The latest higher education news from The Texas Tribune.
The gifts to Prairie View A&M University and Texas A&M International University are the largest in history for each school. Full Story
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“We are pausing all football team activities and shutting down football training facilities to get a COVID-19 spread among our football program under control,” Chris Del Conte, UT-Austin athletic director, said in a statement. Full Story
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Texas Tech and UT-El Paso ended up on opposite ends of the spectrum in how they approached the fall semester, facing the unprecedented educational and safety challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. Both universities are planning more of the same in the spring. Full Story
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National data shows just 24% of Texas high school seniors have filled out federal financial aid forms, a nearly 15% decline from the same time last year. Full Story
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System Chancellor John Sharp is recommending John L. Junkins, distinguished professor of Aerospace Engineering, as interim president. Full Story
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The salary is still pending final approval by the UT System Board of Regents, who meet this week. Full Story
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Few Texas universities — some of which have been identified as coronavirus hot spots — have explicitly encouraged students to quarantine for 14 days before Thanksgiving or required exit testing, despite staggering rises in case counts across the state and country. Full Story
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In the weekend edition of The Brief podcast, hear from a student who says that because he's immunocompromised, he's worried that students aren't taking the pandemic seriously when off campus, making him feel trapped in his home. Full Story
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Multiple Texas universities are planning in-person graduation ceremonies this December, despite the fact that the state’s daily COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations are higher today than they were in May when most universities first scrambled to cancel the celebratory events. Full Story
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Texas A&M confirmed the new cases as football programs across the country continue to face postponements and cancellations while trying to finish the season during a pandemic. Full Story
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The Longhorn Band will not play the “The Eyes of Texas” at this Saturday’s football game between the University of Texas at Austin and Baylor University after a survey of members revealed several students are refusing to play the traditional alma mater song, according to The Daily Texan. Full Story
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Margaret Spellings, Harrison Keller, Archie Holmes and more than a dozen others discuss student enrollment, college sports and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic at The Texas Tribune’s symposium on the future of higher education. Full Story
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Broadband access, hospital closures, supporting students in rural schools and the challenges posed by COVID-19 were top of mind at The Texas Tribune’s symposium on rural Texas. Full Story
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Trump’s executive order, signed on Sept. 22, requires federal contractors and agencies that receive federal grants to discontinue training that contains “any form of race or sex stereotyping” and other “divisive concepts,” which could include discussions of the existence of white supremacy. Full Story
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The Texas Workforce Commission is trying to recoup $214 million in unemployment benefits it says people were overpaid this year. A North Texas woman says appealing the agency's findings is an uphill battle through an opaque appeals process. Full Story
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Halfway through the semester, schools are reporting participation rates far below their goals, prompting at least one school to go so far as to offer prizes to students who volunteer to get a coronavirus test. Full Story
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Campaigns, political organizations and students at schools across Texas say they’re worried and frustrated that pandemic health restrictions are stymying efforts to register and turn out students to vote. Full Story
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Data released this week showing reported coronavirus infection breakdowns by school district has been withdrawn by state health officials after "issues" were discovered. Full Story
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The board approved an annual salary of $795,000 for Hartzell as interim president in June. Full Story
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In counties where four-year college students make up at least 10% of the population, cases have grown 34% since Aug. 19, according to a Texas Tribune analysis. That’s compared with 23% in counties with a smaller proportion of students. Full Story
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