Dive Summary:
- The Texas Coalition for Excellence in Higher Education, a volunteer group supporting the state's universities and opposed to the changes suggested by Gov. Rick Perry and others, contends that criticisms made by the governor aren't backed up by available data and has commissioned a third-party report looking at the strengths of the state's two flagship public research universities--The University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M.
- Released today, the report tries to show that both universities show above-average performance compared to their peers, and it was prepared just in time for the legislative battles expected next month at the meeting of the 83rd Texas Legislature,
- The report received praise Thursday from administrators at the two universities and their systems, and commission members hope it will be enough to prevent policy changes they see as destructive to the quality of the state's flagship schools, but whether or not it has any impact remains to be seen
From the article:
Texas Governor Rick Perry has a lot going for him in his efforts to rework higher education in his state. His appeals, particularly around cutting the cost of degrees for the state and families and churning out graduates with more “marketable” skills, tap into an emerging vein of populist sentiment that’s fed up with tuition increases and concerned about post-graduate employment. On top of that, over the course of almost 12 years in office, he has appointed every member of the governing boards of the state’s higher education systems, with recent appointments being particularly amenable to his brand of change. Those board members in turn have named system and campus leaders with personal ties to Perry, many of whom have backgrounds in politics themselves. ...