higher education

TribLive: A Conversation with Kay Bailey Hutchison

By Evan Smith Oct. 22, 2012

On Oct. 15, I talked with retiring U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, about health care, higher education, Rick Perry and assorted highlights of her nearly 20 years in office. Full Story
Senate's New Higher Ed Chair Aims to Take On Post With Open Mind

By Reeve Hamilton Oct. 19, 2012

The higher education background of state Sen. Kel Seliger, the new Senate Higher Education Committee chairman, is pretty thin, particularly when compared with that of his predecessor. But he says he's "learning a lot very rapidly." Full Story

Credit: Tamir Kalifa
UT System to Forge Partnership with EdX for Online Courses

By Reeve Hamilton Oct. 15, 2012

Updated: The University of Texas System Board of Regents approved a new systemwide partnership on Monday with edX, a high profile provider of free online courses. Full Story
With UT System Support, Firm Aims to Help Students in Job Search

By Reeve Hamilton Oct. 12, 2012

This week, MyEdu, an Austin-based company that received a $10 million investment from the University of Texas System, announced that it would offer new services to help students find employment. Full Story

Credit: Todd Wiseman
Birdwell Will Continue Fight Against In-State Tuition for Immigrants

By Reeve Hamilton Oct. 11, 2012

Despite Gov. Rick Perry's prediction that no such bill would reach his desk, state Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, said he intends to continue his effort to end the state's policy of offering in-state tuition to some illegal immigrants. Full Story

Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera
SCOTUS Takes Aim at Key Question in UT Case

By Jessica Huff and Reeve Hamilton Oct. 10, 2012

How to define a “critical mass” of minority students was the question of the day on Wednesday during a heated Supreme Court oral argument on the consideration of race in the University of Texas at Austin’s admissions processes. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman / Katie Harbarth
Guest Column: Race Has No Place in College Admissions

By Lino A. Graglia Oct. 9, 2012

It has now become clear that race-preference admission programs typically do not operate to the preferred student’s advantage. Their relatively poor qualification — of which they are often unaware — usually leads to relatively poor performance, the bottom portion of the class and an increased dropout rate. Full Story
Guest Column: Colleges Should Consider Race in Admissions

By Kenneth Jastrow Oct. 9, 2012

The law should allow all universities to pursue diverse classes of excellent students, for the sake of the students and the quality of their educations, for the sake of a society still striving to bestow opportunity more equally across its many populations, and for the sake of healthy businesses and all of the benefits they contribute to society. Full Story
Supreme Court Set to Hear Oral Arguments on UT's Admissions Policy

By Jessica Huff Oct. 9, 2012

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday will hear oral arguments in Fisher v. the University of Texas at Austin, a lawsuit related to the use of race in university admissions policies. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Todd Wiseman / Muliadi Soenaryo
Texplainer: What Happens if UT Loses the Fisher Case?

By Reeve Hamilton Oct. 8, 2012

The University of Texas at Austin's use of race as a factor in some admissions decisions is being challenged before the U.S. Supreme Court this week. What will happen to the admissions process if UT loses the case? Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Nicolas Raymond / Todd Wiseman
Will Perry's "Pre-Veto" Work This Time Around?

By Ross Ramsey Oct. 5, 2012

Gov. Rick Perry says he is against repeal of in-state tuition for American-born children of immigrants living here illegally, but will Texas legislators go along with him? Full Story

Credit: Spencer Selvidge
Ousted From Chair, Zaffirini to Still Keep an Eye on Higher Education

By Reeve Hamilton Oct. 4, 2012

After losing her role as chairwoman of the Senate Higher Education Committee, state Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, said she is "not disheartened" and will continue to make higher education a priority. Full Story

Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera
Branch Calls for More Outcomes-Based Higher Ed Funding

By Reeve Hamilton Oct. 1, 2012

Gov. Rick Perry on Monday renewed a call for 10 percent of state higher education funding to be based on institutions' graduation totals. House Higher Ed Chairman Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, wants to take that proposal even further. Full Story

Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera
TribuneFest: A Conversation with Six Chancellors

By Reeve Hamilton Oct. 1, 2012

At the 2012 Texas Tribune Festival, I interviewed the chancellors of the state's six public university systems about the future of higher education. Full Story
Perry Calls for Upfront Price Tags at Universities

By Reeve Hamilton Oct. 1, 2012

UPDATED: Gov. Rick Perry on Monday proposed requiring public universities to inform incoming students upfront about how much their degrees will cost relative to how long it takes them to graduate. Full Story

Credit: Spencer Selvidge
Like $10,000 Degree, Perry Tuition Plan May Not Fit All Schools

By Reeve Hamilton Sept. 28, 2012

As with Gov. Rick Perry’s $10,000 degree proposal, his latest call for reducing the price of college — locking in tuition for four years — may prove difficult to implement uniformly in a state as diverse as Texas. Full Story

Credit: Jerod Foster
Texas Tribune Higher Education Explorer

By Ryan Murphy, Christopher Chang, Rodney Gibbs and Noah Seger Sept. 28, 2012

Texas has 148 public and private colleges and universities but no single source for easily finding statistics about how well they perform. This easy-to-navigate interactive database lets you explore key academic, enrollment and cost records on all of Texas' institutions of higher learning. Full Story

Credit: Graphic by Todd Wiseman / Callie Richmond
Powers "Heartened" by Conversation on Tuition Guarantee

By Reeve Hamilton Sept. 27, 2012

University of Texas at Austin President Bill Powers said he was "heartened" by the statewide discussion on locking in students' tuition rates for four years, and he called on the state to similarly lock in funding for public universities. Full Story

Credit: Justin Dehn
Opposition Forming to Potential Hire of Mexican President at UT-Austin

By Audrey White Sept. 27, 2012

Mexican President Felipe Calderón is known for a war on drugs that has left thousands dead. Opponents of Calderón's war are worried his next stop could be a teaching position at the University of Texas at Austin. Full Story

Credit: Illustration by Sebastian Derungs / Sara Robertson
Guest Column: Schools and the Talent Shortage

By Tony Bennett Sept. 26, 2012

The manufacturing sector is short of skilled workers, and many of those jobs will go to students who don't have four-year college degrees — and who don't need them. Full Story