Colleges in Texas

Colleges in Texas are overseen by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, an agency of the state's government. The THECB Headquarters are located in the city of Austin. It is comprised of seven members that the governor appoints for six-year terms on a staggered basis. The board decides which Texas schools can start or continue programs to earn degrees. The Board also evaluates degree programs from other states or countries for use in schools in Texas.

Operations of the various Texas colleges and universities is carried out by each system's board of regents. In 1998, the THECB began a program entitled "Closing the Gap by 2015" with the goal of closing educational gaps within Texas schools and between the state and other US states.

Thirty-two of the 36 distinct public universities in Texas are divided into six state university systems as follows.

• The University of Texas System
• Texas A&M System
• University of Houston System
• University of North Texas System
• Texas State System
• Texas Tech System

Three of Texas's universities have been classified by the Carnegie Foundation as research institutes: the University of Texas, Austin University of Houston and Texas A&M University.

Universities and colleges in Texas include a wide choice of private institutions from community colleges and four-year liberal arts programs to a high-ranking research university. Rice University, located in Houston is a nationally recognized private teaching and research university that is ranked the 17th best overall university in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. Trinity University in Houston, which offers mostly four-year liberal arts degrees along with a few select graduate programs, has ranked first in the Western United States for schools of its kind 20 consecutive years by U.S. News and World Report.

Most of the two-year community colleges in the state fall under the leadership of Texas Community College Districts. There are 50 Districts with 70 community colleges scattered across the state.

Economy

In 2010, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported the Gross State Product (GSP) as $1.207 trillion, the nation's second highest. The GSP of Texas is comparable to Canada, the world's 11th largest economy. In 2009, the per capita personal income was found to be $36,484 and ranked 29th in the nation. Factors that contribute to the state's wealth are a large population due to large land area, thriving cities, abundant natural resources and of course the discovery of oil. Petroleum has played a significant role in both politics and the economy of Texas since the discovery of oil at Spindletop, a salt dome oilfield in Beaumont in 1901. The leading Texas schools of higher education have also contributed to the state's economical welfare.

Texas shares the position of having the most fortune 500 companies in the nation with California. There were 346,000 millionaires in the state as of 2010. Texas was ranked by Site Selection magazine as the business-friendliest state in the United States in 2010.

Texans do not pay a state income tax. Instead, revenue is collected from property and sales tax. Local and state tax burdens are among the lowest in the nation. it is also a "tax donor" state meaning that for every federal dollar paid by state residents to the federal government the state receives benefits.

Agriculture and mining has long been important to the economy of Texas. It has the highest acreage and the most farms in the nation. It is the leading state for cattle, sheep and goat products and cotton. The state contributes a significant part of the nation's cereal and produce. Mineral resources have allowed the state to be a leader in cement, salt, gravel and limestone.

Technology has grown important to the economy in Texas. A variety of high tech industries have developed as large university systems team with initiatives such as the Texas Emerging Technology Fund and the Texas Enterprise Fund. The state hosts the headquarters of Dell, Texas Instruments, AT&T, Rackspace and Perot Systems. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is located in Houston and Fort Worth is the home of Bell Helicopter Textron and Lockheed Martin's Aeronautics division.

Texas will remain strong in the nation in education, jobs and economy decade after decade.