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The latest higher education news from The Texas Tribune.

  • Perry to Push Colleges to Offer $10,000 Degree

    By Ross Ramsey

    Gov. Rick Perry will challenge the state's colleges and universities to offer a $10,000 bachelor's degree, including books, in his State of the State speech later this morning, according to sources familiar with some of the proposals. Full Story 

    Word cloud aggregate of Rick Perry's State of the State speeches from 2001 to 2009.
    Credit: Graphic by Ryan Murphy

  • Texplainer: What's a Tier-One University?

    By Reeve Hamilton

    There’s no universal definition but essentially, the term refers to the country’s top research-focused universities. While there are specific benchmarks to be considered part of that group, some aren't clear or rely purely on perception. Full Story 

    Texas A&M University, the University of Texas and Rice University
    Credit: Jacob Villanueva

  • Tier-One Contender Wary of Cuts

    By Reeve Hamilton

    Jim Spaniolo, the president of UT-Arlington, said the university is committed to increasing its engagement with research that “could change the quality of life of many, many people” — but funding cuts resulting from the state’s budget shortfall would slow that momentum. Full Story 

    Dr. Mario Romero-Ortega, associate professor of bioengineering at the University of Texas at Arlington, discusses his research with university president Jim Spaniolo.
    Credit: Caleb Bryant Miller

  • Paige & Spellings: The TT Interview

    By Reeve Hamilton

    At a recent forum titled "Improving Productivity in Public Education," former U.S. Secretaries of Education Rod Paige and Margaret Spellings under George W. Bush took time to discuss the state's looming budget cuts, the Bush legacy, the Obama administration and what they believe needs to change in public education. Full Story 

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  • Business: Hands Off Public Education

    By Erika Aguilar, KUT News

    Lawmakers will soon take an ax to the state budget, but business leaders are hoping one big-ticket item will be spared. At its annual conference in Austin this week, the Texas Association of Business sounded warnings about potential cuts to public education. Erika Aguilar of KUT News reports. Full Story 

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  • Texplainer: What is UTIMCO?

    By Reeve Hamilton

    The simple answer: It's the acronym for University of Texas Investment Management Company, a nonprofit company with a single client, the University of Texas System (and, to a lesser extent, the Texas A&M University System). With the universities it serves under pressure not to hike tuition rates even though fewer state dollars are flowing their way, the company's performance will be under intense scrutiny this session — and UTIMCO officials are still recovering from last session's showdown over their generous bonuses. To explain all this for us, we called in an expert: CEO Bruce Zimmerman. Full Story 

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  • TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

    By Evan Smith

    The Trib staff on the sweeping cuts in the proposed House budget, Grissom on what's lost and not found at the Department of Public Safety, Galbraith on the wind power conundrum, Hamilton on higher ed's pessimistic budget outlook, Stiles and Swicegood debut an incredibly useful bill tracker app, Ramsey interviews Rick Perry on the cusp of his second decade as governor, Aguilar on a Mexican journalist's quest for asylum in the U.S., Ramshaw on life expectancy along the border, M. Smith on the obstacles school districts face in laying off teachers and yours truly talks gambling and the Rainy Day Fund with state Rep. Jim Pitts: The best of our best from January 17 to 21, 2011. Full Story 

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  • All UT, All The Time

    By Ian Crawford

    In a match made in Longhorn athletics heaven, the University of Texas and ESPN have struck a deal to launch a 24-hour TV network that’s all UT, all the time. As Ian Crawford of KUT News reports, it's a lucrative venture for UT, which says it'll use the network for more than just athletics. Full Story 

  • A Plea For Fairness

    By Reeve Hamilton

    Every chancellor of a university system in Texas knows — down to the exact, excruciatingly precise percentage point — how much worse higher education fared than other agencies when their current budgets were cut. With the state facing a massive budget shortfall in the next biennium, the chancellors know they're in for another round. But this time they're adamant that they not bear a disproportionate share of the pain. Full Story 

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    Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman

  • TribBlog: Killing Them With Contact

    By Reeve Hamilton

    Among the most controversial issues in House Bill 1, the base budget, is its denial of state funding to four community colleges. While the bill does not represent a final decision, critics say presenting the proposed budget executions this way is as dangerous as the methodology behind the decision is misleading. Full Story 

    State Rep. Jim Pitts, R-Waxahachie, lays out House Bill 1.

  • A Stiff Cocktail of Budget Cuts

    By Texas Tribune Staff

    The Texas House has unveiled a $156.4 billion budget that's $31.1 billion smaller than the current two-year spending plan — a drop of 16.6 percent. The proposed budget came with $1.2 billion in recommendations for savings and new revenue from the Legislative Budget Board. Full Story 

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  • The Legal Limit

    By Reeve Hamilton

    Texas produces more law school graduates than it has jobs for. But that hasn’t stopped some lawmakers from proposing that the state build a new law school in the Valley. Full Story 

    State Rep. Eddie Lucio III, D-San Benito
    Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera

  • Branch: Higher Ed Cuts Unavoidable

    By Elise Hu

    As state leaders grapple with a budget shortfall that could be as high as $27 billion, state Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, who chaired the House Higher Education Committee in 2009, offers up some possible cuts to higher education. Full Story 

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  • Shades of Burnt Orange

    By Reeve Hamilton, The Texas Tribune, and Jon Marcus, The Hechinger Report

    In August, 60 years after the University of Texas admitted its first black student, the school welcomed the first incoming freshman class in its history in which white students were in the minority. The state’s flagship university passed the demographic milestone earlier than some had anticipated, reflecting a similar shift that is rapidly taking place at other top-level universities across the country. While the changing demographics of college campuses may grab the headlines, the more compelling issue is how the growing number of minority students presents serious social and academic challenges for financially strapped universities, even as they are under pressure to boost graduation rates. Full Story 

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    Credit: Spencer Selvidge