Texas A&M Broadens Education By Narrowing What Counts Toward It
Regents removed more than 200 courses from core requirements across 11 universities. The classes may still be offered, just with less help toward the required checklist.
COLLEGE STATION—Texas A&M System regents approved a narrower menu of general-education courses Thursday, advancing the state’s commitment to a broad education by becoming more selective about which portions count. More than 200 classes across 11 universities will no longer satisfy core requirements, according to The Texas Tribune.
The affected offerings include LGBTQ literature, women writers, race and ethnicity, and climate change. A course on the Bible as literature also appears on the flagship campus’s removal list. The curriculum review has shown sufficient administrative range to reach both cultural controversy and scripture.
This is not a blanket ban on teaching those subjects. The system says universities may continue offering the classes outside the core. Students can still pursue the material, but that work will not satisfy the same general-education requirements. Academic freedom has retained a seat while the degree checklist changes tables.
The review follows Senate Bill 37, which directs governing boards to examine core curricula at least every five years. The system says its approved courses meet the law’s requirements for civic preparation, professional life and a sound education. Those are substantial ambitions for a process whose visible product includes fewer ways to fulfill them.
There is a defensible distinction between deciding what a university teaches and deciding what every graduate must study. Regents have chosen to exercise the latter power. Students now receive a practical lesson in institutional governance: knowledge may remain available after the institution stops giving it the same credit.
Sources: Texas Tribune: A&M removes courses from core offeringsTexas A&M System: regents approve core curricula after review
