Academic Freedom, Professional Ethics and Tenure

[Section IA of Handbook]

Ohio University subscribes fully to the 1940 Statement of Principles of the American Association of University Professors regarding academic freedom and regarding tenure except as altered in Section IID2a (Probationary Appointments).

Section IID2a is consistent with the statement adopted by the American Association of University Professors in June 1978.

1. Statement of Principles—American Association of University Professors¹

   The purpose of this statement is to promote public understanding and support of academic freedom and tenure, and agreement upon procedures to assure them in colleges and universities. Institutions of higher education are conducted for the common good, not to further the interest of either the individual teacher² 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. 

   Tenure is a means to certain ends, specifically:

   1. freedom of teaching and research and of extramural activities, and 
   2. a sufficient degree of economic security to make the profession attractive to men and women of ability.

   Freedom and economic security, hence tenure, are indispensable to the success of an institution in fulfilling its obligations to its students and to society.

2. Statement on Professional Ethics³

   1. Faculty, guided by a deep conviction of the worth and dignity of the advancement of knowledge, recognize the special responsibilities placed upon them. This primary responsibility to their subject is to seek and to state the truth as they see it. To this end, they devote their energies to developing and improving their scholarly competence. They accept the obligation to exercise self-discipline and judgment in using, extending, and transmitting knowledge. Faculty members should practice intellectual honesty. Although they may follow subsidiary interests, these interests must never seriously hamper or compromise their freedom of inquiry.
   2. As teachers, professors encourage the free pursuit of learning in their students. They hold before them the best scholarly and ethical standards of their discipline. Professors demonstrate respect for students as individuals, and adhere to their proper roles as intellectual guides and advisors. Professors make every reasonable effort to foster honest academic conduct, and to ensure that their evaluations of students reflect each student's true merit. They respect the confidential nature of the relationship between professor and student. They avoid any exploitation, harassment, or discriminatory treatment of students. They acknowledge significant academic or scholarly assistance from them. They protect the academic freedom of their students.
   3. As colleagues, faculty have obligations that derive from common membership in the community of scholars. Faculty do not discriminate against or harass colleagues. They respect and defend the free inquiry of associates. In the exchange of criticism and ideas, professors show due respect for the opinions of others. Professors acknowledge academic debt and strive to be objective in their professional judgment of colleagues. Professors accept their share of faculty responsibilities for the governance of their institution.
   4. As members of an academic institution, professors seek, above all, to be effective teachers and scholars. Although professors observe the stated regulations of the institution, provided the regulations do not contravene academic freedom, they maintain their right to criticize and seek revision. Professors give due regard to their paramount responsibilities within their institutions in determining the amount and character of work done outside it. When considering the interruption or termination of their service, professors recognize the effect of their decision upon the institution and give due notice of their intentions.
   5. As members of their community, professors have the rights and obligations of other citizens. Professors measure the urgency of these obligations in the light of their responsibilities to their subject, to their students, to their profession, and to their institution. When they speak or act as private persons, they avoid creating the impression of speaking or acting for their college or university. As citizens engaged in a profession that depends upon freedom for its health and integrity, professors have a particular obligation to promote conditions of free inquiry and to further public understanding of academic freedom.

3. Academic Freedom 

   1. The teacher is 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.
   2. All teachers are entitled to freedom in the classroom in discussing their subject, but they should avoid persistently intruding material that has no relation to their subject.
   3. College or 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 men or women and as 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 institutional spokespersons.

4. Academic Tenure

   After the expiration of a probationary period, teachers or investigators should have permanent or continuous tenure, and their service should be terminated only for adequate cause, except in the cases of retirement for age, or under extraordinary circumstances because of financial exigencies. In the interpretation of this principle, it is understood that the following represents acceptable academic practice:

   1. The precise terms and conditions of every appointment should be stated in writing and be in the possession of both institution and teacher before the appointment is consummated. 
   2. Beginning with appointment to the rank of full-time instructor or a higher rank, the probationary period shall not exceed seven years, except as qualified in IID2e. Notice shall be given at least one year prior to the expiration of the probationary period if the faculty member is not to be continued in service after the expiration of that period.
   3. During the probationary period, a teacher should have the academic freedom that all other members of the faculty have. 
   4. Termination for cause of a continuous appointment or the dismissal for cause of a teacher previous to the expiration of a term appointment should, if possible, be considered by both a faculty committee and the governing board of the institution. In all cases where the facts are in dispute, accused teachers should be informed before the hearing in writing of the charges against them and should have the opportunity to be heard in their own defense by all bodies that pass judgment upon their case. They should be permitted to have with them an advisor of their own choosing who may act as counsel. There should be a full stenographic record of the hearing available to the parties concerned. In the hearing of charges of incompetence, the testimony should include that of teachers and other scholars, either from their own or from other institutions. Teachers on continuous appointment who are dismissed for reasons not involving moral turpitude should receive their salaries for at least a year from the date of notification of dismissal whether or not they are continued in their duties at the institution.
   5. Termination of a continuous appointment because of financial exigency should be demonstrably bona fide.

¹ 1940 Statement of Principles Concerning Academic Freedom and Tenure from the AAUP Bulletin, Vol. 56, No. 3, Autumn 1979,. pp 323 – 326.

² Teacher as used in this statement is understood to include the investigator without teaching duties who is attached to an academic institution.

³ Based on the Statement on Professional Ethics adopted by the AAUP Council and endorsed by the seventy-third annual AAUP in June 1987.