Universities across Texas and nationwide are seeing an increase in online cheating since the start of the pandemic, as students take more virtual courses and test remotely with less supervision.
Reopening Texas Universities
Texas colleges and universities were abruptly shut down in mid-March, kicking thousands of students out of dorms and crowded lecture halls and forcing them into virtual classrooms. Now these schools are charting the path for the fall semester, trying to preserve the college cultural experience, while balancing safety and lost revenue. Students are making decisions about whether to return, whether online classes will serve their needs, whether the higher education experience is still worth the money, and whether they should participate in college sports.
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Coronavirus in Texas
UT-Austin’s final football game canceled after 9 players, 13 staff members test positive for coronavirus
“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.
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Coronavirus in Texas
One wanted normalcy and one went remote: How two West Texas universities operated in COVID-19 hot spots this fall
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.
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Reopening Texas Universities
Texas enrollment and FAFSA applications down, as education leaders worry pandemic is disrupting college plans
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.
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Reopening Texas Universities
As Texas universities prepare to send thousands of students home for the holidays, few are requiring COVID-19 safety precautions
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.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Despite rising COVID-19 cases, universities including Texas Tech and Texas A&M are planning in-person fall graduations
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.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Texas colleges offer free coronavirus tests. Why aren’t more students getting tested?
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.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Coronavirus restrictions and remote learning may hamper college student voter turnout
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.
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Reopening Texas Universities
Jay Hartzell officially named University of Texas at Austin president
The board approved an annual salary of $795,000 for Hartzell as interim president in June.
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Coronavirus in Texas
As Texas college towns emerge as coronavirus hot spots, universities try to keep students from infecting locals
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.