The University ensures adequate procedures for the safeguard and protection of academic freedom.

The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) defined the concept of academic freedom in 1940. In its review of the principle in 1990, the institution reaffirmed its commitment to the principles voiced in 1940:

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 is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research. Freedom in research is fundamental to the advancement of truth. Academic freedom in its teaching aspect is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the teacher in teaching and of the student to freedom in learning. It carries with it duties correlative with rights.

The AAUP derived the following rights and responsibilities from this definition:

Academic Freedom

a. Teachers are entitled to full freedom in research and in the publication of the results, subject to the adequate performance of their other academic duties; but research for pecuniary return should be based upon an understanding with the authorities of the institution.

b. 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. Limitations of academic freedom because of religious or other aims of the institution should be clearly stated in writing at the time of the appointment.

c. College and university teachers are citizens, members of a learned profession, and officers of an educational institution. When they speak or write as citizens, they should be free from institutional censorship or discipline, but their special position in the community imposes special obligations. As scholars and educational officers, they should remember that the public may judge their profession and their institution by their utterances. Hence they should at all times be accurate, should exercise appropriate restraint, should show respect for the opinions of others, and should make every effort to indicate that they are not speaking for the institution. (“1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure,”AAUP website)

The policies regarding academic freedom established by both the University of Louisiana System and McNeese State University are consistent in both spirit and practice with those codified by the AAUP sixty-six years ago.

Guarantee of Academic Freedom – University of Louisiana System

As a member of the University of Louisiana System, the University honors the System’s commitment to academic freedom. The first item in ULS Bylaws section on academic duties and responsibilities, the guarantee of academic freedom, reads as follows:

The University of Louisiana System is committed to the principle of academic freedom. This principle acknowledges the right of a teacher to explore fully within the field of his/her subject as he/she believes to represent the truth. The principle also includes the right of a member of the academic staff of the System to exercise in speaking, writing, and action outside the System the ordinary rights of the American citizen, but it does not decrease the responsibility and accountability that the member of the academic staff bears to the system, the state, and the nation.

Among the many implicit responsibilities that must be assumed by those enjoying the privileges of academic freedom shall be that of refraining from insisting upon the adoption by students or others of any particular point of view as authoritative in controversial issues. (ULS Bylaws, C-III.I.A)

Guarantee of Academic Freedom – McNeese State University

The University works to create an environment which fosters the core values on which it is founded:

• Emphasize excellence in instruction;

• Develop programs that are viable, innovative, and relevant to market needs;

• Encourage undergraduate and graduate research in appropriate disciplines;

• Nurture an environment to support cultural diversity;

• Enhance artistic, humanistic, and cultural opportunities in the area.

In order to foster this environment, the University encourages and supports faculty in their efforts to reach their fullest potential as scholars, teachers, scientists, and artists. To engender such an environment, the University safeguards the right to academic freedom for all its faculty.

The University embraces the ULS policy and lists the policy guaranteeing academic freedom as its first policy in the Faculty/Staff Handbook:

This principle [of academic freedom] acknowledges the right of a teacher to explore fully within the field of his/her subject as he/she believes to represent the truth. The principle also includes the right of a member of the academic staff of the system to exercise in speaking, writing, and action outside the system the ordinary rights of an American citizen, but it does not decrease the responsibility and accountability which the member of the academic staff bears to the system, the state, and the nation.

Among the many implicit responsibilities which must be assumed by those enjoying the privileges of academic freedom shall be that of refraining from insisting upon the adoption by students or others of any particular point of view as authoritative in controversial issues.

It is inappropriate for an employee to use his or her affiliation with the University when expressing a personal point of view or opinion about academic or other issues. (Section 101)

In addition to Policy 101, which guarantees academic freedom and holds faculty accountable in their exercise of this right, the University incorporates the principles of academic freedom in several university policies and procedures enumerated in the Faculty/Staff Handbook. These policies are listed below:

Section 203.2.a. Definition [of Tenure]. Indeterminate tenure, hereafter referred to as tenure, is intended to ensure and enhance faculty members' academic freedom and job effectiveness. Tenure assures the faculty member that employment in the academic discipline at the institution will be renewed annually until the faculty member resigns, retires, or is terminated for cause or financial exigency.

Section 210.1 Faculty [Grievance Procedures]. Whenever possible, faculty members should seek to resolve their concerns or complaints through informal communication among colleagues working together in the academic community. Accordingly, a faculty member who has a concern or complaint is encouraged to take it to his or her immediate supervisor in the normal collegial spirit of problem-solving. Further, the faculty member might seek mediation through the offices of the appropriate Dean and then the next supervisory level on to the highest administrative level in the employee’s division before going to the Faculty Senate Executive Committee, acting as the Faculty Appeals Committee. However, such informal resolution is not always possible. Therefore, McNeese State University has established the following procedures to provide its faculty a means to address and resolve grievances as fairly as possible.

Section 211.3. [Non-Renewal of] Tenured Academic Staff. Tenured faculty may be terminated for cause. Cause for discharge, termination of contract, or demotion in rank shall consist of conduct seriously prejudicial to the college or university system such as infraction of law or commonly accepted standards of morality, failure to follow proper orders, violation of institutional or Board rules and regulations, neglect of duty, incompetence or other conditions that impair discharge of duties and the efficiency of the institution. Financial exigency also constitutes cause. The foregoing enumeration of causes shall not be deemed exclusive. However, action to discharge, terminate, or demote shall not be arbitrary or capricious, nor shall it infringe upon academic freedom.

Adjunct faculty and Graduate Teaching Assistants are afforded the same guarantees of academic freedom and protections as regular faculty (Visiting Instructor Supplement, Section 702).

Implicit Guarantee of Academic Freedom to Students

The principles of academic freedom as identified by the AAUP hold as important the rights of “the student to freedom in learning.” The University ensures that students’ rights to academic freedom are safeguarded as well as faculty. ULS Board and University policies clearly state the symbiotic relationship between rights and responsibilities with regard to academic freedom: “Among the many implicit responsibilities which must be assumed by those enjoying the privileges of academic freedom shall be that of refraining from insisting upon the adoption by students or others of any particular point of view as authoritative in controversial issues” (Faculty/Staff Handbook, Section 101).

Students who feel that their rights to academic freedom have been abridged may appeal to the office of Special Services and Equity.

Supporting Evidence

University of Louisiana System Bylaws (page 1)

Faculty/Staff Handbook Section 101 Academic Freedom

Visiting Instructor Supplement Section 702 University Policies

Faculty/Staff Handbook Section 203 Academic Tenure

Faculty/Staff Handbook Section 204 Promotions

Faculty/Staff Handbook Section 211 Termination of Service