul, Philpott on how budget cuts will affect a mental health provider, yours truly on a House freshman who was less than impressed with his first legislative experience, M. Smith on public schools charging for things that used to be free, Hamilton on a new call to reinvent higher education, Grissom on a rare stay of execution, Galbraith on the end of a Panhandle wind program, Aguilar on the increase of legal immigration into the U.S. and Texas: The best of our best content from July 25 to 29, 2011. Full Story
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Texas Higher Education Commissioner Raymund Paredes said Tuesday that the state was coming to "the painful realization that improving access is not enough" and that the time had come to "reinvent public higher education." Full Story
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The business community, particularly the entrepreneur, has much to offer academia, but a narrow focus on the bottom line is a sure way of destroying Texas' top public universities. Full Story
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In the wake of well-documented budget woes, the state Legislature took a more than 9 percent chunk out of higher education in the recent session. Some institutions have now raised tuition, and others may soon do the same. Full Story
Ramshaw on the lioness of the Texas House, Dehn and Tan review 20 years of Rick Perry's political ads, Murphy's latest database includes the governor's political accounts over the last decade, Aaronson's visualizations of what was said in the biggest legislative debates, M. Smith on the woman in the middle chair at the State Board of Education, Galbraith on how the drought is forcing ranchers to sell their herds, Grissom has the story on a cattle rustler who's asking the courts to give him an old-fashioned sentence, Hamilton covers Rick O'Donnell's latest salvo at higher education, Aguilar on whether and how the sanctuary cities issue will translate at the ballot box next year, yours truly on Ron Paul's candidacy and the candidate in his own words: The best of our best from July 18 to 22, 2011. Full Story
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When Rick O'Donnell, a controversial former adviser to the University of Texas System, released an analysis of faculty data from University of Texas and Texas A&M, he anticipated that it might receive criticism. He was right. Full Story
If we are serious about higher ed reform, state lawmakers, our colleges and universities and the business community must work together and lead, not bury ourselves in lofty rhetorical arguments or burden our education system with misguided micromanagement. Full Story
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A new sure-to-be-controversial analysis of faculty productivity data from UT and A&M argues that the institutions' employment practices resemble “a Himalayan trek, where indigenous Sherpas carry the heavy loads.” Full Story
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It took a series of often rancorous debates this session to reach agreement on how to finance public education for 2012-2013. Use the Trib's latest interactive to track what lawmakers said about Texas education. Full Story
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Almost 55 percent of recent Texas public school students were suspended at least once between their seventh and 12th grade years, according to a statewide report released today. Full Story
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The Trib captured every debate, tirade and joke uttered into the mikes in the House and Senate during the 82nd legislative session in our online transcripts. Our latest data apps help you identify when important debates occurred by visualizing the frequency of keywords. Full Story
The board of the University of Texas Investment Management Company on Thursday approved salary increases for the company's staff as well Bruce Zimmerman, its chief executive officer and chief investment officer. Full Story
In recent months, the various forces in Gov. Rick Perry’s conflicted higher ed history have come to a head. The result: an overwrought public identity crisis in the higher education community, the resolution of which could define the governor’s legacy on the topic. Full Story
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Heading into the regular session, conservative business leaders like Woody Hunt and Bill Hammond were leading the charge for higher education reform. Their proposals for getting more graduates in the state included funding for colleges and universities tied to graduation rates instead of enrollments, a distribution method for financial aid that favored high-achieving needy students. Full Story
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Aguilar on a change in law that affects applications for state-issued IDs, Galbraith on how the drought is taking its toll on wildlife, Hamilton on an outsider's attempt to lower the cost of higher ed, Murphy visualizes the partisanship of House members, Ramsey on who becomes Lite Guv if David Dewhurst takes another job, Ramshaw on life in the colonias and three stories about Rick Perry — Grissom on how his death penalty stance might play in a 2012 presidential race, Root on how he cemented his reputation as one of the state's most powerful governors and Tan on the growing demand for him to speak elsewhere: The best of our best content from July 4 to July 8, 2011. Full Story
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Naomi Schaefer Riley, author of the book The Faculty Lounges ... And Other Reasons You Won’t Get the College Education You Pay For, and Daniel Hamermesh, economics professor at the University of Texas at Austin, debate the merits of tenure. Full Story
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Today, in one of his first acts as the new Texas A&M University System interim chancellor, Jay Kimbrough discontinued a controversial Teaching Excellence Awards program. Full Story
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