UT News

University of Texas announces new college for guiding core curriculum

UT's curriculum changes have been the topic of much debate over the past few years.

Photo by Chirag Tripathi on Unsplash

Big changes are planned for the University of Texas at Austin.

In his State of the University address on Wednesday, October 21, President Jim Davis announced plans for a new medical center, research building and core curriculum college.

That college is called "University College," and UT officials said it guides the university’s new core curriculum for every undergraduate student, which the university announced in August.

Now, the campus has announced that Devin Stauffer, who led the core curriculum task force, will be the inaugural dean of the university.

"This new college is really just part of the process of trying to get the new core up and running," Stauffer said. "Secure its place at UT."

Currently, students can choose from more than 1,000 courses to fulfill their core requirements. He said he plans to reduce that number with the updated curriculum focusing on three areas: arts and humanities, social sciences, and STEM.

UT senior Gorgeous Monroe said she is worried about the several academic programs affected by recent university changes, including Black Political Thought and LGBTQ Literature/Culture.

“It’s nervous to think about who exactly is going to be put on that committee and who is going to get the say so in our education,” Monroe said.

However, a UT spokesperson said there are still many core courses related to race, ethnicity and gender, like Intro to African American History and Intro to Urban Studies.

Faculty members have also raised concerns about the addition of artificial intelligence to STEM requirements.

Read the full story at our news partner KVUE.com.

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4 Austin-area K-8 schools ranked best in Texas for 2027, per U.S. News

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Canyon Creek Elementary School in Round Rock ISD is one of the 10 best elementary schools in Texas for 2027.

Four local elementary and middle schools are being hailed as the most brilliant beacons of Texas early education in U.S. News and World Report's new list ranking the best K-8 schools for 2027.

U.S. News' annual Best Elementary and Middle Schools rankings analyzed over 70,000 public schools on the state and district level using publicly available data from the U.S. Department of Education. Schools were analyzed based on students' proficiency in mathematics and reading while accounting "for student background and absolute performance on state assessments." To break ties in overall scores, schools with a lower student-teacher ratio prevailed.

"By incorporating direct state data across all proficiency levels, the 2027 rankings offer a richer, more complete picture of how elementary and middle schools are driving student growth," said Eric Brooks, U.S. News director of education data analysis. "This refined approach gives families, educators and community leaders an even clearer view of academic achievement, helping them identify standard-setting schools and support continued success for all students."

Two Round Rock ISD elementary schools ranked among the top 10 in Texas: Canyon Creek Elementary (No. 7) and Cactus Ranch Elementary (No. 9). Canyon Creek moved up eight spots after ranking 15th statewide last year, and Cactus Ranch moved up one spot.

According to Canyon Creek's profile on U.S. News, the school has 350 students and has a student-teacher ratio of 14 to 1. Students performed extremely well in reading and mathematics, with 96 percent of students scoring at or above the proficient level for reading, and 90 percent for math.

"Compared with the district, the school did better in math and better in reading, according to this metric," U.S. News said. "In Round Rock ISD, 63 percent of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 59 percent tested at or above that level for math."

These are the top 10 best elementary schools in Texas for 2027:

No. 1 – Spring Branch Academic Institute, Spring Branch ISD, Houston
No. 2 – Sudie L. Williams Talented and Gifted Academy, Dallas ISD
No. 3 – School for the Highly Gifted, Grand Prairie ISD
No. 4 – T. H. Rogers School, Houston ISD
No. 5 – William B. Travis Academy/Vanguard for the Academically Talented and Gifted, Dallas ISD
No. 6 – Hudson Elementary, Longview ISD
No. 7 – Canyon Creek Elementary, Round Rock ISD, Austin
No. 8 – Martha & Josh Morriss Math & Engineering Elementary, Texarkana ISD
No. 9 – Cactus Ranch Elementary, Round Rock ISD
No. 10 – Windsor Park G/T, Corpus Christi ISD

One more Round Rock ISD school — Patsy Sommer Elementary — made a surprising 11-place jump from last year's rank to land as the 13th best elementary school in Texas for 2027.

Among the 25 best middle schools, Hill Country Middle School in Eanes ISD ranked No. 25 statewide. According to U.S. News, Hill Country Middle School students tested better in math and reading than students elsewhere in the Eanes district.

"At Hill Country Middle, 85 percent of students scored at or above the proficient level for math, and 92 percent scored at or above that level for reading," the school's profile said. "In Eanes ISD, 91 percent of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 83 percent tested at or above that level for math."

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