For Release: November 10, 1998
Washington, D.C. --The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) welcomes the University of Phoenix's decision last week to withdraw its application to open a New Jersey campus. AAUP led the fight to resist the controversial national for-profit chain's attempt to establish a beachhead in the northeastern United States.
"The resistance to the University of Phoenix application is a strong indication of the value faculty and students place on classroom interaction and the educational concerns they have about pre-packaged curricula," said AAUP President James T. Richardson. AAUP's fundamental objection concerns the quality of education being offered to students, but it also opposed the application because of:
- the lack of academic freedom
- the lack of full-time faculty
- the lack of faculty participation in the governance of the institution
- the inadequacy of library facilities
- the impact it could have on other colleges and universities in the state
The AAUP is the foremost defender of the principles of academic freedom and tenure, believing that it is "fundamental for the protection of the rights of the teacher in teaching, and of the students to freedom in learning." (1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure, AAUP Policy Documents & Reports, 1995 Edition). The organization's opposition to the University of Phoenix derives from its lack of commitment to these principles as well as its unwillingness to endorse generally accepted practices in higher education such as meaningful faculty participation in the development and implementation of courses and curricula.
At the invitation of the University of Phoenix, former AAUP President James E. Perley and Rutgers Council of AAUP Chapters President Patricia Reeling toured its national headquarters in Arizona last summer to review the institution's operations. They submitted their findings at a June 26 hearing of the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education, where AAUP General Secretary Mary Burgan also testified. Professor Burgan emphasized the balance of factors accrediting bodies must evaluate in higher education. Within that balance, Burgan stressed the value of "academic freedom as an integral part of American higher education" which "provides a guarantee of critical thinking among students."
Professor Perley noted the weakness of the University of Phoenix's approach to library services which became one of the critical points forcing the withdrawal of the application. This was also a major concern of Professor Reeling, who teaches library science. The availability of limited amounts of course materials through electronic means does not substitute for adequately staffed and equipped libraries.
The American Association of University Professors, an organization of 43,000 college and university faculty members, is a non-profit, charitable and educational organization. AAUP supports and defends the principles of academic freedom and tenure and promotes policies to ensure academic due process.