The latest higher education news from The Texas Tribune.
The number of Mexican-born professionals living in the United States has more than doubled since 1995. They're not the undocumented workers you see in evening-news mug shots or aerial photographs of a littered and barren desert. They're college graduates — some with multiple degrees — who join their blue-collar counterparts in their journeys north. Full Story
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Multi-part stories from Ramshaw and Grissom and Stiles on mental health services for detained immigrants and on payday lenders who provide exorbitantly priced credit to people with nowhere else to turn... Twitter, word clouds and the race for governor — a Stiles joint... Farouk Shami is in and Hu was there to watch... Philpott went to Bastrop for a gather of Republican governors... Rapoport finds a State Board of Education that's trying to control itself... and we have the skinny on legislative races that are likely to be competitive (only about 5 percent of the races on the ballot). It's the best of The Texas Tribune from November 14 to 20, 2009. Full Story
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Your afternoon reading. Full Story
Mark Yudof vs. the crappy California economy. Full Story
Our searchable database of public employees' pay — now featuring data from universities and eight of the state's largest cities. Full Story
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Federal officials say Texas' testing standards in reading are below the “basic” proficiency standards — and that low bar means those passing the TAKS may not be as proficient as advertised. Full Story
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Under new legislation, school districts for the first time can spend a portion of state “book” money on computer hardware and digital content. Some fear the explosion of choice will produce an erosion of quality content. Full Story
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“It’s both an ideological concern and a safety concern,” one of the student plaintiffs said. “Obviously college campuses aren’t some magical zone where no violence occurs, and so I feel particularly strongly that every student that feels the need to carry handgun anywhere in their lives should also be able to do so on a college campus.” Full Story
Although Texas has more massive universities and small colleges than just about any other state, higher education doesn't rank high among issues in play during the governor's race. Reporting on the 2010 election for Tribune partner KUT-FM, Nathan Bernier explains why some people think it deserves greater attention. Full Story