At campuses across the state, the Texas A&M University System removed more than 200 courses from the list of core courses needed to graduate. Only a handful of courses at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi or Texas A&M University-Kingsville were affected.
Though they’ve been struck from the list of options available to students to fulfill general education requirements, these courses haven’t necessarily been canceled.
“Not every worthwhile course has to be a core course,” Board of Regents Chairman Robert L. Albritton said in a news release. “The core is the foundation every undergraduate carries into a degree. It should be focused, rigorous and worth the time and tuition students invest. The Legislature asked governing boards to take responsibility
for that, and we have.”
But as the campuses cull the core course list, another battle is underway regarding how race, gender and sexual orientation are talked about in the classroom.
A separate Texas A&M System course review process targeted teachings related to these topics, sparking concerns of censorship in Corpus Christi and resulting in canceled or altered courses at campuses across the state. In early August, the American Association of University Professors and several system professors filed a lawsuit challenging the policy as unconstitutional.
How are core course lists changing?
The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents approved revisions to the core curricula of system universities on Sept. 3 after a state-mandated review.
Senate Bill 37 requires the governing boards of Texas public universities to review core courses every five years to ensure they are “foundational.” Universities are tasked with considering the costs curricula impose on students. This was the Texas A&M University System’s first review under the new law.
The Texas A&M University System’s core curriculum program requires 42 semester hours of study for undergraduate degrees. These courses are intended to develop essential knowledge and skills for success during and after college.
According to a description of the core curriculum program from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi’s website, courses are approved based on the potential to contribute to critical thinking skills, communication skills, empirical and quantitative skills, teamwork, personal responsibility and social responsibility.
Students with any major must take a certain number of general education classes to graduate, though they have some choice on which specific courses to take.
At Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, this includes six hours of communication; three hours of math; six hours of life and physical sciences; three hours of language, philosophy or culture; three hours of creative arts; six hours of American history; six hours of government and political science; three hours of social or behavioral sciences; and six additional foundational component area hours.
Across the university system, campuses approached the core curriculum review in different ways. The flagship campus in College Station removed a variety of courses from the list of options for general education credit, including courses that touched on topics like race, gender, religion, sexuality and culture. Courses like intermediate Latin, biblical literature, revolutionary America, French film, child development for educators, finite mathematics, climate change and soil science were also removed.
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi had fewer removals from the list of core curriculum courses, though it also had a shorter list in the first place.
Six removed courses were Spanish courses, including courses focused on Spanish culture and literature. Also removed were courses in economics and Mexican American politics.
Most of the courses removed from the core curriculum at the Corpus Christi campus are still included in the 2026-27 course catalog.
Jaime Nodarse Barrera, A&M-Corpus Christi senior vice president of institutional advancement, said in an email that each course removed from the campus' core curriculum was evaluated based on Texas Education Code requirements. The campus also considered enrollments.
The Spanish classes removed from the core list were either “inactive with zero enrollment or were significantly under enrolled compared to other courses in the same component area,” Nodarse Barrera said in the email.
At Texas A&M University-Kingsville, more courses were removed than at A&M-Corpus Christi. However, the effects at both Coastal Bend universities were small compared to universities in College Station, San Antonio and Stephenville.
In Kingsville, courses in geographic information systems, gender studies, Spanish, social problems, sport in global society, world politics, pluralistic society, environmental engineering, wellness, computer applications and professional communication were removed from the core list.
The campus also added courses in precalculus, world literature, British literature, American literature, professional ethics and environmental sustainability.
“Texas A&M-Kingsville’s review of core courses included feedback from university, community and industry stakeholders,” Texas A&M University-Kingsville spokesperson Adriana Garza said in an email. “Courses that focused primarily on specific defined skills were removed from the core curriculum. This does not mean the courses were canceled, simply that they may not be taken to satisfy a general education requirement.”
The review provided the opportunity to ensure core courses prepare students for civic and professional life, support workforce readiness and provide the breadth expected of a college education, Garza wrote.
“Our students and their families can be assured that our core courses provide TAMUK graduates with the knowledge that will prepare them to positively impact their communities,” Garza wrote.
Olivia Garrett reports on education and community news in South Texas. Contact her at olivia.garrett@caller.com.
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Classes removed from core curricula at A&M-Corpus Christi, Kingsville
