The University of Texas System board unanimously approved new rules making it easier for system universities to eliminate academic programs and cut faculty. Under the revised policy, presidents can remove program and position roles without faculty review, using criteria set by the president and a narrower appeals pathway. The board’s approach gives presidents flexibility to accelerate cuts in “rare, extraordinary, and time-sensitive” circumstances tied to compliance risk, not just financial or enrollment pressures. Tenured faculty would lose participation rights for program-level eliminations, with appeals limited to whether an individual job termination was arbitrary when specific property-interest protections apply. The timing is significant because Texas public universities have faced heightened concerns over academic freedom, politicized firings, and reduced faculty governance power under state policy. The UT rules could reshape institutional decision-making quickly, affecting program sustainability, faculty workload, and shared governance across UT campuses.