Academic Freedom and Civil Discourse in Higher Education: A National Study of Faculty Attitudes and Perceptions

Selected Findings

• More than one in three faculty members perceive a recent decline in their academic freedom.

  To explore possible changes in faculty perceptions of academic freedom over time, respondents were asked to compare their current and recent experiences with those of six or seven years ago or, for relatively new faculty members, when they first joined the faculty at their current institution. More than a third of all faculty say they have less academic freedom today when it comes to teaching content without any interference (35%), speaking freely as citizens (36%), and speaking freely when participating in institutional governance (38%). These perceptions vary considerably, however, depending on how long faculty members have been at their current institution. Those who joined the faculty in 2017 or earlier are significantly more likely than those who joined in 2018 or later to say they have less academic freedom today when it comes to teaching content without interference (44% vs. 27%), speaking freely as citizens (44% vs. 23%), and speaking freely when participating in institutional governance (47% vs. 27%).

• Faculty are concerned about restrictions on academic freedom and worry that expressing their views freely may lead to online harassment or professional repercussions.

  More than half of all faculty today (53%) are concerned about their ability to express what they believe as scholars to be correct statements about the world. Moreover, significant percentages of faculty reported that, over the past few years, they have either often or occasionally faced restrictions with regard to what they can say in faculty and department meetings (36%) or on social media (33%), what they teach in their courses (24%), the content of their public or professional presentations (19%), and the topics they investigate or the conclusions they present in their research (14%). Compared with six or seven years ago, or when they first joined the faculty at their current institution, just over half of all faculty (53%) are more worried today that their beliefs or activities as faculty members may make them targets of online harassment. A third (34%) are concerned that students may record their lectures or class discussions without their consent, and nearly half (47%) worry that students may share their ideas or statements out of context, either intentionally or unintentionally. A third (34%) have at least occasionally felt concerned that a political opinion they expressed in class might negatively affect their status as a member of the faculty, and nearly half have refrained from expressing an opinion or participating in an activity that could draw negative attention from external stakeholders and negatively affect their faculty position.

• Faculty value diverse student perspectives, encourage civil discourse among students, and support free speech in the classroom.

  The overwhelming majority of respondents (93%) believe that faculty should be intentional about inviting student perspectives from all sides of an issue, and two-thirds (67%) believe that faculty should be able to express their own personal views on issues while teaching. More than half of all faculty (57%) encourage mutually respectful disagreement among the students in their courses either “quite a bit” or “a great deal,” and 70% believe that the amount of mutually respectful disagreement among their students is “about right.” When asked whether a class should stop discussing a topic if the discussion includes views that some students feel causes harm to certain groups of people, more than two-thirds of faculty (68%) said no; only 12% believe the discussion should be stopped.When asked how faculty should respond if a student says something in class that other students believe causes harm to certain groups of people, more than half said the student should not be stopped from speaking (53%) and that the student should not be reported to university administrators (54%); just under a quarter (23%) said the student speech should be stopped, and 20% said that the student should be reported.

• Faculty see educational value in classroom discussions of controversial topics or issues and do not support censoring course materials.

  Most faculty support the discussion of controversial topics or issues in the classroom. Indeed, more than half (53%) believe such discussions should be encouraged and should occur frequently because of their educational value. And while just over a third (35%) do not believe such discussions should encouraged, they nonetheless support discussion of controversial topics or issues as they arise in the classroom. When asked how faculty should respond if some students believe that a required class reading or assignment includes views that cause harm to certain groups of people, 43% of faculty said the original reading or assignment should be retained, 37% said an alternative option should also be provided, and only 5% said the original reading or assignment should be dropped altogether.

• In the current climate, faculty themselves are less willing to address controversial topics and more likely to self-censor when it comes to expressing controversial or political views.

  To explore possible changes in how faculty are addressing controversial topics, respondents were asked to compare their current and recent perceptions and experiences with those of six or seven years ago or, for relatively new faculty members, when they first joined the faculty at their current institution. Half of all faculty (50%) said that colleagues at their institution are more careful today to avoid controversial topics when revising curricula. Additionally, significant percentages said that faculty colleagues in their academic program or department are less willing to express controversial views in their courses (39%), on social media (38%), and at professional conferences (30%). When gathering with colleagues at informal campus events or social gatherings, 61% of faculty have observed a tendency to avoid controversial topics. Just over half of all faculty (52%) have either often or occasionally altered the language in something they have written because they were worried it might cause controversy Most either occasionally or often modify or refrain from using terms or words they believe might be perceived as offensive by their students (62%), by administrators (57%), by other faculty members (57%), or by institutional staff (54%). Faulty today are particularly reluctant to talk politics. A quarter reported feeling pressure to conform their political views to align with the views of either administrators (25%) or the faculty as a whole (24%), and two-thirds (67%) have refrained from raising politically divisive topics with colleagues at their institution. One in five faculty members is more hesitant to sponsor or work with a student group that advocates for a political or social agenda.

• The spread of divisive concepts legislation has produced a chilling effect on academic freedom.

  Among the factors affecting the current climate for academic freedom at colleges and universities is government overreach in the form of divisive concepts legislation. Since 2021, many states across the country have either proposed or imposed legislative bans on the teaching, learning, and discussion of so-called “divisive concepts” related to race, gender, LGBTQ+ identities, and American history. Faculty are paying close attention. Fully 80% follow media coverage of divisive concepts legislation either as much or more than coverage of other topics, and 59% discuss the legislation either occasionally or often. Nearly half of all faculty (46%) say that the local community surrounding their institution has become more concerned about faculty teaching divisive topics; among these respondents, 62% say that this greater concern among the local community has produced harmful effects on the climate for academic freedom at the institution. One in ten faculty members overall (11%) is considering seeking employment at a different college or university because of the climate for academic freedom in the state where their current institution is located. In states where divisive concepts legislation has become law, 16% of faculty are considering leaving for a college or university in another state.

• Although most faculty members say their administration is publicly supportive of academic freedom, they would look to their faculty colleagues or disciplinary societies for support if their own speech or writing were to attract public controversy.

  When asked who has the most influence in protecting academic freedom at their institution, faculty responses were divided among chief academic officers (27%), the president (16%), the faculty (15%), trustees or regents (12%), and department heads (9%). A large majority (69%) said their administration as a whole is publicly supportive of academic freedom, whether “somewhat,” “quite a bit,” or “a great deal.” Yet roughly two in five believe their administration faces increasing pressure from trustees or regents (41%), state legislators (39%), and funders or donors (37%) to avoid negative publicity. When faculty were asked where they would expect to find support for their academic freedom if something they said or wrote were to attract controversy outside of their institution, two-thirds said they would look either to their faculty colleagues (34%) or members of their disciplinary society or association (31%). Only a quarter of faculty (26%) believe that most students be supportive, and just 15% believe most administrators (15%) would be.