UTEP’s graduation rates are among the worst in the state, but President Diana Natalicio is adamant that the metric doesn’t accurately reflect the institution.
Tier One universities
Posted in
Higher Education
At Public Universities, Graduation Rates Lag. But Do They Matter?
The four-year graduation rates at Texas’ public universities are staggeringly low. State officials acknowledge the numbers are dismal and are working to improve them. But not all higher ed leaders buy into the notion that such metrics matter.
Posted in
Economy
UH Creates Fund to Attract Science and Technology Faculty
University of Houston President Renu Khator is setting aside $30 million to bring in 60 new faculty members over the next two years, all of them in the science, technology, engineering and math fields.
Posted in
Higher Education
Texas State Upgraded to Emerging Research Status
There are now eight Texas universities vying to be the state’s next tier-one university. Texas State University has officially been reclassified as an “emerging research university.”
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribWeek: In Case You Missed It
M. Smith on Rick Perry’s allergic reaction to federal school money, E. Smith elicits Ted Cruz’s take on David Dewhurst, Root and Ramshaw cover Perry’s first presidential debate, Ramshaw and Aguilar poke at Perry’s immigration record and how it plays among Republicans, Hamilton on the dash for top status among Texas colleges, Galbraith on an environmental ruling from the White House that got conservative applause and one that didn’t, Grissom has the latest on the Willingham arson case and the state’s plans to look at other fires and Aaronson’s widget for comparing the presidential candidates: The best of our best content from Sept. 5 to 9, 2011.
Posted in
Higher Education
Guest Column: Another Look at the Productivity of UT Teachers
The report on UT teachers’ productivity by Richard Vedder and the Center for College Affordability and Productivity is technically accurate — but substantively misleading. A deeper analysis raises troubling questions about how Vedder would change UT.
Posted in
Higher Education
Tier-One Prize Money Bill Passes State Senate
After hitting a brief snag, the bill that creates a mechanism for the leaders in the race to become the state’s next tier-one university passed the state Senate today.
Posted in
Higher Education
Panel Debates Future of Research Universities
A panel of higher education and business executives at the University of Texas at Austin reflected high anxiety about the future of research universities — especially in Texas, which has just three of the nation’s top research universities compared to California’s nine.
Posted in
Higher Education
Update: Can Tier-One Contenders Reach Consensus on Prize Money?
There’s a substantial cash prize awaiting Texas’ seven emerging research universities, if they can meet the criteria to be considered “tier one.” But there’s no way to get at it right now, and there won’t be unless they can all reach an agreement.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Audio: Bill Powers and Bowen Loftin at TribLive
At last Thursday’s TribLive conversation, I interviewed Bill Powers and Bowen Loftin, the presidents of the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University, respectively, about the need for higher education reform, the impact of budget cuts, the predicament of middling graduation rates and more.