The Bill Powers Jr. School of How to Win Friends and Influence People. (Dale Carnegie would be ashamed) Posted by WILLisms Texas is ground zero in the national higher education reform movement. While the Washington crowd tends to fixate on President Obama’s piddling slap fight with Congressional Republicans over government-secured student loan rates, the real … Continue reading
Written by Reeve Hamilton photo by: Todd Wiseman Thomas Lindsay, who was recently selected to head the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Center for Higher Education, is no stranger to controversy. That may be considered an asset in the position, given the foundation’s role in igniting much of the debate that has gripped Texas higher ed … Continue reading
By Jeff Sandefer Seth Godin asks the right question about modern education in a recent blog post: As we get ready for the 93rd year of universal public education, here’s the question every parent and taxpayer needs to wrestle with: Are we going to applaud, push or even permit our schools (including most … Continue reading
New reform framework unites critics and supporters of ‘seven breakthrough solutions’ By Teddy Wilson In much-anticipated remarks to the University of Texas Board of Regents Thursday, Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa laid out a broad nine-point plan to streamline operations across the system, increase accountability and expand science and medical education around the state. The “Framework Action … Continue reading
By William Lutz Earlier this week, I received a submission from a higher education expert who often publishes his work under the pseudonym Publius Audax. He disagrees with UT Liberal Arts Dean Randy Diehl’s recent report attacking the Texas Public Policy Foundation and Texas philanthropist Jeff Sandefer’s “7 Breakthrough Solutions.” He also proposes a reform of … Continue reading
By Robert C. Koons The cost of higher education in America spirals out of control. Tuition and fees have increased fourfold in real terms in the last two decades, far outstripping the rise in the cost of medical care. At the same time, the quality of instruction plummets, thanks to declining standards, grade inflation, and … Continue reading
Inefficient professors are the targets in Gov. Rick Perry‘s plan to reform higher education By Katherine Mangan Austin, Tex. Depending on whom you talk to in Texas these days, college professors are either elitist intellectuals oblivious to the financial struggles of their students or hard-working teachers and researchers being pressured to churn out graduates like … Continue reading
By Patrick Michels Less than a week after taking over as interim chancellor of the Texas A&M University System, Jay Kimbrough announced the end of a faculty awards program rooted in reforms backed by the Texas Public Policy Foundation. The Student Led Awards for Teaching Excellence, which awarded $2,500 to $10,000 bonuses based on student … Continue reading
David Guenthner, Senior Communications Director for TPPF explains how to achieve better quality and lower the costs in higher education. David Guenthner The goal of what we’re trying to do with higher education is to increase the quality and to reduce costs. Look at the public opinion on a lot of the issues we are … Continue reading
Both believe and fundamentally say they care about the quality and accessibility of higher education. By Reeve Hamilton Randy Diehl, the dean of the University at Texas at Austin’s College of Liberal Arts, is looking for ways to boost undergraduate graduation rates. Earlier this week, UT President Bill Powers told Diehl he’d be leading a … Continue reading
By Huma Munir Gov. Rick Perry has backed the Seven Breakthrough Solutions for Higher Education, but the plan from a conservative think tank could prove to be a breaking point between Perry and members of the higher education community even as Perry may be seeking support for a presidential run. UT President William Powers Jr., … Continue reading
By Huma Munir A report by The Center of College Affordability and Productivity classifies high-level administrators as the least productive members of the University, according to a Texas Coalition for Excellence in Higher Education press release. The coalition, which formed in June, came out with a statement Tuesday saying the center’s analysis casts the University’s … Continue reading
By Patrick Brendel The release of data on individual faculty members’ salary and productivity has sent shockwaves through the world of Texas higher education, pitting agitators for “transparency” and “accountability” against proponents of the reputations and track records of the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University. One side says the data expose … Continue reading
Rick O’Donnell: The TT Interview By Reeve Hamilton Rick O’Donnell’s time as an adviser at the University of Texas System may have been brief, but his presence was felt more than many longtime staffers. Controversy surrounded O’Donnell, the former director of Colorado‘s department of higher education, from the day he was hired by Gene Powell, … Continue reading
By S.C. GWYNNE and GARY JACOBSON, The Dallas Morning News In 1985, a young Harvard Business School student from Abilene named Jeff Sandefer had an idea to make money from the catastrophic bust in the oil and gas business. The son of a wildcatter, he knew how bad things were in the Oil Patch. He … Continue reading
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