Texas Tech University System – Course Content Oversight and Review Standards

Summary

In late 2025, the Texas Tech University System adopted Course Content Oversight and Review Standards following state legislation, including Senate Bill 37, which authorized the Board of Regents to review course content for compliance with state law. The policy was framed as ensuring instruction aligned with state standards addressing race- and sex-based discrimination and recognizing two sexes, while also reinforcing the Board’s responsibility for curricular oversight tied to degree relevance and professional outcomes. System leadership described the framework as preserving academic freedom alongside institutional accountability.

On December 1, 2025, the system issued implementing guidance outlining classroom expectations and establishing a formal review process for instructional materials. Faculty were required to submit syllabi and course content through departmental and university review channels and onward to the Academic, Clinical and Student Affairs Committee of the Board of Regents. The guidance instructed instructors to engage disputed or controversial ideas in an analytical manner without presenting prohibited concepts as endorsed or requiring student affirmation.

That same day, Chancellor Brandon Creighton issued a memorandum titled Course Content Oversight and Review, directing immediate compliance across all component institutions. The memorandum prohibited faculty from including or advocating specified concepts, including claims of inherent superiority or oppression based on race or sex, collective guilt or responsibility tied to race or sex, and the characterization of meritocracy or work ethic as inherently oppressive. It defined advocacy to include presenting such concepts as correct or pressuring students to affirm them rather than critically examining them. It also required that content involving sexual orientation be submitted through the review process and provided that noncompliance could result in disciplinary action.

Following implementation, Will Crescioni, a lecturer in the Department of Psychological Sciences, submitted his honors-level psychology course for review, noting that discussion of race and gender was integrated throughout the syllabus. After departmental review and consultation, he declined to revise the course to comply with the directive, and the university canceled the course shortly before the semester began.

After the cancellation, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression sent a letter to Texas Tech University raising concerns about the policy and its implications for academic freedom and viewpoint-based enforcement. The Texas chapter of the American Association of University Professors similarly raised concerns that the review process and content standards could enable censorship of faculty and students.

In April 2026, the system’s implementation of the oversight framework expanded, including additional restrictions affecting instructional content related to gender identity and sexual orientation and administrative actions impacting related academic offerings. A subsequent memorandum from Chancellor Creighton further reinforced compliance requirements under the review regime and clarified procedures for evaluating course materials under system standards. System leadership maintained that these measures were intended to ensure instructional content remained aligned with state law, degree requirements, and workforce-oriented educational outcomes.