Every chancellor of a university system in Texas knows — down to the exact, excruciatingly precise percentage point — how much worse higher education fared than other agencies when their current budgets were cut. With the state facing a massive budget shortfall in the next biennium, the chancellors know they’re in for another round. But this time they’re adamant that they not bear a disproportionate share of the pain.
Higher Education
Coverage of universities, colleges, student issues, and education policy shaping Texas’ campuses, from The Texas Tribune.
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Higher Education
All UT, All The Time
In a match made in Longhorn athletics heaven, the University of Texas and ESPN have struck a deal to launch a 24-hour TV network that’s all UT, all the time. As Ian Crawford of KUT News reports, it’s a lucrative venture for UT, which says it’ll use the network for more than just athletics.
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Higher Education
TribBlog: Killing Them With Contact
Among the most controversial issues in House Bill 1, the base budget, is its denial of state funding to four community colleges. While the bill does not represent a final decision, critics say presenting the proposed budget executions this way is as dangerous as the methodology behind the decision is misleading.
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Criminal Justice
TribBlog: Innocence Clinics Dodge Budget Bullet, for Now
Texas innocence clinics escaped unscathed from the first round of budget cut recommendations, but at the Capitol today, advocates said they aren’t safe yet.
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Criminal Justice
A Stiff Cocktail of Budget Cuts
The Texas House has unveiled a $156.4 billion budget that’s $31.1 billion smaller than the current two-year spending plan — a drop of 16.6 percent. The proposed budget came with $1.2 billion in recommendations for savings and new revenue from the Legislative Budget Board.
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Higher Education
The Legal Limit
Texas produces more law school graduates than it has jobs for. But that hasn’t stopped some lawmakers from proposing that the state build a new law school in the Valley.
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Higher Education
Branch: Higher Ed Cuts Unavoidable
As state leaders grapple with a budget shortfall that could be as high as $27 billion, state Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas, who chaired the House Higher Education Committee in 2009, offers up some possible cuts to higher education.
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Criminal Justice
Pomp, Circumstance, Consequences
The 82nd Texas Legislature convenes in Austin this week, and while it’s not as much fun as the circus — usually — it’s more important and does have its share of comedy and drama.
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Higher Education
TribBlog: Graduation Gains
Though graduation rates for community colleges are stagnant nationwide, a few Texas colleges have seen improvements. But don’t go busting out the champagne just yet.
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Higher Education
TribBlog: Professors Take Buyouts at UT, A&M
In the midst of state-mandated budget cuts, 135 tenured professors have accepted buyouts at the University of Texas and Texas A&M University.
