Southern Methodist University in Dallas and the United Methodist Church are set to deliver oral arguments in the Texas Supreme Court on Jan. 15.

A multi-year fight over whether Southern Methodist University can separate itself from the United Methodist Church is heading to Texas’ highest court this month.

In layman's terms, the fight is over who owns the nonprofit private university and has the authority to set its rules.

The Texas Supreme Court set oral arguments in the case of SMU and the United Methodist Church's South Central Jurisdictional Conference for this month.

Southern Methodist University is set to appear in the Texas Supreme Court in a bid to separate from the United Methodist Church.