AUSTIN, Tex. — A “select handful” of University of Texas applicants are approved each year at the direction of the school president over the objections of the admissions office, a longtime practice that has grown in recent years, according to an investigation commissioned by the university’s Board of Regents and released Thursday.

The investigation into influence peddling in admissions at the University of Texas System’s flagship campus found that applicants approved by the departing president, William C. Powers Jr., had typically been recommended by state lawmakers, university donors, alumni and, at times, by regents themselves.

The report found no evidence that applicants had been admitted as a result of inappropriate promises or exchanges, and said the practice did not violate the law. Mr. Powers told investigators that his decisions regarding admissions were made with the “best interests of the university” in mind, the report said.

But the report accused Mr. Powers and his staff of misleading earlier investigators by failing to disclose the existence of “watch lists” and high-level meetings concerning applicants. The question of influence peddling in general admissions to the university, as well as to the law and business schools, was a key factor in years of tension among Mr. Powers, several regents and state lawmakers. Mr. Powers was pressured last year to resign, and he will leave office in June.