INSIDER
Proposals in the federal budget bill would cut the maximum Pell Grant award amount by $1,500 and take away eligibility for students enrolled less than half-time.
The creation of the new accrediting agency comes as Republicans have criticized existing ones for reinforcing a liberal bias in the country's higher ed institutions.
Legislation approved this year is partly aimed at helping Texas meet its goal of helping 60% of working-age Texans get a postsecondary degree or credential by 2030.
The directive comes after a court rescinded undocumented students’ eligibility for in-state tuition. It’s unclear what information schools might ask from students and how their immigration data will be protected.
Lawmakers also approved direct pay for student athletes and sought better pathways from college to the workforce.
Thousands of undocumented students who grew up in Texas now face college tuition costs that are more than twice what other state residents pay.
Some implications of the ruling ordering the policy’s end are still unknown. College access experts urged affected students not to withdraw from school while they assess their options.
Their filing says the lawsuit that struck down in-state tuition for undocumented students was “contrived” to keep their voices out.
In 2001, Texas Republicans saw expanding college access for certain undocumented students as a way to build an educated workforce. Now, some GOP lawmakers feel only U.S. citizens should receive those benefits.
Within hours of a federal lawsuit targeting Texas’ policy of letting undocumented students qualify for lower public tuition rates, the 24-year-old law was no more.
The Legislature wrapped up without the same drama that defined the end of the last two sessions, with state GOP leaders checking off nearly everything on their to-do lists.
The proposal is largely in response to massive pro-Palestinian demonstrations last year. Critics say it would walk back free speech protections that conservatives advocated for in previous legislative sessions.
The latest version of the proposal eliminates language that would have required university curricula not to advocate that “any race, sex, ethnicity or religious belief is inherently superior to another.”
The House's higher education committee closed registration to testify on Senate Bill 37 less than half an hour after the hearing started. About 20 people said they didn't get to address lawmakers.
Sen. Brandon Creighton says the bill will prevent disruption. Critics say it walks back conservative lawmakers' previous pledge to protect campus free speech.
Twenty-seven college-bound students just got a little more cash in their pockets thanks to the City of San Antonio Martin Luther King Jr. Commission.
Students told the Tribune they have deleted social media accounts, socialize less and steer clear of charged topics to avoid becoming targets of immigration authorities.
The money will help pay for a permanent home for the school on UT-Austin's campus. Conservative donors and lawmakers, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, helped create the school in 2023.
Moghe, Rutgers University’s chief academic officer, is a biochemical and biomedical engineer and a former international student. He is expected to start in his new role later this year.
The bill would overturn a two-decade-old law allowing some undocumented college students to pay in-state tuition.
Senate bills that reduce the influence of faculties and restrict protests on college campuses were voted out of committee in a last-minute meeting Monday.
The bill, which would require schools to use a definition of antisemitism when considering discipline for students, will soon head over to Abbott’s desk.
More than 250 students in Texas had their status revoked in recent weeks. Despite the reversal, federal attorneys say they’re developing policies to resume terminations.
The three former students went to UT-Arlington and UT-Dallas. While they have prevailed in court so far, many other international students’ education futures remain uncertain.
The four students were involved in minor criminal cases that have been resolved, which they argue shouldn’t be used to justify ending their higher ed goals in Texas.
The bill would require universities to report any visa-holding students who support terrorism, but its vague language could be dangerous, civil rights groups say.
An overhauled version of Senate Bill 37 would also allow anyone to file complaints that could lead schools to lose funds.
The people affected include a University of Houston professor from Korea who was teaching upper level math under a type of student visa that allows graduates to work in their field of study.
The Trump administration has said it has revoked the visas of more than 300 international students across the country in the last three weeks.
More than a year after Texas’ House Bill 8 took effect, some schools have offered free tuition, grown dual credit programs or helped students’ credits transfer when they move on to four-year schools.
Jim Davis told professors he’ll share their concerns with lawmakers about proposals that would increase oversight on curricula and hiring. Elsewhere on campus, former UT-Austin President Jay Hartzell criticized the bills.
Judge Lee H. Rosenthal said the student group that organizes Draggieland, the Queer Empowerment Council, was likely to succeed in showing the ban violates the First Amendment.
Supporters say diversity initiatives close educational and income gaps born from a history of prejudice. Republican officials say they prioritize identity over merit.
Lawmakers say several bills under consideration Thursday would “address the unchecked authority of faculty.” They would expand university governing boards’ oversight powers.
Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, said Texas A&M is better positioned to grow the Victoria school and serve the region’s petrochemical and agriculture industries.
The Texas universities are among dozens accused of violating the law by partnering with a group that had sought to increase diversity in graduate programs.
Senate Bill 37 would create a state office to investigate complaints against universities and require governing boards to ensure courses don’t endorse certain ideologies.
George Stewart sued Texas Tech University Health Science Center and five other medical schools claiming they rejected him in favor of lesser qualified students of color.
Hegar, who currently serves as Texas comptroller, will replace A&M Chancellor John Sharp in leading the 157,000-student system.
Five GOP lawmakers who targeted the exhibit also called for the cancellation of the “Palestinian Children and the Politics of Genocide” lecture, which is still scheduled.
In a letter, Sens. Brandon Creighton and Paul Bettencourt said they found “numerous” violations of the law, but didn’t provide specifics.
At a public event last week, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said higher ed would get less funding if they don’t “kick DEI out of their schools,” a few weeks after lawmakers proposed a massive cut to public universities.
Sources indicate the board has narrowed its search to five candidates: Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar, U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, Texas A&M Foundation President Tyson Voelkel, University of Alabama President Stuart Bell and state Rep. Trent Ashby, R-Lufkin.
Davis, who was named interim president one day earlier, replaced a provost who was named to the position by the university’s previous leader last month.
South Texas College in McAllen launched one of the first registered nursing apprenticeships in the country as area hospitals expect the need for nurses to increase.
The designations come at a tumultuous time for universities as funding could be cut off and efforts to end tenure continue.
A federal judge blocked a new National Institutes of Health policy from going into effect in 22 states that sued the agency, but Texas wasn’t part of the suit.
Students at the university created their own news organization — The Retrograde — after they reached an impasse with administrators regarding oversight and the firing of the campus newspaper’s editor-in-chief.
Legislators are expected to take up a $360 million proposal that would change the landscape of financial aid in the state.
One in four Texas students is raising a child while getting a college degree. For Isabella Mapes, it has meant little sleep and, at times, a lonely journey.
Abbott's comments came after A&M invited staffers and students to attend a conference that a conservative activist said broke the state’s ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
In recent years university presidents have been facing growing political pressures, student and faculty pushback and an increasingly demanding job.
Many rural Texans in the region say they lack quality information on the skills required to get good jobs and build a lasting career.
In his new role, Rosser will be responsible for helping Texas meet its goal to increase the number of Texans ages 25 to 34 with a postsecondary credential to 60%by 2030.
If early bill filings for the next Texas Legislative Session are anything to go by, then one thing is clear: Lawmakers are again hyperfocusing on the state’s higher education institutions.
At least a third of respondents at UT-Austin, UT-Dallas and Texas A&M said they’re not sure administrators at their universities protect free speech on campus.
Faculty senates have long played a key role in developing curriculum and protecting open inquiry. State leaders have also accused them of liberal indoctrination.
Black and Hispanic high schoolers who have to drive more than 30 minutes to a community college are less likely to pursue a degree, the report found.
Regional colleges rely more on tuition revenue to operate than flagship campuses. Gov. Greg Abbott’s desire to pause increases could create tight financial conditions.
Staff relations continue to be important for Mark Welsh III as he rebuilds trust after a hiring controversy and universities brace for legislation targeting faculty senates.
The Board of Regents is lifting the income threshold to expand eligibility across all nine of its UT System campuses.
State law prohibits schools from making direct name, image and likeness deals with athletes. Texas Tech says it puts them at a disadvantage as the university recruits athletes for fall 2025.
Professors and instructors say the university is preemptively censoring itself after administrators removed references to race and equity in dozens of College of Education course titles and descriptions.
Short-term certificates can only take a few weeks to get but don’t always lead to better earnings or higher degrees.
The governor’s directive extends a tuition freeze for Texas’ public universities that was approved in the last legislative session.
After conservative criticism over the LGBTQ+ minor, university officials started looking at all its programs. Faculty say they were excluded from the process.
The university is exploring potential legal responses after two men came on campus the day after the election with misogynistic and homophobic signs.
The county decided to not have an early voting site at a Laredo university because of historic low turnout. It will have one on Election Day.
A candidate running against the judge accused him of emailing his students at Texas State to vote for him. State law prohibits using public resources for political advertising.
High school students that are getting a jump on college through dual credit now make up the majority of students at one East Texas community college.
Despite the group’s strong participation, Hispanic students graduate college at a lower rate than peers in the program, according to a report.
Students can enter their class rank, grade point average, and standardized test scores to get a list of universities to which they’d be admitted.
The glitch kept the students from submitting the form on time, which put them last in line to receive aid this year.
The university will offer 18 "workforce-relevant" programs to prospective students beginning in the spring of 2025, according to a university release.
The current threshold is 6%. The change comes after the university received a record-breaking 73,000 undergraduate applications for this fall.
Hispanic Heritage Month is officially underway and Congressman Joaquin Castro and other political leaders are putting a focus on Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI).
County Judge Tim O’Hare said he proposed the cuts to save costs. Critics accused Republican leaders of suppressing the vote of young people who back Democrats.
The new list includes many right-wing priorities, and would escalate Republicans’ wars against diversity, equity and inclusion programs and review laws to keep noncitizens off voter rolls.
Ammer Qaddumi alleges UT-Austin violated his First Amendment rights. He is also challenging his suspension from the university.
The new policy says universities should remain neutral on “issues of the day” while allowing students, faculty and staff to express their ideas.
Delays in the new FAFSA led students to take out debt, enroll in community college over their top-choice universities or opt out of going to college.
The students saw the move as part of a political environment that has become increasingly hostile against LGBTQ+ people in Texas.
Future Texas therapists must complete internships to start their careers, but there’s not enough providers to mentor all of the students.
Thousands of Texas transfer students each year don’t get credit for some community college courses. The partnership seeks to address that.
The delayed rollout of the new FAFSA caused many students to experience setbacks in receiving financial aid packages. If these delays impacted your college choices, The Texas Tribune wants to hear your story.
Some students were relieved they were offered a type of academic probation that would allow them to remain in classes.
