Richard,
Thanks for bringing this issue front and center.
By the way, where do I find the "opportunities for redress for students who
feel threatened or offended" spelled out? In the student handbook? Where?
Thanks
Ron
Ronald U. Goulet, Ph.D., P.E.
Associate Professor Mechanical Engineering
College of Engineering and Computer Science
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Dept. 2502 EMCS 432
615 McCallie Ave
Chattanooga, TN 37403-2598
-----Original Message-----
From: UTC Staff E-Mail List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of
Richard Rice
Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2005 9:02 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [UTCSTAFF] House Bill 432 not monkey business
Jim and I have discussed (via email) this issue and I respect his view, but
I do not think it will enhance the quality of education or critical
thinking on this or any campus. The bill itself, as you can read, makes
perfectly good sense in its use of academic freedom rhetoric, as it
reflects what every UT campus handbook already includes: rules for in class
and out of class faculty behavior and opportunities for redress for
students who feel threatened or offended.
But I do not accept the premise that many faculty grade according to
religious or other beliefs of their students. Most of us have so many
students we do not know all their names, let alone their theology. And it
calls for unreasonable disclosure of student values and beliefs: how can we
teachers avoid "controversy" if we do not survey on the first day of class
the beliefs of our students to discover the no-go areas of discourse? If we
do not, then we face a religious-political mine field. This is totally
unworkable.
I think if we look beyond the fine inspiring rhetoric of the bill and
examine closely the website of the action group behind this, and read the
72 page student handbook used for campus organization, and especially the
Appendix D (p.62 of the handbook), "Academic Freedom Violations Complaint
Form," which will be required in our UTC student materials, then you may
get a truer picture of how this legislation will play out. Remember, it
would take only one student to file a grievance, and that can be done
anonymously. So much for the individual standing up for his or her rights!
There are eight leading questions at the top of the complaint form:
a. required readings or texts covering only one side of issues
b. gratuitously singled out political or religious beliefs for
ridicule
c. introduced controversial material that has no relation to the
subject
d. forced students to express a certain point of view in
assignments
e. mocked national political or religious figures
f. conducted political activities in class (ex: recruiting for
demonstrations)
g. allowed students political or religious beliefs to influence
grading
h. used university funds to hold one-sided partisan teach-ins or
conferences
i. other: _________________________________________________
Finally, at the bottom of the form is a phone number, fax, and web site for
the student to report the complaint to the National Office of Students for
Academic Freedom.
If you have time and interest, the handbook itself provides valuable
information on organization, tactics, using the media, and so on: available
at http://www.studentsforacademicfreedom.org/
Richard
At 06:08 PM 3/29/2005 -0500, Jim Hiestand wrote:
> I don't regard House Bill 432 (below) as a threat to academic
>freedom. Rather I see it as calling for faculty responsibility and as a
>small step towards Quality Enhancement for our students who may feel
>aggrieved.
>
>
>
> Its purpose is to keep us focused. I have been hired to teach
>engineering and not to expound my opinions on conservative Constitutional
>interpretation, for example. Perhaps it will be abused but so can other
>avenues of student redress such as the grade appeals process. As current
>Chair of the Grade Appeals Committee I do not think this procedure has been
>abused.
>
>
>
> Jim Hiestand
>
>
>
>Filed for intro on 02/03/2005
>
>HOUSE BILL 432
>
>By Campfield
>
>AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49,
>
>Chapter 7, relative to higher education.
>
>WHEREAS, the General assembly of the state of Tennessee recognizes
students'
>rights
>
>to academic freedom and rights to freedom from discrimination on the basis
>of political or
>
>religious beliefs; and
>
>WHEREAS, students enrolled in state postsecondary educational institutions
>have the
>
>right to information concerning grievance procedures for the protection of
>their academic
>
>freedoms; and
>
>WHEREAS, it is determined to be in the best interests of the state to
direct
>the governing
>
>board of state postsecondary educational institutions to adopt a grievance
>procedure for use in
>
>enforcing students' rights; now, therefore,
>
>BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
>
>SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 7, Part 1, is
amended
>by
>
>adding the following as a new appropriately designated section:
>
>49-7-1(__).
>
>(a) Students enrolled in state postsecondary educational institutions shall
>
>have the following rights:
>
>(1) The right to expect that their academic freedom will not be
>
>infringed upon by instructors who create a hostile environment toward
>
>their political or religious beliefs or who introduce controversial matter
>into
>
>the classroom or course work that is substantially unrelated to the subject
>
>of study;
>
>- 2 - 00347113
>
>(2) The right to expect that they will be graded solely on the basis
>
>of their reasoned answers and appropriate knowledge of the subjects
>
>they study and that they shall not be discriminated against on the basis of
>
>their political or religious beliefs;
>
>(3) The right to expect that their academic institutions shall
>
>distribute student fee funds on a viewpoint neutral basis and shall
>
>maintain a posture of neutrality with respect to substantive political or
>
>religious disagreements, differences, and opinions; and
>
>(4) The right to be fully informed of their institutions' grievance
>
>procedures for violations of academic freedom by means of notices
>
>prominently displayed in course catalogues, student handbooks, and on
>
>the institutional web site.
>
>(b) State postsecondary educational institutions shall publicize the
>
>statewide institutional grievance procedure by which a student may seek
>redress
>
>for an alleged violation of any of the rights specified in this section in
>course
>
>catalogues, student handbooks, and on the institutional website.
>
>SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-7-202(c), is amended by
>adding
>
>the following as a new appropriately designated subdivision:
>
>(__) Develop, monitor, and enforce a statewide institutional grievance
>procedure
>
>by which a student may seek a redress of grievance for an alleged violation
>of any of the
>
>rights specified in this act.
>
>SECTION 3. The commissioner of the Tennessee higher education commission is
>
>authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes
of
>this act. All such
>
>rules and regulations shall be promulgated in accordance with the
provisions
>of Tennessee
>
>Code Annotated, title 4, chapter 5.
>
>- 3 - 00347113
>
>SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming law, the public welfare
>requiring
>
>it.
|
