Higher Education Commissioner Raymund Paredes says more than 1.5 million students attended Texas colleges and universities last year but the state must do more to encourage enrollment by minorities.
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board on Thursday is expected to receive an update on the 2015 Closing the Gaps initiative.
The initiative, adopted in 2000, aims to award more degrees, increase the number of nationally recognized programs and increase federal funding for scientific research.
Paredes said Tuesday that Texas is in line to meet the 2015 enrollment goal of 1.65 million, but enrollment by Hispanics and by African-Americans has lagged.
The board has adopted a campaign, called Generation Texas, to encourage enrollment and better advise schools on keeping students on track toward degrees.
