Texas requiring public university transparency about course offerings

A new law in Texas looks like it might be worth discussion everywhere else, as well. The Dallas News reports that under the new statute, every public college and university in Texas must post:

•A detailed syllabus listing each course requirement, recommended textbook, test and lecture topic for every undergraduate classroom course.

•A curriculum vitae for each professor, which includes post-secondary education, teaching experience and professional publications.

•A departmental budget report of the department under which the course is offered, from the most recent academic term it was offered.

•Cost-of- attendance information.


The information must be:

•No more than three links away from the institution's home page.

•Searchable by keywords and phrases.

•Accessible without a user name or password.

•Available on the seventh day of classes in the semester the course is offered.


Such information could make it much easier for students to select colleges that truly offer what they want to study while insuring that professors don’t lure kids in with a bait and switch agenda.

Of course, some of Texas’ professorial crowd are yelling about academic freedom. But, exactly whose freedom are they concerned about – the students’ or the faculty’s? And, since the public is paying a major portion of the cost, what gives professors the right to withhold this important information that can help students make much more informed choices?