The most important problems facing the country are economic, while immigration and border security are the most important problems facing the state, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. Full Story
A bill that could alter the state's formula funding for institutions of higher education to allow some of it to be based on outcomes such as graduation rates rather than simply enrollment has cleared the Senate. Full Story
Last week, Texas A&M University System Board of Regents chairman Richard Box received a letter from five Texas A&M University professors concerned about his intended direction for the system. Today, he responded, saying, "We are all in this together." Full Story
UT President Bill Powers and Regents Chairman Gene Powell slammed a controversial study that found that if some UT-Austin professors were more productive, tuition could be cut by as much as half. Full Story
The residency programs that train Texas family physicians will take a big hit under the education budget agreement lawmakers unveiled today. Full Story
For the latest installment of our unscientific survey of political and policy insiders, we asked some questions about the political atmosphere in Texas, about the job performance of leaders and institutions and about whether immigration is good or bad for the country right now. Full Story
The Texas A&M University System announced a bid today to become one of the nation’s key centers for defense against infectious diseases and other biological threats. Full Story
Thousands of Texas students have been forced to put their college plans on hold as the Legislature, working on the state budget, determines what level of funding there will be for TEXAS Grants, the state's principal financial aid program for financially needy college students. Full Story
The Texas Legislature created the TEXAS (Towards EXcellence, Access and Success) Grant program in 1999 to make higher education more accessible to students from low-income families. Check out the interactive to see how much in TEXAS Grants funding has been allocated to the state's 94 public colleges and universities between 2006 and 2010. Full Story
Root and Galbraith on a Dallas billionaire's radioactive waste dump victory, Grissom on the passage of eyewitness ID reform, Hamilton on the old grudges bedeviling the debate over higher ed, Philpott on the status of congressional redistricting, Ramsey on Rick Perry's un-campaign for president, Ramshaw on why medical schools are the scorned children of the state's education budget, my session-wrap interview with three veteran Democrats, M. Smith on why Rob Eissler can't pass mandate relief for school districts and Stiles on who's giving what to which Texas candidates in 2011-12 congressional races: The best of our best content from May 16 to 20, 2011. Full Story
As the debate over the future of Texas’ higher education continues to swirl, it's increasingly intertwined in old political rivalries and long-held grudges and resentments. Full Story
The ongoing debate about the future of of Texas higher education has, until this point, been most dynamic at the University of Texas at Austin. With a recent dispatch from the Texas A&M University faculty, that appears to be changing. 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
A bill by state Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, seeks to repeal in-state tuition for students who are not living in Texas legally. He says it will make tuition rates fairer, but others argue that the tuition break ultimately benefits the state. Full Story
After a public display of harmony last week, controversy continues to surround UT System Board of Regents. Does a request made by regent Alex Cranberg amount to the kind of micromanaging criticized by the system's chancellor? Cranberg insists it is no such thing. Full Story
Texas medical schools feel like the scorned children of the state’s education budget. Lost amid the pleas of parents to restore funding for public education, and the demands of college students to preserve financial aid, the state’s health care institutions say few seem to understand the drastic situation they face. Full Story
Aaronson on pork choppers, Aguilar on sanctuary cities legislation, Galbraith on Brownsville's ban on plastic bags, Grissom on Delma Banks and prosecutorial misconduct, Hamilton on a tough week for higher education in Texas, Philpott on wildfires and politics, Ramshaw on the state's pursuit of a federal Medicaid overhaul, M. Smith on what would happen if lawmakers don't rewrite school finance formulas, yours truly on the Lege as schoolyard and Stiles with interactive graphics on how the proposed Senate redistricting maps compare with current ones: The best of our best content from May 9 to 13, 2011. Full Story
In April, Gov. Rick Perry received a letter from Russlynn Ali, assistant secretary for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Education, reminding him of the state's commitment to Prairie View A&M University and Texas Southern University. Full Story
A bill allowing a chunk of funding for colleges and universities to be dedicated to "outcomes-based" funding passed through the House today and is headed to the Senate. Full Story
At the end of a turbulent week in Texas higher education, the circumstances of the chancellors of the state’s two largest university systems stand in stark contrast. Full Story