Most clicked story of the week:
Last week, the University of Texas System’s governing board considered and unanimously approved new restrictions on teaching “controversial and contested” subjects. Among other provisions, it directs instructors to avoid topics “not germane” to their courses and to “fairly” present differing views on “reasonably disputed matters and unsettled issues.” Many faculty members spoke out against the policy before its passage, calling it unnecessary, vague and a threat to academic freedom.
Number of the week: $45 million
That is the projected fiscal year 2026 deficit the University of North Texas is facing, and it’s a figure nearly $145 million larger than what officials had budgeted. UNT President Harrison Keller described the fiscal hole as “structural, not just temporary,” and said it would “inevitably require hard choices.” Weighing on the university’s finances are declines in state funding and international graduate student enrollment.
Conservative state officials keep pressing legacy accreditors:
Earlier this month, the governing board chair of the State University System of Florida pressured a medical school accreditor to take a stance against gender-affirming care for transgender minors. In a letter, Alan Levine asked the Liaison Committee on Medical Education how medical schools could retain their accreditation if they endorse surgical interventions for minors. He argued that “would seem to clearly violate” the committee’s standards related to the scientific method.
An Alabama House committee advanced a bill that would allow the state’s public colleges to choose their own accreditors. That would open the door to accreditation through the Commission for Public Higher Education, a new quality-assurance body formed by public university systems in six largely Republican-led states. The bill would also block accreditors from taking adverse actions against institutions based on their compliance with state laws, according to the Alabama Reflector.
Colleges face more budget and potential program cuts:
The College of Wooster, a private nonprofit institution in Ohio, laid off 22 staff members, including 18 full-time and four part-time employees, according to The Daily Record. Administrators cited financial pressures from factors such as falling enrollment and rising costs.
At the University of Montana, where enrollment is growing, leaders are reviewing programs with an eye toward potentially cutting low-demand degrees, according to NBC Montana. UM has proposed nixing master’s programs in literature and economics while suspending certain minors.
- Meanwhile, in Indiana, House lawmakers voted to empower the state to review and potentially cut public college programs whose graduates fell short of wage thresholds.
Quote of the week:
“Without clear guidance, ordinary and necessary teaching practices — things like challenging student assumptions, presenting uncomfortable historical evidence or evaluating student work critically — could be reinterpreted as violations.”
Alex Karner
UT Austin professor
Karner spoke at a UT system board of regents meeting last week on the potential dangers in the policy on teaching controversial subjects, which the regents unanimously approved despite the concerns voiced by Karner and other faculty.
