Texas Tech University System – Course Content Oversight and Review Standards

Summary

On December 1, 2025, the Texas Tech University System announced new Course Content Oversight and Review Standards and a formal review process for faculty to ensure compliance with state and federal law, Board of Regents policy, and directives authorized by Senate Bill 37. The guidance outlined expectations for classroom instruction and established a consistent process for faculty to submit materials for review by department and university leadership and the Academic, Clinical and Student Affairs Committee of the Board of Regents. The directive reinforced the Board of Regents’ statutory responsibility to review and oversee curriculum and was described as a first step to ensure each university offered degrees of value. Faculty were instructed to ensure that course content aligned with state standards on race and sex discrimination and with laws recognizing two sexes, while faculty could continue to examine or critique disputed ideas but not present prohibited concepts as endorsed or require students to affirm those ideas. System leadership described the framework as supporting both strong academic freedom and the accountability needed to maintain academic excellence.

On the same day, Chancellor Brandon Creighton issued a memorandum titled Course Content Oversight and Review to the presidents of each component university within the system, effective immediately. The memorandum specified that faculty must not include or advocate in any form course content that conflicted with particular standards, including promoting that one race or sex is inherently superior to another; that an individual by virtue of race or sex is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive; that any person should be discriminated against because of race or sex; that moral character or worth is determined by race or sex; that individuals bear responsibility or guilt for actions of others of the same race or sex; or that meritocracy or a strong work ethic are constructs of oppression. Advocacy or promotion was defined as presenting these beliefs as correct or required and pressuring students to affirm them rather than analyzing or critiquing them. The memorandum required that course content related to sexual orientation be submitted through the Course Content Review Process and noted that noncompliance could result in disciplinary action.

In the days following the release of these policies, academic freedom advocacy organizations raised concerns about the implications for faculty speech and classroom instruction. On December 12, 2025, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression sent a letter to Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso expressing concern that the review process could limit how faculty teach about race, sex, and related topics. Advocates urged that academic freedom and open classroom instruction not be restricted based on viewpoint, and they argued that requiring faculty to review and potentially remove certain viewpoints could chill discussion of sensitive subjects. The chancellor stated that the new policy aimed to help the university system produce degrees of high value by focusing course material on what was relevant and necessary for professional licensure or certificates. The policy limited how faculty could teach about race and sex and encouraged faculty to use a flow chart to determine whether course content met the new standards. Some faculty members and advocacy organizations criticized the policy and its guidelines as vague and potentially in conflict with academic freedom.