Texas A&M releases the results of reviewing course syllabi to comply with two updated board of regents policies.
The university’s announcement comes the day after opponents held its second protest in three weeks against system policies 08.01 and 12.01.
Click HERE to read and download Texas A&M system policy 08.01.
Click HERE to read and download Texas A&M system policy 12.01.
An A&M news release did not give a specific number…only that hundreds of descriptions in core curriculum courses were changed to remove the teaching of race and gender ideology or topics related to sexual or gender ideology.
A&M’s news release also comes ahead of the board of regents regular quarterly meetings in College Station next Wednesday and Thursday, February 4th and 5th and a special meeting on Friday the 6th.
News release issued January 30, 2026 from Texas A&M:
The comprehensive process prioritized student success and transparency. Read online
Texas A&M University today announced the completion of its comprehensive course review for the Spring 2026 semester, conducted in accordance with Texas A&M University System Policies 08.01 and 12.01. The review examined approximately 5,400 course syllabi to ensure full compliance with System policy requirements.
A total of six courses were canceled, representing 0.11 percent of the courses offered this semester. The canceled courses include: one in the Bush School of Government and Public Service; two in the College of Arts and Sciences; two in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; and one in the College of Education and Human Development. Throughout the process, university advisors ensured that course cancellations did not create any obstacles that would prevent students from staying on track to graduate as planned.
“For 150 years, Texas A&M has led the way for higher education in Texas, our mission unchanged,” Interim President Tommy Williams said. “Strong oversight and standards protect academic integrity and restore public trust, guaranteeing that a degree from Texas A&M means something to our students and the people who will hire them. That has been our focus through this process and will remain our focus as we move forward.”
Across campus, faculty members and department heads completed most of the work to ensure compliance. They modified hundreds of syllabi across 17 colleges and schools to meet policy requirements, underscoring the central role of faculty and departmental leadership in the process.
Additionally, as part of the review, deans of schools and colleges were given the opportunity to request exceptions for non–core curriculum courses if topics are germane to the subjects being taught. Ultimately, 54 courses were forwarded to the president and provost for final review, and the president granted 48 exceptions.
The university also announced plans to wind down academic program offerings, including bachelors’ degrees and a graduate certificate, in Women’s and Gender Studies. The decision reflected both the requirements of System policies and limited student interest in the program based on enrollment over the past several years. Students currently pursuing degrees in Women’s and Gender Studies will be allowed to complete their programs.
Provost Alan Sams also expressed his gratitude to the university’s faculty and staff for their diligence and professionalism throughout the review.
“By working together, we will continue to provide a rigorous, relevant and future focused educational experience that prepares our students to lead with knowledge, integrity and purpose,” he said.
University officials also noted that — despite reports to the contrary — students at Texas A&M will continue to have opportunities in at least a dozen classes to study the works of Plato this semester and in every semester moving forward.
Information provided January 29, 2026 by the national office of the American Association of University Professors:
A protest against Texas A&M censorship and course cancellations was held by students, faculty, and alumni on Thursday, January 29 at Texas A&M’s academic plaza.
Representatives of the following organization were scheduled to participate: TAMU American Association of University Professors (AAUP), Texas American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Texas State Employee Union (TSEU), MOVE Texas, Aggies Forward, Students Engaged in Advocacy in Texas (SEAT), Aggies Against Apartheid, and more.
WHY: The coalition is demanding that TAMU:
1. Remove all censorship of teaching topics related to race, gender, & sexual orientation.
2. Respect the findings of TAMU’s own Committee on Academic Freedom, Tenure, & Responsibility (CAFRT) & reinstate Dr. Melissa McCoul.
3. Reinstate all improperly canceled courses.
4. Restore academic freedom for faculty in accordance with the AAUP Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom, and end all retaliation against faculty who refuse to censor their teaching.
5. Afford due process and fair treatment to every professor and system employee.
6. Return curricular authority to educators and allow faculty to restore to their course syllabi all censored material.
Background:
In December, the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents approved Policy 08.01, which prohibits any content related to race and gender in the core curriculum. These practices contravene longstanding academic and disciplinary norms, and are incompatible with the development of critical inquiry at a serious academic institution.
At least since the unjustified firing of Melissa McCoul in September of 2025 for including books with LGBTQ content in a course on contemporary children’s literature, Texas A&M administrators have implemented policies that have resulted in the chilling of classroom discussion, widespread self-censorship, and chaos across the College Station campus and the A&M system. Hundreds of courses across the curriculum have been impacted, as have thousands of students. This censorship must end.
National AAUP President Todd Wolfson issued a statement this month calling the censorship of Plato an “academic absurdity and a textbook violation of academic freedom.” “A college or university of this sort harms its students, faculty, and traditions, and consequently can no longer be regarded as a serious institution of higher learning,” he wrote.