Recommendation from the Academic Programs and New Initiatives Task Force:
Conduct a review of campus policies to ensure they are supportive of academic freedom and intellectual diversity.
Additional explanation:
Academic freedom consists of protecting the intellectual independence of professors, researchers, and students in the pursuit of knowledge and the expression of ideas from interference, preference, or bias. Intellectual diversity is indispensable to a liberal education, teaching, and program development and is the foundation of a learning environment that exposes students to a variety of social sciences, political, humanities, ideological, and other perspectives in balance and equality and not for the purposes of indoctrination. Intellectual diversity must be achieved in ways that protect such values as academic freedom, shared governance, and academic standards. Policies should also include an institutional grievances process and procedures to prevent fear of retaliation from restricting speech.
This recommendation was placed in the Quality-Enhancing and Innovative Initiatives Strategic Framework Substantive Category using the language:
Conduct a review of campus policies to ensure they are supportive of academic freedom and intellectual diversity.
This recommendation was placed is Tier 1 and is being monitored by the Provost and Dean of the College.