Education advocates praise Texas A&M decision to wind down Women’s and Gender Studies certificate

Texas A&M is winding down their Women’s and Gender Studies certificate, according to an announcement the university made on Friday, a move that education advocates are welcoming.

"Texas A&M is doing what all institutions of higher education should: cleaning house," Sarah Parshall Perry, vice president and legal fellow at Defending Education, told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

"In a welcome development, the university has assessed more than 5,400 course syllabi to ensure that students earn degrees of real value, without being forced to subsidize race or sex discrimination in the process," she added. "The pearl-clutching over censorship is, unsurprisingly, unfounded. After review of thousands of offerings, the university only eliminated six classes — representing a scant 0.11% of total courses available at the school. Texas A & M's re-examination of its core curriculum and degree programs charts the path forward for other universities that want to ensure their degree programs are high-quality, value-neutral, transparent, and cost-efficient. Others should follow the university's example."

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Texas A&M is winding down their Women’s and Gender Studies certificate, according to an announcement the university made on Monday, a move that education advocates are welcoming. (Getty/IStock)

In their Friday announcement, the university said the decision was made as part of a course review for the Spring semester which looked at around 5,400 course syllabi to guarantee that they were in full compliance with the school’s policy requirements.

"The decision reflected both the requirements of System policies and limited student interest in the program based on enrollment over the past several years," the announcement read. 

According to the university’s news release, a total of six courses were canceled, including one course in the Bush School of Government and Public Service, two courses in the College of Arts and Sciences, two courses in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and one course in the College of Education and Human Development. 

The release added, "Throughout the process, university advisors ensured that course cancellations did not create any obstacles that would prevent students from staying on track to graduate as planned."

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According to the university’s news release, a total of six courses were canceled, including one course in the Bush School of Government and Public Service, two courses in the College of Arts and Sciences, two courses in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and one course in the College of Education and Human Development. (Getty Images )

Interim President Tommy Williams was quoted in the announcement saying that the changes were intended to preserve academic standards and trust. 

"For 150 years, Texas A&M has led the way for higher education in Texas, our mission unchanged," Williams said. "Strong oversight and standards protect academic integrity and restore public trust, guaranteeing that a degree from Texas A&M means something to our students and the people who will hire them. That has been our focus through this process and will remain our focus as we move forward."

Jonathan Butcher, acting director for the Center for Education Policy, and Will Skillman, senior research fellow in education policy at The Heritage Foundation, said the move was one that would bolster higher education.

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A general view shows the Texas A&M University campus in College Station, Texas, in December 2016. (Reuters/Spencer Selvidge)

"It is entirely appropriate for Texas A&M to end gender studies programs," Butcher told Fox News Digital. "These programs are not based on biology and were built to suit radical activists, not students who are serious about pursuing truth." 

"Furthermore, public opinion polls demonstrate that Americans do not want males to have access to women's private spaces, nor do we want boys participating in girls' athletics," Butcher said. "Both of these ideas logically follow from gender studies programs." 

He added that, "Colleges are generally losing support from the general public, again, according to surveys, so more universities should be taking steps such as this — focusing on rigorous academics, not advocacy programs."

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Tim Eaton, assistant vice president for institutional reputation management for Texas A&M, said the decision to wind down the Women’s & Gender Studies was due to two factors, one being requirements of their new system policies, as well as "the limited student interest in the program based on enrollment over the past several years." 

Eaton said that there are not any plans to replace the majors, minor and graduate certificates, but that the students in the programs will be able to complete their degrees.