The American Council on Education’s “Statement on Academic Rights and Responsibilities” has been endorsed by dozens of affiliated groups, including the American Association of University Professors, Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, the College Board, and others.
In the statement, ACE and other signatory organizations outline their support for intellectual diversity on college campuses. That was a key concern behind “Academic Bill of Rights” legislation, which essentially would codify the AAUP’s own definitions of academic freedom.
ABOR legislation led to a “Memorandum of Understanding” between public colleges and the Colorado legislature, inspired a Senate resolution in Georgia, and has been proposed before a host of other state legislatures, including North Carolina. It has also been presented before the U.S. House by Rep. Walter B. Jones, R-N.C., and 39 others. Legislation in North Carolina, sponsored by Sen. Andrew Brock, did not make the June deadline to be considered for full passage in the General Assembly during the two-year session.
ABOR would have had the law require protection of academic freedom, rather than relying on the institutions to monitor themselves internally or the AAUP to monitor them externally. “Government’s recognition and respect for the independence of colleges and universities is essential for academic and intellectual excellence,” the statement reads. “Because colleges and universities have great discretion and autonomy over academic affairs, they have a particular obligation to ensure that academic freedom is protected for all members of the campus community and that academic decisions are based on intellectual standards consistent with the mission of each institution.”
The ACE statement appears to pave the way for a compromise between academic institutions and ABOR supporters — the former would keep their autonomy and identity, and the latter would see the principles of academic freedom applied more honestly and in a less-partisan fashion.
In the statement, the groups say a universal definition of academic freedom would not work because each institution is different. Instead, the groups say there are several principles that should be included as the basis of academic freedom discussions on campuses.
According to the statement, the principles are:
• Diversity among institutions is what characterizes higher education in the United States. The statement calls the institutional diversity a “central figure and strength” that should be “valued and protected.”
• Intellectual pluralism and the free exchange of ideas should be welcomed on college campuses. Discussions should be held in an environment that allows openness, tolerance, and civility.
• Grades should be based on considerations that are relevant to the subject matter. Students or faculty members should not be evaluated based on their political opinions. Also, a clear institutional process should be established to hear grievance if a student or faculty member believes they have been punished because of their political views.
• Intellectual standards should be used to measure the validity of academic ideas, theories, arguments, and views.
• Government should recognize and respect the independence of colleges and universities.
“Individual campuses must give meaning and definition to these concepts within the context of disciplinary and institutional mission,” according to the statement.
The principles expressed in the statement generally support the goals of ABOR and were supported in Congress, including from Republicans who had sought to include portions of ABOR into the Higher Education Act, currently in the process of being reauthorized. According to a press statement, legislators will include portions of ABOR and the American Council on Education statement into the renewal of the Higher Education Act.
“I applaud the higher education community for coming to the table and working with us to forge stronger protection for students on college campuses,” said Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, who chairs the House Commission on Education and the Workforce. “I’m encouraged by the cooperation and the openness that led to this agreement, and I’m eager to move forward in that spirit with renewal of the federal higher education programs.”
The Center for the Study of Popular Culture’s David Horowitz, a chief advocate of ABOR, said the ACE statement is important because it helps people recognize “serious problems of political exclusion and political harassment” on college campuses. He said the statement would help create a nonpartisan solution to the situation.
The “statement by the academic community is in no small part a reaction to their principled calls for intellectual pluralism,” Horrowitz said.
Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., a key sponsor in Congress of ABOR legislation, said the compromise will allow politics to be taken out of university curriculum.
Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon, R-Calif., called the statement a victory for students, regardless of political affiliation or ideology.
“[W]e are sending out a clear signal that discrimination based on political beliefs will not be tolerated on college campuses,” McKeon said.
Shannon Blosser is a contributing editor of Carolina Journal.