The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has ordered a Richardson-based institution calling itself “Texas American Muslim University at Dallas” to immediately cease operations, saying it has been illegally offering higher education programs in Texas without state authorization.
The “TexAM University at Dallas” or “Texas American Muslim University” (TexAM) has been marketing itself as a new Islamic-centered university offering STEM degree programs combined with mandatory Islamic studies coursework.
According to a letter sent by the coordinating board, TexAM has never received the required Certificate of Authority from the state to operate or grant degrees in Texas under Chapter 61 of the Texas Education Code.
“TexAM has never been granted a Certificate of Authority to operate in Texas; therefore, TexAM is prohibited by law from granting or offering to grant degrees,” the letter states.
Officials warned that violations of Texas law could expose the organization to criminal penalties, civil liability, administrative penalties, and enforcement under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
The board also said TexAM’s use of the term “university” may itself violate state law because protected terms such as “university” and “college” cannot legally be used by unapproved institutions.
THECB ordered the institution to immediately stop advertising unauthorized degree programs and halt student enrollment efforts. Failure to comply could result in referral to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for prosecution.
Gov. Greg Abbott said he personally directed the action against the institution.
“I directed the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to issue a Cease & Desist to ‘TexAM,’ an unauthorized Islamic educational institution operating illegally in Texas,” Abbott said. “If they refuse to comply, legal action will follow. Texas will not allow illegal educational institutions to operate in our state.”
The university had recently been promoting “Spring 2026 Admissions” for programs in Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Health Informatics, and Islamic Economics, alongside coursework in Islamic studies, math, and English.
TexAM described itself online as “the first university in the USA to offer STEM degree programs embedded with mandatory courses in Islamic Studies,” stating that roughly 30 percent of its curriculum was devoted to Islamic subjects.
The institution’s materials emphasized combining “modern technology with Islamic services” and training students in areas such as Islamic finance and digital services while “preserving Islamic values.”
The school operated from an address in Richardson shared by the Dallas Diyanet Mosque and the Islamic Seminary of America.
Richardson Mayor Amir Omar had publicly praised the project in a promotional video, calling it a major opportunity for the city and joking that he had already “picked out” space for a future second campus.
TexAM did not list any accreditation agency on its website.
The organization identified its business entity as the nonprofit “Texas American Institute for Technology at Dallas.” A search for that name in the IRS and Texas Comptroller’s databases did not return any results.
As of publication, TexAM has not responded to the state’s cease-and-desist order.
