Texas A&M-Victoria’s Return-to-Campus Rule Leads to Faculty Resignations

Texas A&M University-Victoria announced that all full-time faculty must be on campus five days a week and teach at least four classes per semester. The policy also imposes a 40-hour workweek. The university says the changes comply with a Texas state law enacted last year that bars remote work for full-time public-college faculty, with limited medical exemptions. Within weeks, seven faculty members—five from the professional counseling online program and two others—resigned or retired, citing the new requirements. The campus employs 71 full-time faculty members.

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The Texas statute was authored by former legislator Brandon Creighton, now head of the Texas Tech University System, who has also drafted bills reducing faculty governance and eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion offices. Similar legislation has appeared elsewhere: Wisconsin’s recent bill, signed by Governor Tony Evers, sets a teaching load of 24 credits per year (four courses per semester). Wisconsin’s teachers’ union president Jon Shelton argues that such loads make teaching a full-time job, leaving little time for research, mentoring or curriculum development. States including Utah and Kansas have recently increased faculty teaching loads, while many states are weakening tenure protections.

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She also referenced practices she observed in Florida, such as heat-mapping technology to monitor faculty presence. Texas officials maintain the rule follows the state law and aims to foster a more vibrant in-person culture to reverse enrollment declines and improve graduation rates.

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Le’Ann Solmonson, a professor in the online counseling program who lives more than four hours from campus, said the mandate misinterpreted the law’s exceptions for online programs and was impractical for students who never come to campus.

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• “This has been the worst I’ve seen faculty morale in the U.W. System,” — Dr. Shelton, a professor and the president of the American Federation of Teachers-Wisconsin

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