State Policy

The University of Texas at Austin has rapidly become one of the most selective colleges in the country. That’s partly due to a 30-year-old state policy attracting national attention as an affirmative action alternative. But Texans say it’s no perfect model.

Backed by lawmakers and university leaders but opposed by hundreds of faculty, the initiative has hired professors with similar backgrounds—including a few who’ve expressed sharp political opinions.

A new Cato Institute report rekindles a long-standing, nuanced debate over whether states have decreased funding for higher education.

Republican governor Jeff Landry, claiming to defend free speech, is publicly targeting a specific professor for brief alleged classroom comments on Trump voters. 

At least four Republican state leaders praised the president-elect’s plans to dismantle the agency, citing the need for more local control over K-12 schools. But higher ed experts say they’re overlooking consequences for colleges.