Texas A&M and Texas Tech could soon face increased scrutiny from their accreditation agency.
As first reported by Inside Higher Education, campus representatives with the Texas A&M and Texas Tech chapters of the American Association of University Professors, a trade association for left-wing faculty, will consider filing complaints “in the coming months.”
At issue are a series of prohibitions on academic programs in “grievance studies,” an umbrella term that refers to various pseudo-academic disciplines such as critical race theory and modern gender ideology.
Texas A&M University abolished Women’s & Gender Studies Programming in January. Texas Tech followed suit earlier this month.
UT-Austin recently announced the consolidation of several grievance studies departments into a new department of social and cultural analysis for Fall 2026. A follow up announcement related to curriculum is expected before the end of the current semester.
If AAUP proceeds with complaints against Texas A&M and Texas Tech, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges would investigate. The timeline for such an investigation is unclear.
AAUP’s threat comes as accreditation processes face renewed scrutiny.
A recent undercover investigation by activist group Accuracy in Media revealed that social work programs at the University of North Texas and UT-Arlington continue to have Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) requirements as a condition of their accreditation.
Senate Bill 17, a 2023 state law that prohibits DEI requirements in day-to-day university operations, contains a specific exception for accreditation.
Accreditation is a process in which an outside entity evaluates a college or university to determine if it meets certain standards. Typically, these standards relate to programs, faculty, and resources.
This process has become increasingly controversial in recent years, as accreditation agencies have become viewed as a vehicle through which ideologies such as DEI and radical LGBT activism are imposed on universities.
Author James Lindsay has described accreditation as a scam and a trap, arguing that it is used to force ideological agendas.
In response to these concerns, the Texas A&M System has announced plans to create a new accreditation agency with public universities in several Republican-led states.
State lawmakers considered legislation to reform accreditation in 2025 and are expected to reconsider it in 2027.
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