Academic Freedom

Academic Freedom and Electronic Communications

Report applying principles of academic freedom to the use of electronic and digital communications in academia.

Academic Freedom and National Security in a Time of Crisis

Report assessing risks to academic freedom and free inquiry posed by the nation's response to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Academic Freedom

Academic freedom is the indispensable quality of institutions of higher education. As the AAUP's core policy statement argues, "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."

Academic Freedom and Outside Speakers

Statement examining the right of students and faculty to hear outside speakers. 

Committee A Procedures

A narrative explanation explaining the process of censuring an institution and the many steps in between.

Freedom in the Classroom

Report assessing arguments made in support of recent legislative efforts to regulate classroom instruction.

Academic Freedom and the First Amendment (2007)

As a legal matter, it can be extremely difficult to determine where faculty members’ rights under academic freedom and the First Amendment begin and end. It can also be difficult to explain the distinction between “academic freedom” and “free speech rights under the First Amendment”—two related but analytically distinct legal concepts. Academic freedom rights are not coextensive with First Amendment rights, although courts have recognized a relationship between the two.

 

State Conference Committee A Resources

Here you will find materials to assist chapters and conferences that are advancing the central mission of the Association through a conference or chapter Committee A on Academic Freedom and Tenure.  A campus or state Committee A provides advice and counsel to faculty members experiencing problems relating to academic freedom, tenure, and due process. A conference or chapter Committee A also educates its own academic community about AAUP principles and recommended policies, and encourages institutions to incorporate AAUP-recommended standards into their faculty handbooks.

Protecting an Independent Faculty Voice: Academic Freedom after Garcetti v. Ceballos

Report examining the potential impact on academic governance of the Supreme Court Garcetti v. Ceballos decision. It recommends actions to be taken in both public and private colleges and universities to preserve academic freedom in governance even in the face of judicial hostility or indifference.

Journal of Academic Freedom

The  AAUP Journal of Academic Freedom publishes scholarship on academic freedom and on its relation to shared governance, tenure, and collective bargaining. Scholarship on academic freedom is typically scattered across a wide range of disciplines; the Journal provides a central place to track the developing international discussion about academic freedom and its collateral issues.

Pages

Subscribe to Academic Freedom