Higher Education

More than 1 in 5 Texans with student loans are in default, meaning they have not made a payment in at least 270 days. KERA’s Bill Zeeble reports that’s at least 10 percent more than a year ago. Lubbock Independent School District is hosting a town hall meeting to discuss potential names for the three new elementary schools being built, tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. at the Byron Martin Advanced Technology Center. Our Charley Maranville reports the district is taking recommendations until August 1.

College borrowers in default have ballooned to a national record 9.2 million – up by 4.2 million since April 2025. In Texas, 878,000 are in default, the most of any state.

Faculty groups say the Texas Tech University System's new curriculum policies are unconstitutional and unlawfully restrict classroom instruction on race, gender identity and sexual orientation. But university leaders have called the changes "common sense."

Allegations filed in the first five months of the new ombudsman’s work challenged course content, DEI, academic freedom and employment disputes.

A popular (and generous) repayment plan ends, two new plans begin and many borrowers will see new loan limits.

The Federal Aviation Administration has selected Angelo State University as the first school in Texas to join a national initiative to recruit more air traffic controllers. Texas Public Radio’s Kory Cook reports the agreement comes as the FAA works to address staffing shortages across the country. Excavators have a long history of damaging natural gas pipelines in Texas. KERA analysis has found that more than 4,800 pipeline strikes have been reported so far this year.

The governor said undergraduate tuition and fees should stay frozen after some public university systems weighed increases.

College students and professors are protesting with mock funerals across Texas, saying universities are dying from political interference. School officials say they’re responding to shifting needs.

Studies show that for every dollar spent on adult education, there’s a $60 return for the economy.

Students and faculty held a mock-funeral outside of the Texas Tech University System Board of Regents meeting on May 7 to protest recent action from system administration regarding the course content review process and systematic “phase out” of programs centered on sexual orientation or gender identity.