Academics

The University of Texas at Austin is testing a program to measure whether students can be encouraged to complete their degrees quickly by offering them forgiveness of the most expensive loans they must borrow to attend the university.

Coca-Cola Foundation funds innovative entrepreneurship study abroad program in Beijing for first-generation college students.

The National Academy of Engineering has selected Nicholas Peppas as its 2012 Founders Award recipient in recognition of his pioneering work in the areas of polymer chemistry, bioengineering, pharmaceutical sciences and advanced drug delivery.

The McCombs School of Business Hispanic Leadership Initiative’s 4th Annual Hispanic Leadership Summit, Hispanic Vote 2012: Understanding Our Strength, will focus on the role of the Latino vote in the 2012 election. U.S. Congressman Charles Gonzales will keynote the event.

Lawrence G. Miller, a long-time educator with extensive experience in community college administration, has been named director of The University of Texas at Austin’s National Institute of Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD). NISOD is an outreach arm of the College of Education’s Higher Education Administration Program and Community College Leadership Program (CCLP).

The South Asia Institute at The University of Texas at Austin has initiated a three-year partnership with Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU) in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, that will bring faculty members from FJWU to Austin in January to work on research and course development in liberal arts and communication.

As the new school year begins, 2,000 Central Texas children will be building fundamental literacy skills through a partnership led by The University of Texas at Austin’s ACE (A Community for Education) program. The program is expanding to reach 2,000 children in the 2012-13 school year, which is double the number of students ACE reached…

To better inform and engage parents, educators, legislators and advocates in discussion of these issues, the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin will host “Measuring Up: A Statewide Conversation on High-Stakes Testing and Accountability” on Sept. 24. The event is free and open to the public.

First-graders at UT Elementary thrive at project-based learning with exciting results.

Providing English language learners (ELLs) with iPod Touches, or similar handheld devices, can increase learning time and motivation, according to a study from The University of Texas at Austin’s College of Education.

Twenty-seven faculty members from The University of Texas at Austin will receive the 2012 Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award, the UT System Board of Regents’ highest teaching honor, which recognizes extraordinary educators from system institutions.

University of Texas at Austin faculty experts are available to talk about a wide range of K-12 and higher education issues related to the start of school, including education policy, teaching strategies, children’s mental and emotional health, and closing the achievement gap.