The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's 'Close the Gap' program was created in 2008 with the goal of decreasing the 'gap' between the percentage of Anglo and minority young people who graduate from college in Texas, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
But at a time when that gap is closing, the Board is struggling with a new gap that appears to be getting worse...the dwindling number of male students enrolled in and graduating from Texas state colleges.
According to the board's numbers, 83,000 women received degrees from Texas state colleges in 2017, compared with about 62,000 men.
And the divide is getting worse, with fewer male students going on to college in the last four years, compared with a growing number of female students.
Women make up a larger percentage of the state's population than men, but the Board says that doesn't account for the growing disparity between men and women in college.
The problem is not isolated to Texas. Across the country, the number of male college students is falling sharply.
One of the reasons is that more men than women are attracted to the growing tech field, which generally requires specialized training instead of a traditional four year degree.
Also, as opportunities have opened up for women in professions, women generally have bypassed jobs in fields like construction, which remain male dominated, and have instead chosen professions that are more likely to require a four year degree.
The lack of male students in college is setting back the board's goals of having more Texas high school graduates go to college to make sure the state's population has the education needed for the 21st Century work place.