Texas Tech regents may cut some classes on race, gender as options for graduation requirements

Texas Tech University students would no longer have certain classes on social justice, race and culture as options for credit toward graduation requirements under a proposal regents will consider Wednesday.

More than 20 classes would be removed from the list of approved core courses, including a literature class focused on social justice and the environment as well as a women’s and gender studies class exploring race, class and gender across the world, according to a Texas Tribune comparison of the proposed changes with the university’s 2025-26 list of approved core courses.

The agenda packet does not explain why regents are considering removing these classes, whether they would still be offered or whether directives issued by Texas Tech System Chancellor Brandon Creighton influenced the proposed changes.

Since he started as chancellor in November 2025, Creighton has gone beyond a law he wrote as a Republican state senator by restricting what professors can teach about race, sexual orientation and gender identity.

Wednesday’s proposal lists a class titled “Introduction to Women’s Studies.” Texas Tech’s current list includes “Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies.” It is unclear whether the university renamed the class, changed its content or replaced it with a different course.

Regents will also consider changes to general education requirements at Angelo State and Midwestern State, the system’s two other general academic universities.

Andrew Martin, the outgoing president of Texas Tech University’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, said faculty members traditionally determined which classes met general education requirements, with regents providing final approval. He said he had not heard whether the faculty committee responsible for those decisions participated in the latest review.

“I believe that to be an egregious overreach and a clear violation of institutional norms,” Martin said of regents’ increasing involvement in academic decisions.

If approved, the changes to Texas Tech’s list of classes that satisfy general education requirements would take effect in fall 2027.

The vote comes as Texas Tech and other public university systems carry out the law Creighton authored in 2025. It requires regents to review the classes students must take to graduate at least once every five years and certify their compliance by Jan. 1.

Regents must consider whether those classes provide a broad education, prepare students for work and civic life, and impose unnecessary costs. Supporters argued the additional oversight ensures universities offer classes that benefit students without promoting particular political viewpoints while critics warned it could allow political interference in academic decisions.

The law does not require universities to remove classes on particular subjects.

Now Democrats’ sweeping victories in last week’s elections for governor, lieutenant governor and the Texas House have opened the door to revisiting the law and other Republican-backed higher education policies, such as a ban on diversity, equity and inclusion offices and programs on college campuses.

At Texas Tech, the terms of regent Chair Cody Campbell and Regent Arcilia Acosta expire Jan. 31 while a third seat is vacant. That gives Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa an opportunity to appoint three members to the nine-member board early in her term, subject to confirmation by the Texas Senate.

Other universities have already removed dozens of classes from their lists of approved core courses.

Texas A&M University System regents removed 78 classes at the College Station flagship, while University of Houston regents cut 97 classes at their flagship campus. Both removed classes on LGBTQ-related subjects.

The law created a statewide advisory committee to recommend changes to the general education classes students at Texas public colleges and universities must take, including whether to reduce the number of required classes. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is scheduled to review those recommendations Monday and consider endorsing them for state lawmakers, who begin their next legislative session in January.

Among other changes at Texas Tech, Creighton and regents directed university leaders in April to phase out degree programs centered on sexual orientation or gender identity and barred instruction on those topics in general education and introductory undergraduate classes, with limited exceptions. The Texas chapter and the national organization of the American Association of University Professors are suing Creighton and the regents, arguing the restrictions violate the professors constitutional rights.

Texas Tech’s Student Senate voted Nov. 5 to survey students about Creighton’s restrictions after an hours-long debate over whether they should get involved and if the survey would be politically biased.

The resolution passed, according to The Daily Toreador, Texas Tech’s student newspaper. Senators must approve the questions before distributing the survey to the university’s roughly 45,000 students and sets a threshold of 6,000 responses before the results can be used to inform future Senate decisions about the restrictions.

The Texas Tribune partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage.

Disclosure: Texas Tech University and The Texas A&M University System have been major financial supporters of The Texas Tribune. Cody and Tara Campbell, Open Campus, Texas Tech University System and University of Houston have been financial supporters within the past five years. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in our journalism. Find a complete list of them and more information about our financial and disclosure policies here.