Many courses did not make the new list, including courses on gender and sexuality studies, “Slavery and its legacies,” “LGBTQ Literature\/culture” and “Intro to African American Women’s History.” The changes have been criticized by some faculty who say the new core curriculum limits intellectual diversity and focuses on content rather than on skills. <\/p>\n
Stauffer said all perspectives are welcome but some restrictions had to be put in place to create a more coherent curriculum.<\/p>\n
\u201cPart of it was that we thought that the principle of professor choice to teach whatever they want based on their narrow research interests had gone too far,\u201d he said. \u201cSo we were trying to rein that back in, but we’re not trying to exclude any perspectives from it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Changes also included reducing the number of credit hours<\/a> required for the core curriculum from 42 to 36, and narrowed classes to three categories: Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, and STEM. By law<\/a>, state universities in Texas must have core curriculums of no less than 42 semester credit hours. Stauffer said the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is currently redoing the requirements for the state law.<\/p>\n \u201cSo one of the bureaucratic complexities that’s going on right now is coordinating our transition with their transition, and so we’re trying to do that,\u201d he said. \u201cThat problem is going to be ironed out, but it’s going to probably be a two- or three-year process of ironing out.\u201d<\/p>\n Courses for the new curriculum will begin to be available Fall of 2027 through existing faculty. The new core curriculum is yet to be approved by the UT System Board of Regents and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.<\/p>\n Stauffer said it\u2019s still to be determined where the new college will be located or how large it will be. He said as UT unfolds its new core curriculum, the University College will work along with other colleges to teach those courses and will hire accordingly to fill in the gaps. He said currently they have 1,200 applications to teach the core courses.<\/p>\n Erasing institutional knowledge<\/p>\n University officials have been criticized by students and faculty for a lack of transparency. Since Davis took office, the flagship campus has consolidated departments, created the School of Civic Leadership, eliminated majors, and appointed new deans, all without faculty and students\u2019 input. <\/p>\n Now, with the creation of the new college, some faculty say the new college is duplicating something that already existed.<\/p>\n The college that used to oversee the core curriculum, the School of Undergraduate Studies, was silently folded into the provost\u2019s office in 2025. Some faculty worry that starting a new college that does the same as the previous one will lead to the loss of institutional knowledge and memory.<\/p>\n Pauline Strong, a Native American Indigenous Studies professor and member of the American Association of University Professors, said the history of the university is being erased.<\/p>\n \u201cSetting up the University College is restoring something that was ended. But of course, when it was ended, many, many staff lost their jobs, people with years of experience working in undergraduate education,\u201d Strong said. \u201cSo, this is a wholesale replacement of a college by a new college.\u201d<\/p>\n In a written statement, the AAUP said Wednesday that the new core curriculum centers Western Civilization, ill-preparing students for an increasingly globalized workplace. The group said duplicating a college that already existed is \u201cinefficient, wasteful and another example of poor management.\u201d<\/p>\n The association also said appointing Stauffer as dean without any public search process or consultation with the UT community is disrespectful of faculty expertise. University leaders have appointed at least five deans this year without input from faculty. <\/p>\n Stauffer said since he was the head of the new curriculum task force, his appointment was \u201can extension\u201d of his work.<\/p>\n Davis has repeatedly said UT officials are making changes to ensure a “balanced learning experience” for all students.<\/p>\n Students and faculty protest<\/p>\n During his speech Wednesday, Davis said UT Austin is a university of “first class” with all-time high numbers of applicants and students. He said the university has more financial support than ever from donors and research funding is on track to be $1.5 billion this year. <\/p>\n Davis did not address changes that have impacted students, like consolidating majors, or recent hate speech rhetoric by a guest speaker on campus and politicians. In September, railroad commissioner candidate Bo French posted a photo of South Asian students <\/a>saying \u201cthe problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.\u201d Earlier this month, far-right podcaster Myron Gaines made racist and misogynist remarks while visiting campus<\/a>.<\/p>\n Lorianne Willett<\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n KUT News<\/p>\n Students with Not Our Texas protest outside of Hogg Auditorium, where UT President Jim Davis gave the annual State of the University address, on Wednesday.<\/p>\n After Davis\u2019 speech, the Black UT student coalition Not Our Texas held a demonstration outside of Hogg Memorial Auditorium. Students said they were disappointed that, while free speech is legal, UT officials had failed to protect every student at the university. They said they would\u2019ve liked Davis to acknowledge the problems they face.<\/p>\n \u201cBy not acknowledging that this is a problem on campus, you’re allowing it to continue. And he’s not addressing the direct racism,\u201d said Nealah Ferris, a physics and space sciences student. \u201cHe’s not addressing the everyday facts that this is something that they allowed on campus. And they allowed it to turn into a big deal. And they’re not doing anything about it.\u201d<\/p>\n Ferris questioned how UT\u2019s research benefits minority students. She said Black, South Asian and Hispanic students have been left to fend for themselves after the university dismantled resources that were specifically for them as part of compliance with SB17, which banned diversity, equity and inclusion programs at public universities.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that all of that just trickled down to students being left vulnerable, and we should never have to walk on a campus unsure of who’s going to protect us,\u201d Ferris said.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792737376_493_.jpeg\"\/)
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