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Section E: Instruction
- Section EA: Academic Calendar
- Section EB: Alternative Methods of Instruction
- Section EC: Course Load
- Section ED: Instructional Resources
- Section EE: Instructional Programs
- Section EF: Special Programs
- Section EG: Academic Achievement
- Section EH: Testing
- Section EI: Academic Freedom and Responsibility
- Section EJ: Advisory Role of Faculty
- Section EK: Faculty Code of Professional Ethics
Section EI
Instruction
Academic Freedom and Responsibility
Academic Freedom and Responsibility
Institutions of higher education are conducted for the common good. The following statements rest upon the belief that the common good depends upon a free search for truth and its free expression without intent to do personal harm.
Each faculty member is entitled to full freedom in the classroom in discussing the subject which he or she teaches. Limitations to this basic statement exist only within the bounds of federal and state law, common decency and good taste. Each faculty member is also entitled to speak or write as a citizen of the nation, state and community without fear of institutional censorship or discipline.
The concept of academic freedom must be accompanied by an equally demanding concept of responsibility shared by the Board, administration, and faculty members.
The fundamental responsibilities of faculty members as teachers and scholars include maintenance of competence in their field of specialization and the exhibition of such competence in lectures and discussions. Although publishing is not a fundamental responsibility of a faculty member, it is encouraged by the College.
The mastery of subject matter makes a faculty member a qualified authority in that discipline. In recognition of that expertise, the faculty member shall have an active role in the planning and implementation of curricula, the selection of textbooks, readings, and other teaching materials, and in the choice of instructional methods. The faculty member shall have the sole responsibility for assigning grades within the limits provided by law.
Exercise of professional integrity by faculty includes recognition that the public will judge the profession and the institution by his/her statements made both in public and in private life. Therefore, faculty should strive to be accurate, to exercise appropriate restraint, to show respect for the opinions of others, and to avoid creating the impression that they speak or act for the College when they speak or act as private citizens.
Faculty should be selective in the use of controversial material in the classroom and should introduce such material only as it has a clear and relevant relationship to the subject field. All course material must align with the student learning outcomes (SLOs) or program learning outcomes (PLOs) published in the Academic Course Guide Manual (ACGM), the Workforce Education Course Manual (WECM), or the Upper-Division Course Manual (UDCM), provided by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
Approved: 2015
Updated: 2018, 2026
Reviewed: 2020, 2022, 2024