Academic Freedom

Professional Responsibilities and Professional Ethics

Academic Freedom: "right of scholars to pursue research, to teach, and to publish without control or restraint from the institutions that employ them. It is a civil right that is enjoyed, at least in statute, by all citizens of democratic countries. In the case of scholars, whose occupation is directly involved with that right, the concept of academic freedom generally includes the property right of tenure of office (see tenure, in education). Essential to the acceptance of the concept of academic freedom is the notion that truth is best discovered through the open investigation of all data. A less clearly developed corollary of academic freedom is the obligation of all those who enjoy it to pursue the line of open and thorough inquiry regardless of personal considerations."
   From The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001. http://www.bartleby.com/65/ac/academic.html

NoIndoctrination.org's Position on Academic Freedom in the Classroom
American Association of University Professors (AAUP) Statements
American Council on Education (ACE) Statements
American Historical Association (AHA) Statements
Global Colloquium of University Presidents Statements
Specific College & University Statements

NoIndoctrination.org's Position on Academic Freedom in the Classroom

[ Note: bold emphases added to excerpts below. ]

American Association of University Professors (AAUP)

The statements by the AAUP are generally recognized as the official statements on academic freedom, professional ethics, and professional responsibility. They have been adopted in whole or in part by a large number of colleges and universities. However, some institutions of higher learning have adopted their own statements.

The following are from the official Academic Freedom statements of AAUP:
http://www.aaup.org/statements/Redbook/1940stat.htm

• "Institutions of higher education are conducted for the common good and not to further the interest of either the individual teacher or the institution as a whole. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition." (1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure with 1970 Interpretive Comments)
  
  
• "Teachers are entitled to freedom in the classroom in discussing their subject, but they should be careful not to introduce into their teaching controversial matter which has no relation to their subject." (Section b under "Academic Freedom" from the AAUP 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure)
  
  
• "The intent of this statement is not to discourage what is controversial. Controversy is at the heart of the free academic inquiry which the entire statement is designed to foster. The passage serves to underscore the need for teachers to avoid persistently intruding material which has no relation to their subject." (the 1970 Interpretive Comments on the AAUP 1940 Statement)
  

The following are from AAUPs Statement of the Associations Council: Freedom and Responsibility (1970, 1990) (This AAUP statement can be read under Section IV "Faculty Professional Responsibilities" at http://www.calstate.edu/AcadSen/Records/Reports/pp.pdf)

• "Membership in the academic community imposes on students, faculty members, administrators, and trustees an obligation to respect the dignity of others, to acknowledge their right to express differing opinions, and to foster and defend intellectual honesty, freedom of inquiry and instruction, and free expression on and off the campus."
  
  
• "Students should not be forced by the authority inherent in the instructional role to make particular personal choices as to political action or their own part in society."
  
  
• "Evaluation of students and the award of credit must be based on academic performance professionally judged and not on matters irrelevant to that performance, whether personality, race, religion, degree of political activism, or personal beliefs."
  
  
• "It is the mastery teachers have of their subjects and their own scholarship that entitles them to their classrooms and to freedom in the presentation of their subjects. Thus, it is improper for an instructor persistently to intrude material that has no relation to the subject, or to fail to present the subject matter of the course as announced to the students and as approved by the faculty in their collective responsibility for the curriculum."
  

The following statements are taken from AAUP's Statement on Professional Ethics (http://www.aaup.org/statements/Redbook/Rbethics.htm):

• "Although professors may follow subsidiary interests, these interests must never seriously hamper or compromise their freedom of inquiry."
  
  
• "As teachers, professors encourage the free pursuit of learning in their students.... Professors demonstrate respect for students as individuals and adhere to their proper roles as intellectual guides and counselors.... They avoid any exploitation, harassment, or discriminatory treatment of students.... They protect their [the students'] academic freedom."
  

The following statement is found under Student Rights and Freedoms, in AAUPs Policy Documents and Reports, ninth edition, commonly known as the Redbook, page 262 (no link available):

Protection of Freedom of Expression

• "Students should be free to take reasoned exception to the data or views offered in any course of study and to reserve judgment about matters of opinion, but they are responsible for learning the content of any course of study for which they are enrolled."
  

American Council on Education

The following are from the Statement of Academic Rights and Responsibilities of the American Council on Education (This statement is endorsed by the ACE and 29 other higher education institutions, including the AAUP.):
http://www.acenet.edu/AM/Template.cfm?Section=HENA&template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=10672

• "American higher education is characterized by a great diversity of institutions, each with its own mission and purpose. This diversity is a central feature and strength of our colleges and universities and must be valued and protected. The particular purpose of each school, as defined by the institution itself, should set the tone for the academic activities undertaken on campus."
• "Colleges and universities should welcome intellectual pluralism and the free exchange of ideas. Such a commitment will inevitably encourage debate over complex and difficult issues about which individuals will disagree. Such discussions should be held in an environment characterized by openness, tolerance and civility."
• "Academic decisions including grades should be based solely on considerations that are intellectually relevant to the subject matter under consideration. Neither students nor faculty should be disadvantaged or evaluated on the basis of their political opinions. Any member of the campus community who believes that he or she has been treated unfairly on academic matters must have access to a clear institutional process by which his or her grievance can be addressed."
• "The validity of academic ideas, theories, arguments and views should be measured against the intellectual standards of relevant academic and professional disciplines. Application of these intellectual standards does not mean that all ideas have equal merit. The responsibility to judge the merits of competing academic ideas rests with colleges and universities and is determined by reference to the standards of the academic profession as established by the community of scholars at each institution."

American Historical Association

Statement on Standards of Professional Conduct
http://www.historians.org/pubs/free/professionalstandards.cfm

Some statements under 5 (Teaching):

• "Good teaching entails accuracy and rigor in communicating factual information, and strives always to place such information in context to convey its larger significance. Integrity in teaching means presenting competing interpretations with fairness and intellectual honesty."
• "The political, social, and religious beliefs of history teachers necessarily inform their work, but the right of the teacher to hold and express such convictions can never justify falsification, misrepresentation, or concealment, or the persistent intrusion of material unrelated to the subject of the course. Furthermore, teachers should be mindful that students and other audience members have the right to disagree with a given interpretation or point of view. Students should be made aware of multiple causes and varying interpretations. Within the bounds of the historical topic being studied, the free expression of legitimate differences of opinion should always be a goal. Teachers should judge students¿ work on merit alone."
• "We condemn the violation of First Amendment rights to free speech, as well as the harassment and vilification to which individuals have sometimes been subjected for exercising these rights."

Global Colloquium of University Presidents

Statement on Academic Freedom
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/president/communications%20files/globalcolloquium.htm III. The Practice of Academic Freedom
Under The Responsibilities of Scholars:

• "Academic freedom carries with it a concomitant responsibility of scholars to resist corrupting influences on their research and teaching, to transcend partisanship and prejudice, and to foster intellectually vigorous and open discussion within the classroom, adhering to the highest norms and standards of scholarly inquiry and teaching. In their academic duties, faculty are responsible to further the learning of students and should avoid statements and actions that may inhibit students' freedom of inquiry and expression, thereby compromising the university's most fundamental values."

College and University Links to Relevant Academic Freedom, Ethics, Responsibility, and Mission Statements

Note: some duplicate the AAUP statements. Please send additional links to NoIndoctrination.org so that we can expand our list.