Higher Education
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Federal court denies efforts to restore the Texas Dream Act
Republican leadership in the state applauded the decision, while civil rights advocates called it “one of the greatest juridical travesties in recent history.
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Faculty sue Texas Tech University for ‘imposing a strait jacket’ on intellectual thought leaders
It is, according to one professor, “the legal battle for the soul of higher education in Texas.”
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UNT students, faculty mourn academic freedom at mock funeral
Students are mourning the death of the University of North Texas System after ongoing attacks on academic freedom.
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NAACP calls for boycott of Southern college sports programs over voting rights
The NAACP’s “Out of Bounds” campaign urges current and prospective Black athletes, their families, alumni and fans to “withhold athletic and financial support” from major public universities in states that “have moved to limit, weaken or erase Black voting representation.”
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Texas can continue to investigate teachers over Charlie Kirk social media posts
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) can continue to investigate teachers over social media posts made on their personal accounts following far-right political activist and media personality Charlie Kirk’s death, a federal judge has ruled.
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How more Texas universities are bending the knee to far-right extremism
Staff at both the University of Texas at Arlington and the University of North Texas have been fired for allegedly violating the state’s diversity, equity, and inclusion ban.
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Higher education advocates call on lawmakers to fight for academic freedom in Texas
A coalition of educators and union members are calling on Texas lawmakers to adopt a new policy platform that centers the needs of workers and students over billionaires and corporate interests at higher education institutions.
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Why Texans are voting with education in mind this midterm election
Texans have a chance to elect staunch public education advocates to several statewide seats in November.
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University of Texas censors ‘controversial’ topics in class
A new rule requires University of Texas professors to “carefully consider” their teaching material and “exclude unrelated controversial or contested matters.”
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2 Texas schools break into TIME’s top global university rankings
TIME Magazine’s 2026 list of the World’s Top Universities included three Texas schools. Here are the 2 that made the Top 50.
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Greg Abbott halts visas for foreign workers at Texas universities
Public universities across the state can’t seek new visas without the Texas Workforce Commission’s permission from now until the end of the 2027 legislative session under a new directive from Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.
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Babson College supports student deported flying home for Thanksgiving surprise
A college student was detained and deported while trying to fly home to Austin to surprise her family for Thanksgiving.
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UT won’t say if it accepted Trump’s pledge targeting trans, international students
The Trump administration offered preferential funding to nine colleges that agreed to pledge loyalty to his conservative agenda. The University of Texas has yet to publicly respond to the offer.
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Texas State faculty fight back against ‘politically motivated’ curriculum review
The vague new order requires the university to ensure all curriculum is taught in a “value-neutral” manner, which critics said encroaches on academic freedom.
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See how Texas universities, colleges ranked on US News & World Report Best Colleges 2025 list
While Rice University, University of Texas at Austin, and Texas A&M University typically tend to end up on the higher end of the US News & World Report Best Colleges list, 2025 is the year that University of Houston made the biggest leap.
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Texas A&M fires professor for discussing gender identity in class
Texas A&M fired a professor and disciplined two administrators over backlash from right-wing lawmakers following a viral video showing a professor discussing LGBTQ+ topics in class.
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Good news, Texas! Free College Application Week is coming
Texas residents can apply to college for free from October 13-19, 2025. Here’s everything you need to know about Free College Application Week.
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Two schools, one law: Texas A&M, Texas Southern University navigate NCAA shakeup
Texas A&M and Texas Southern are navigating a landmark shift in college athletics compensation following the passage of Texas House Bill 126.
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At UT, a Day of Drag and Defiance
Students gathered for a joyful protest of the university system’s drag show ban.
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Student loans in default will be sent for collection. Here’s what to know for borrowers
By ADRIANA MORGA and WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Starting next month, the Education Department says student loans that are in default will be referred for collections. Roughly 5.3 million borrowers are in default on their federal student loans and soon could be subject to having their wages garnished. Referrals for collection…
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The number of 18-year-olds is about to drop sharply, packing a wallop for colleges—and the economy
This so-called demographic cliff has been predicted ever since Americans started having fewer babies at the advent of the Great Recession around the end of 2007—a falling birth rate that has not recovered since, except for a slight blip after the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
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Trump wants to dismantle the Education Department. That could hurt students with disabilities in Texas.
In a state with a checkered history with federal special education law, advocates say Texas students will see an erosion of their disability rights protections. As the Trump administration pushes to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, advocates for students with disabilities worry that, without federal oversight, Texas will fail to provide adequate special education…
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Texas Legislature proposes $400 million cut to higher ed as Dan Patrick threatens university budgets over DEI
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.
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I’m helping my college-age kid fill out the 2025-2026 FAFSA. Here’s what to know.
If the financial aid fiasco last year had you, like me, coming up with creative alternatives for the FAFSA acronym, you can take a big, deep breath. This year, the process is so much easier. Or maybe you’re a FAFSA newbie, and you have no knowledge of 2023’s drama—you just want the quick ‘n’ easy…
