Resolution on Potential External Influence o[n] University Curriculum

UNC Faculty Assembly APPROVED MAY 2, 2008

Whereas the principle of integrity is essential to fundamental precepts of academic freedom and shared governance in American higher education, and

Whereas this principle of integrity is declared by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) as “essential to the purpose of higher education” and that “failure of an institution to adhere to the integrity principle may result in a loss of accreditation or candidacy” [SACS, 2008, 1.1, in the context of self-reporting], and

Whereas academic freedom in higher education, specifically described by the AAUP 1940 Statement of Principles, is generally recognized by a wide range of governing boards, accrediting bodies, university policy statements, and faculty governance councils, and

Whereas these established principles of academic freedom include the prerogative of faculty and faculty curriculum committees to determine academic curricula and select curricular materials free from influence exerted by external entities, and

Whereas the University of North Carolina accrediting body, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, specifically declares that “The institution places primary responsibility for the content, quality, and effectiveness of the curriculum with its faculty” [3.4.10; 2008], and

Whereas in the University of North Carolina this prerogative is recognized by the University Code, which states in part that

“…the chancellor shall ensure the establishment of appropriate procedures within the institution to provide members of the faculty the means to give advice with respect to questions of academic policy and institutional governance, with particular emphasis upon matters of curriculum…” [502D], and

Whereas, to be meaningful, such procedures must be formalized as part of an institution’s decision-making structure and must ensure that faculty are involved in any process related to proposed curricular change as early as possible, and that faculty consensus around such proposed changes be incorporated except in the most unusual of circumstances as determined according to The UNC Code, and

Whereas UNC Chapel Hill, one of the most prestigious public universities in the country, has adopted a published set of guidelines and recommendations that embody many of the considerations above, and

Whereas in recent years a number of UNC campuses have engaged in negotiations and concluded agreements with external entities that resulted in curricular changes through various processes that essentially ignored many of the principles stated above,

Be it resolved that, by whatever process deemed most efficient, the UNC Faculty Assembly approach representatives of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and work with UNC General Administration Academic Affairs, and other relevant UNC divisions to establish a set of guidelines for the UNC system constituent campuses that shall be adhered to in any case where—regardless of how initiated—entities external to the University of North Carolina, by means of a donation or otherwise, might influence UNC academic program planning, course offerings, specific course requirements, or other material aspects of university curriculum. Such guidelines shall stipulate, at a minimum:

• the earliest possible consultation with faculty concerning discussions with external entities that implicate curriculum, and

   

• that faculty so consulted include members sensitive to issues of shared governance and academic freedom as evidenced by service on university faculty governance bodies, college curriculum committees, or institutional accreditation committees, and

   

• that, with appropriate consideration of any temporary need for confidentiality during negotiations, the university faculty governing body be provided with as much information as possible, as soon as possible, throughout such negotiation processes, and

   

• that any new course offerings, specific course requirements, faculty appointments, or other material aspects of university curriculum proposed under such conditions shall undergo the normal and established processes of campus-level review, revision, and approval, and

   

• that in such cases, the documentation submitted through the normal and established processes of campus-level review shall include a detailed description of the origins and the conditions, if any, attached to the curricular proposal.