The University of Houston System Board of Regents put UH\u2019s core curriculum on the chopping block, removing 133 courses that previously fulfilled general education graduation requirements.<\/p>\n
The courses represent about 40 percent of the core curriculum, \u201cmeaning new students can no longer take classes like \u2018Intro to Global Climate Change\u2019 or \u2018Introduction to\u00a0LGBT Studies\u2019 to satisfy their general education requirements,\u201d the Houston Chronicle reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, removing courses from the core curriculum does not mean they are canceled or banned, as students may still take them as electives or major requirements if they continue to be offered. <\/p>\n The decision, which took place Thursday, came amid efforts by higher education leaders across the Lone Star State to adhere to Senate Bill 37, a 2025 law that gave governing boards final authority over curriculum decisions and required program reviews to identify low enrollment for potential consolidation or elimination. <\/p>\n \u201cSome courses were removed because of low enrollment, or because they hadn\u2019t been offered recently. Others were labeled as upper-division courses, signifying that they weren\u2019t \u2018core.\u2019 And others didn\u2019t meet the framework the university developed to assess SB 37,\u201d the Chronicle reported.<\/p>\n While students can still take \u201cAfrican American Studies\u201d and \u201cLatino Cultural Studies\u201d to satisfy a core requirement for language, philosophy and culture, other cuts included \u201cBlack Liberation Theology\u201d and \u201cIntroduction to Women\u2019s Studies,\u201d the newspaper reported.<\/p>\n Reductions were also made to core courses at the University of Houston-Downtown and the University of Houston-Clear Lake by the board on Thursday, Houston Public Media reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some scholars had advised campus leaders on where to cut.<\/p>\n \u201cI can tell you that the faculty were thoughtful, professional, smart, and took the task seriously, even though they would inevitably be subject to criticism from their peers, as you have heard here,\u201d Vice Chancellor of Legal Affairs and General Counsel Dona Cornell reportedly said at the meeting.<\/p>\n But some members of UH\u2019s chapter of the American Association of University Professors say they believe that the curriculum review process didn\u2019t include enough faculty input. They also maintain UH administrators over-complied with state law in their review,\u201d the Chronicle reported.<\/p>\n