Ed Castillo/Houston Public Media
Faculty at the University of Houston are being asked to sign their name to a memorandum that certifies their course curriculum does not “indoctrinate” students.
Houston Public Media obtained an email sent to professors in the UH honors college, asking professors to complete a course review and submit their name in a survey that reads, “Having reviewed the catalog descriptions, course objectives, student learning outcomes, and assignments, I confirm, to the best of my knowledge, are aligned.”
University of Houston
The memo was issued as a result of Senate Bill 37, an overhaul of the public higher education system passed by the Texas legislature that took effect in September. It permits governing bodies to have greater authority over course curricula. Educators have said it will lead to censorship.
Spokespeople for the University of Houston did not comment.
In a letter to the university, the UH chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) said, “a number of Deans have sent emails to faculty in their colleges.”
“While we understand that this is a difficult and uncertain time for Texas universities and we appreciate that Deans have asserted the importance of academic freedom and emphasized correctly that there is no evidence of ‘indoctrination’ on the UH campus,” AAUP said, “the freedom of faculty to teach consistent with their judgment and expertise are guaranteed by law and cannot be abrogated in any way by decanal prerogative.”
The University of Houston is not the only higher education institution placing increased scrutiny over its curriculum. A Texas A&M professor who was fired last year after a controversy over a lesson about gender identity has now sued the school. Other universities, including the University of Texas at Austin, have eliminated their faculty senates, in compliance with SB 37.
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The memo obtained by Houston Public Media outlines several guidelines for university curricula to comply with, specifically citing a November statement from UH Chancellor Renu Khator which stated, in part, “Our guiding principle is to teach[students], not to indoctrinate them.”
“To my knowledge, all our faculty are fulfilling these commitments and upholding these values, and I very much appreciate the work that each of you do, in and out of the classroom, to educate our students,” Honors College Dean Heidi M. Appel said in the memo to honors college faculty. “At the same time, with all the above tenets in mind, the Chancellor and Provost have asked us to review all course titles, course syllabi, and course content against the standards outlined above, to ensure that we are not, knowingly or unknowingly, violating our academic commitment.”
Faculty are not being asked to submit their curricula or course materials but must sign their name to certify that they’ve done so themselves. Appel said the review must be completed by Feb. 13.
In January, Khator told UH faculty that the Office of the Provost and General Counsel had completed a review of core curriculum as required by SB 37.
The memo does not outline any consequences for failing to complete the survey. In its letter to the university, the AAUP asked administrators to “refrain from punishing faculty who refuse to sign off on them.”
Disclosure: Houston Public Media is licensed to the University of Houston System. The university does not play a role in Houston Public Media’s editorial decisions. Read our statement of ethics and standards here.
Great Job & the Team @ Houston Public Media for sharing this story.
