SOUTH DAKOTA BOARD OF REGENTS Academic and Student Affairs AGENDA ITEM: 8 – S DATE: December 5-7 2017 ****************************************************************************** SUBJECT Academic Freedom Report CONTROLLING STATUTE, RULE, OR POLICY BOR Policy 1:11 – Academic Freedom and Responsibility AAC Guideline 5.3 – Syllabi Policy and Common Format Guidelines AAC Guideline 5.2 – Required Freedom in Learning Statement Guidelines BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION During the 2006 Legislative Session, HB 1222 sought to impose requirements for Regental institutions to report on campus intellectual diversity to the Legislature each year. For the purposes of the bill, intellectual diversity was defined as “the foundation of a learning environment that exposes students to a variety of political, ideological, and other perspectives.” The Board of Regents testified in opposition to the legislation indicating that the system already had the appropriate policy structure in place to ensure protections for students. Board Policy 1:11 outlines Academic Freedom and Responsibility within the Regental system, and Section 2 speaks specifically to student freedom in learning noting that “. faculty members in the classroom and in seminar should encourage free and orderly discussion, inquiry and expression of the course subject matter. Student performance may be evaluated solely on an academic basis, not on opinions or conduct in matters unrelated to academic standards.” In response to proposed legislative action, the Academic Affairs Council (AAC) developed the “Freedom in Learning Statement” to be included on all course syllabi in the system to ensure that students are aware of this standard. Faculty are also required to identify the individual on campus responsible for handling student complaints. AAC developed guidance on this issue requiring the following state: Freedom in Learning. Under Board of Regents and University policy, student academic performance may be evaluated solely on an academic basis, not on opinions or conduct in matters unrelated to academic standards. Students should be free to take reasoned exception to the data or views offered in any course of study and to reserve judgment about matters of opinion, but they are responsible for learning the content of any course of study for which they are enrolled. Students (Continued) ****************************************************************************** INFORMATIONAL ITEM Academic Freedom Report December 5-7, 2017 Page 2 of 2 who believe that an academic evaluation reflects prejudiced or capricious consideration of student opinions or conduct unrelated to academic standards should contact _______ to initiate a review of the evaluation. Following the Legislative discussions in 2006, the Board of Regents requested reports for three years to monitor the frequency of reported violations on campus. The reports for the 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 Academic Years provided data for roughly 900,000 potential instances that could have occurred during this three year period. During this time, only six instances were reported. The reports also provide a list of off-campus speakers who were invited to present at all Regental institutions for the given academic year. Due to the low frequency of incidents reported, it was determined that annual reporting was no longer necessary. During the 2017 Legislative session, renewed interest emerged in advancing similar legislation that had been proposed in 2006. An overview of the current policy and guideline structure in the Regental system was shared with legislative leadership, along with previous reports. Legislation targeting intellectual diversity eventually did not surface. However, to provide more recent documentation of the frequency of this activity in the system, campuses were asked to provide incident reports and speaker lists for the 2016-17 academic year. During the 2016-17 academic year, there were 16,668 course sections offered with a total of 299,463 student enrollments. No adverse reports were filed across for any course sections in the Regental system (see Attachment I). Campuses also provided venues for a wide variety of speakers across a range of topics (see Attachment II). IMPACT AND RECOMMENDATIONS The Regental institutions, faculty, staff and students continue to be responsible stewards of academic freedom. In the classroom, faculty and students have continued to encourage intellectual curiosity and uphold standards of rigorous inquiry. Regardless of the private beliefs or allegiances of the persons who participate in university activities, they have found ways to conduct the business of education, research and learning while respecting the views of their colleagues. ATTACHMENTS Attachment I – Academic Freedom Complaint Report: 2016-17 Attachment II – Campus Speakers List: 2016-17 ATTACHMENT I 3 COMPLAINTS BY INSTITUTIONAL STUDENTS Anonymous Complaints Informal Complaints Formal Complaints Institution Meritorious* Meritorious* Meritorious* Remedy Nonmeritorious Remedy Nonmeritorious Remedy Nonmeritorious Warning Discipline Warning Discipline Warning Discipline provided provided provided BHSU DSU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 NSU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 SDSM&T 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 SDSU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 USD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total COMPLAINTS BY INSTITUTIONAL STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS Anonymous Complaints Informal Complaints Formal Complaints Institution Meritorious* Meritorious* Meritorious* Remedy Nonmeritorious Remedy Nonmeritorious Remedy Nonmeritorious Warning Discipline Warning Discipline Warning Discipline provided provided provided BHSU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 DSU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 NSU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 SDSM&T 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 SDSU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 USD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total COMPLAINTS BY PARENTS OF INSTITUTIONAL STUDENTS Anonymous Complaints Informal Complaints Formal Complaints Institution Meritorious* Meritorious* Meritorious* Remedy Nonmeritorious Remedy Nonmeritorious Remedy Nonmeritorious Warning Discipline Warning Discipline Warning Discipline provided provided provided BHSU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 DSU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 NSU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 SDSM&T 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 SDSU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 USD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total COMPLAINTS BY OUTSIDE GROUPS OR INDIVIDUALS Anonymous Complaints Informal Complaints Formal Complaints Institution Meritorious* Meritorious* Meritorious* Remedy Nonmeritorious Remedy Nonmeritorious Remedy Nonmeritorious Warning Discipline Warning Discipline Warning Discipline Provided Provided Provided BHSU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 DSU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 NSU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 SDSM&T 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 SDSU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 USD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total * Indicate the total number of complaints in each category that was found to be meritorious. Under separate cover, please explain each case, identifying the individuals involved, the conduct that was found objectionable, the action that was taken to prevent future transgressions and the action that was taken to make the complainant whole. ATTACHMENT II 4 BHSU Geek Speak Lecture Series – University Honors Program (Campus Faculty Presentations) •"Stunde Null: The Holocaust and Memory after 1945," Dr. Adam Blackler •"Panic! At the Meat Department. Food Scares as Moral Panics," Dr. Trenton Ellis •"Iconography of Desire (And Confusion)," Dr. Avi Jain •"Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Oscar Wilde: The Dialectical Cowboy," Dr. Tim Steckline •"BHSU Edge: Creating the Professional Student Development Program," Karin Humar, International University Scholar •" Supersymmetry, Superstrings and the quest for the Theory Of Everything," Dr. Nag • "Are We All Related? Race and the Embrace of The Other," Professor Jace DeCory and Dr. Tim Steckline • "Lawyers, Home Runs, and Money: The Long and Ongoing Corruption of Professional Baseball, America’s Past-its-Time," Dr. David Cremean •"999 Mona Lisas in the Age of Digital Reproduction: A Tribute to the Life and Work of Walter Benjamin," Dr. Tim Steckline • "I'm Like, Who Needs This Grammar Stuff?" Dr. Andrey Reznikov • "LGBTQ+: Fleshing Out the Acronym," Dr. William Cockrell, Dr. Lesleigh Owen, Terri Bruce, and Dr. Emilia Flint • "Recycling Perceptions," Hailima Yates • "Dangerous Minds: Banned Books and their Authors," a panel discussion with Scott Ahola,Emily Eggebraaten, Amber Wilde, and Shana Monnens • "Uranium Mining in the Black Hills: An Explosion of Interest," Dr. Lilias Jones Jarding • "All We Are Saying: Social Activism in Music," Dr. Trenton Ellis and Dr. Dan May • "In vitro Nanoparticle Cytotoxicity on Buffalo Rat Liver Cells," Alicia Benz, International University Scholar • "The Islamic Moorish Influence on the Architecture in the South of Spain," Ashley Ruegg, International University Scholar • "The Social Life of Meat," Dr. Trenton Ellis • "A Tour of Voting Systems: How do we choose a winner?" Dr. Dan Swenson • "God Show Me the Way: Religion and Hip Hop," Dr. Day May • "Not Just a Cheesy Monster Movie: the Multiple Meanings of Godzilla," Dr. Tom Arnold • "Draw Something! A Drawing Workshop," Professor Desy Schoenewies • Biblically Speaking: Sin and the Role of Women in the Christian New Testament," Dr. Amy Fuqua • "Preaching to the Nerves Instead of the Judgment:' The Victorian Sensation Novel," Dr. Martin Fashbaugh • "The Narcissistic Doctor? Leadership, Ethics, and Dr. Who," Dr. Jeffrey Wehrung • "I Was Real Once,” sighed Mr. Holmes: #BelieveinSherlock #FightJohnWatsonsWar," Dr. Nikki Dragone • "Public Speaking: Raising Hell," Dr. Adam Gaffey • "#BlurredLines: American Raunch Culture," an open discussion with Drs. Courtney Huse Wika, Trenton Ellis, Rickie Legleitner, and Laura Colmenero-Chilberg • "Stuffies, Sex and the Contemporary Counter-Reformation," Professor Ann Porter • "So Much More Than 'Just a Game:' A Complete Summer Program Curriculum for School-Aged Children Aligned to Education Standards," University Scholar Megan Hohn.