Board Policy 4030
ACADEMIC FREEDOM
The Board of Trustees of Glendale Community College affirms that institutions of higher
education are conducted for the common good and not to further the interest of either
the individual faculty member or the institution as a whole. The common good depends
upon the free search for truth and its exposition.
Academic freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to all disciplines. Freedom
in research is fundamental to the advancement of truth. Academic freedom in all disciplines
is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty and the student. It
carries with it duties correlative with rights, regardless of employment status.
Academic freedom is essential for the maintenance of excellence in education, and
moreover, exists so that society may have benefits of objective and independent criticism,
and honest answers to scientific, social,and artistic questions that might otherwise
be withheld for fear of offending any influential social group or transient social
attitude. Accordingly, there shall be no adverse consequences to employment status
(hiring, promotion, and retention) as a result of expressions protected by academic
freedom.
ACADEMIC FREEDOM
Faculty members 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.
Faculty are entitled to freedom in discussing their subject,but they should be careful
not to introduce into their teaching controversial matter which has no relation to
their subject. When they communicate as individuals, 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 strive to 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.
Faculty are entitled to due process, where applicable under the provision of the Guild
contract, and where applicable under the Employee Complaints procedure as conducted
under the provisions of Board Policy 7216. Tenure is a means to certain ends: specifically
(1) freedom of teaching and research of extramural activities, and (2) a sufficient
degree of economic security to make the profession attractive to highly qualified
individuals. Freedom and economic security, hence tenure, are indispensable to the
success of an institution in fulfilling its obligations to its students and to society.
ACADEMIC RESPONSIBILITY
Membership in the academic community imposes on students, faculty members, and administrators
an obligation to respect the dignity of others, to acknowledge their right to express
differing opinions, and to foster and defend intellectual honesty, in instruction
and counseling, and expression on and off campus. In addition, faculty are responsible
for but not limited to policies and procedures defined in board policy, administrative
regulations, and the employment contract between the District and the Guild. Students
are entitled to an atmosphere conducive to learning and to even-handed treatment in
all aspects of the faculty-students relationship.
- Collective Bargaining Agreement Glendale Community College District and Glendale College
Guild -Local 2276
- Western Illinois University, Academic Freedom and Responsibility, p.2
