This article has been updated since publication.
To comply with a new state law, University of Houston System regents reconstituted their faculty senates as advisory-only “faculty councils.” In contrast to other systems, the University of Houston System changed policy bylaws, not rules, and adopted language against “advancing ideological or political agendas.”
The University of Houston System oversees four institutions.
New Governance
Dona Cornell, the system’s general counsel, told the regents that they were “recreating” faculty senates, renamed “faculty councils.” The proposed board policy bylaw changes stated that “a faculty council is advisory only and may not be delegated the final decision-making authority on any matter.”
“This was the largest shift, I think, in the state because we’re essentially getting rid of the faculty senates as they existed,” Cornell stated. “The board policy here really matches the language in the statute.”
She referred to the new state law that overhauled Texas higher education governance, Senate Bill 37, which eliminates the final authority or shared power of faculty senates—known as “shared governance”—making them advisory-only.
At state universities, shared governance traditionally involved boards of regents delegating authority to university presidents, who collaborated with faculty senates. Regents, appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state senate, are accountable to Texans, while faculty senates lacked such oversight.
The new UHS policy affirms that the board of regents holds “ultimate authority” for oversight and decision-making.
While the regents will allow “appropriate consultation” with “faculty, administrators, and other stakeholders” on academic and operational matters, they retain the power to make final decisions for the institution, students, and taxpayers.
By voice vote, the regents approved these policy changes, including:
Shared governance structures are not to be used to obstruct, delay, or undermine necessary institutional reforms or serve as a mechanism for advancing ideological or political agendas.
Holley Love, outgoing president of the UH main campus faculty senate, expressed concerns. “Faculty are witnessing the statewide dismantling of shared governance with burning anxiety,” she said, urging the board and administration to include faculty voices in future decisions to the fullest extent allowed by law.
Incoming faculty senate president Dan Price echoed these concerns, stating that faculty feels “under attack.”
He acknowledged worries about ideological indoctrination in classrooms, stating, “Teaching to impose opinions is a terrible way of teaching; those people shouldn’t be in the profession,” he said. “If you teach correctly, what you’re teaching is something about voice and what it means to have an ethical commitment to making the situation as a whole better; not just expressing your opinion and hoping that that opinion convinces others.”
Regents will also now have a more powerful role in what’s taught. Under the new law and policy, institutions must annually review low-producing degree programs to determine whether to retain, monitor, consolidate, or close them, and report their findings to the board. Programs that have been in existence for less than five years are exempt from this requirement.
Comparisons
The regents of the University of North Texas and Texas Tech Systems did not include UHS’ language regarding shared governance in their changes. They also chose to restructure faculty senates through changes to rules, not policy bylaws.
Texas Scorecard asked Sherry Sylvester of the Texas Public Policy Foundation about the difference between revising rules and policies. “I’m not sure there is a distinction,” she replied. “What’s important is that the universities are taking steps to make sure they’re in compliance with Senate Bill 37.”
She expressed concern about UNTS “talking about retaining the principles of shared governance,” adding that “shared governance” isn’t in Texas, federal, or any other kind of law.
In contrast, regents of the Texas State University System discontinued their faculty senate in its current form, and will vote to reconstitute them as advisory only in November. University of Texas System regents adopted an interim policy.
Neither UNTS, TTUS, or the Texas A&M University System responded to a request for comment before publication.
A spokesman for the University of Houston System gave a statement, writing that it is “complying with recent changes to Texas law” and “affirming its commitment to shared governance and faculty representation.”
The spokesman added that the regents, guided by faculty work group recommendations, approved the establishment of Faculty Councils across UH System universities. “The councils provide structured, meaningful avenues for faculty to help shape academic priorities, strengthen excellence and contribute to decisions that guide our future,” he wrote.
TAMUS’ board of regents meeting is scheduled from August 27 to 29.
