Autonomy In Higher Education

Academic Freedom has been a concern at higher education institutions since 1915 when the American Association of University Professor (AAUP) for established. The association was created in response to the dismissal of Stanford Professor Edward Ross after he criticized railroad monopolies and the use of immigrant labor in 1900 (American Association of University Professors, 2016). Consequently, many question whether professional autonomy was being challenged. Whether employed by either a private or public university, faculty members are protected by the First Amendment as citizens from governmental censorship or any other governmental sanctions that may infringe on his or her freedom of expression (Kaplin & Lee, 2014). Academic Freedom has been the main staple of higher education and has continued to serve as a major determination of the
However, its affiliation with the United Methodist Church does not have an impact on academic freedom of the faculty. Faculty members teaching at private institutions such as American University are under contractual freedom. This law or freedom protects the teaching freedoms of faculty from any type of legal arguments (Kaplin & Lee, 2014). Private institutions are not under the jurisdiction of the government, therefore, the first amendment right or any other governmental regulations do not apply. Academic Freedom will continue to be the mainstay at institutions of higher learning. Having a freedom to expression his/herself is extremely vitals to those who are in the professorial profession. Both public and private have their own set of regulations in regards to academic freedom and freedom of expression. Those freedoms may dictate what and how faculty members use their positions in academia to address issues in both the institutions and in