higher education

TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

By Evan Smith March 26, 2011

M. Smith on the continuing controversy over Beaumont's school administrators, Tan on the deepening divide over the consequences of the House budget, Hamilton on the latest in the fight over higher ed accountability, Grissom on young inmates in adult prisons, Aguilar on the voter ID end game, Tan and Hasson's Rainy Day Fund infographic, Ramsey on the coming conflict over school district reserves, M. Smith and Aguilar on Laredo ISD's missing Social Security numbers, Galbraith on environmental regulators bracing for budget cuts and Ramshaw on greater scrutiny of neonatal intensive care units: The best of our best content from March 21 to 25, 2011. Full Story

Research "Extremely Valuable," UT Regents Tell Texas Exes

By Reeve Hamilton March 25, 2011

Responding to a warning by the president of the Texas Exes that an anti-research mindset "would do irreparable damage" to UT-Austin, the UT System's Board of Regents insisted today that research is "extremely valuable." Full Story

John Silber: The TT Interview

By Reeve Hamilton March 25, 2011

The outspoken former UT dean and Boston University president on higher education's past, present and future — including his opinion of U.S. News & World Report rankings, and Howard Zinn and online degree programs. Full Story

John Silber: The TT Interview

By Reeve Hamilton March 25, 2011

The outspoken former UT dean and Boston University president on higher education's past, present and future — including his opinion of U.S. News & World Report's rankings, Howard Zinn and online degree programs. Full Story

UT System Redefines Adviser's Position, Sets End Date

By Reeve Hamilton March 24, 2011

The University of Texas System leadership has officially reassigned controversial new hire, Rick O'Donnell, to a new position — one that will only exist for a matter of months. Full Story

The Weekly TribCast: Episode 72

By Reeve Hamilton March 23, 2011

This week's episode of the TribCast features Evan, Ross, Reeve and Ben talking mostly about the budget, but also a bit about redistricting and academic research. Full Story

Budget Constraints Pit Teaching Against Research

By Ben Philpott, KUT News March 23, 2011

College students will rally at the Capitol today for higher-education funding. But as Ben Philpott of KUT News and the Tribune reports, some students think major changes are also needed on campus, where, they say, professors spend too much time researching and not enough time with undergraduates in the classroom. Full Story

SSNs of Laredo ISD Students Missing In Possible Data Breach

By Morgan Smith and Julián Aguilar March 22, 2011

A disk holding the Social Security numbers of thousands of current and former students in the Laredo Independent School District — a total of 24,903 — has gone missing, according to the Texas Education Agency. Full Story

Lawmakers' Concerns Linger After Changes at UT System

By Reeve Hamilton March 21, 2011

After running a gantlet of concerned legislators, Gene Powell, the chairman of the University of Texas System Board of Regents, took steps last week to assuage concerns over his direction of the system. Full Story

TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

By Ross Ramsey March 19, 2011

Grissom on threats to re-entry programs for criminals, Hamilton on the tempest over the direction of UT, E. Smith's interview with Joe Straus, Stiles and Chang's new lobbying app, M. Smith and Weber on where state officeholders send their children to school, Aaronson on allowing new nuclear power plants, Aguilar on how Hispanic Republicans are handling immigration issues, Ramshaw talks abortion with Planned Parennthood's Cecile Richards, Tan and Dehn on tapping the Rainy Day Fund and Galbraith on San Antonio and its water: The best of our best content from March 14 to 18, 2011. Full Story

UT System Reassigns O'Donnell: "We're Listening"

By Reeve Hamilton March 17, 2011

Top officials at the University of Texas System said in an interview Wednesday that they are moving quickly to allay the concerns regarding the direction of UT, starting with the reassignment of Rick O'Donnell. Full Story

Six Degrees of Jeff Sandefer: Reform and Texas Higher Ed

By Reeve Hamilton March 16, 2011

The recent hiring of Rick O’Donnell as a special adviser to the board of regents at the University of Texas System has some observers — worried about the implications for the University of Texas at Austin — playing connect the dots. Full Story

Prominent UT Alumnus Warns of "Degradation" at University

By Reeve Hamilton March 16, 2011

Prominent University of Texas alumnus Gordon Appleman says recent changes at the UT System Board of Regents "seemed important enough to where I ought to do something rather than sit by and watch it happen." Full Story

TribLive: Straus on Taxes, Abortion, Campus Carry and Obama's Citizenship

By Evan Smith March 14, 2011

For our latest TribLive conversation, I sat down with the Speaker of the Texas House, Joe Straus, to talk about budget cuts, possible sources of revenue, hot-button social issues and more. Full Story

Special Adviser to UT Regents Sparks Concern

By Reeve Hamilton March 14, 2011

A high-priced new hire at the University of Texas System has some worried, both because of budget pressures and what they fear might be a precarious new direction for the system that could threaten its flagship university’s elite status. Full Story

TribWeek: In Case You Missed It

By Evan Smith March 12, 2011

Conversations about the coming Hispanic majority and the 82nd session from our New Day Rising symposium, M. Smith on the latest tort reform battle, Galbraith on greater scrutiny of the gas industry, Ramsey on whether lawmakers will cut their own pay and benefits, Ramshaw and Aguilar on what's holding up abortion sonogram legislation, Aguilar on the ag commissioner's controversial new website, Philpott on what $9.8 billion in public education cuts looks like, Hamilton on a snippy exchange of higher ed letters and Grissom on the latest court decision in the Hank Skinner case: The best of our best content from March 7 to 11, 2011. Full Story

The Weekly TribCast: Episode 70

By Reeve Hamilton March 9, 2011

This week's TribCast features Evan, Reeve, Ben and Emily discussing the holdup with abortion sonogram legislation, cuts to public education, and bickering in higher education. Full Story

B-On-Time: Good for Students, Not for Some Schools

By Reeve Hamilton March 8, 2011

The B-On-Time Loan Program offers sweet savings if you are a student. But if you are an institution of higher education, the program might be costing you anywhere from a few thousand to millions of dollars. Full Story

A&M, Assn. of American Universities in Fight Over "Ill-Conceived" Reforms

By Reeve Hamilton March 7, 2011

The Association of American Universities, widely considered the gatekeeper to coveted tier-one status, has strongly criticized the Texas A&M University System's new policy of tracking the money spent on and generated by each individual professor. Full Story

Colby Bohannan: The TT Interview

By Reeve Hamilton March 3, 2011

The Texas State University junior on his new organization, the Former Majority Association for Equality, its college scholarships exclusively for white men and why he contends he's not a racist. Full Story