Underscores the value and responsibilities of institutional autonomy in higher education. Challenges institutions to pay more attention to the development of such qualities as citizenship, character, honesty, and social responsibilities and to reflect these values in the curriculum, pedagogical methods, personnel policies, resource allocation, and…

Reviews a case that vindicates the principle of judicial noninterference in academic evaluation of students. Describes the strategy of the lawyers who represented the academic institution. Discusses alternative approaches for serving the competing values at stake in grading decisions. (52 footnotes) (MLF)

Discusses issues involved in public access to library materials and facilities and patron confidentiality. Topics discussed include children's access to adult materials; parents' right to know about their children's materials; First and Fourth Amendment protections; the Library Bill of Rights; and American Library Association (ALA) documents that…

Federal courts have found speech regulations overbroad in suits against the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin System. Attempts to assess the theoretical justification and probable fate of broad speech regulations that have not been explicitly rejected by the courts. Concludes that strong arguments for broader regulation will…

A discussion of politics in legal education focuses on the role of political neutrality in law schools and its relationship to academic freedom. It is argued that both academic freedom and good legal scholarship are best fostered by intellectual diversity among and specialization within law schools. (MSE)

College administrators must find a balance between their administrative roles and the responsibility of assuring academic freedom to faculty. When they do this well, most administrative problems are resolved without excessive difficulty. Appropriate managerial strategies can help mediate professional/administrative conflict. (MSE)

The main factor in determining the seriousness of offensive speech should not be the group that is offended, but whether harassment or discrimination, legally defined, results. Colleges have an obligation to teach students how to analyze the surrounding society and determine how their actions reflect and are reflected in that society. (MSE)

Discusses beliefs about autonomy, curriculum, and reading that inform the teaching model of critical thinking. It suggests that teaching critical thinking in college as it has evolved into teaching of informal logic is not sufficient for actualizing the ideal of education for autonomy. (SM)

Examines issues relating to privacy in the electronic community. Highlights include digital information versus print products; the Bill of Rights and Responsibilities for Electronic Learners; electronically stored personal information; institutional versus individual ownership; the right of free speech versus the right of privacy; and the need for…

Provides an overview of security classification reform for consideration by the Clinton administration and the 103rd Congress. Historical background and current issues related to the security classification of information, personnel security clearances, and industrial safeguarding of classified information are discussed. A checklist of basic…

Discusses ethical considerations and possible censorship that can accompany technological advances in the transmission of information among scholars. Topics addressed include academic ethics and academic library ethics; peer review and scholarly communication; controversies and the selection of library materials; academic whistle blowers; and…

Public relations issues arising from the University of Utah's controversial announcement of research claiming achievement of nuclear fusion at room temperature are discussed. They include problems occurring before and after the initial press conference, secrecy vs. openness, research ethics, and effects lasting past the original incident and…

Lower courts have generally held that Bible distribution in public schools violates the Establishment Clause. More recent litigation has focused on distribution of religious literature other than Bibles. Examines the background of the issue, considers the most recent court decisions, and discusses the implications of these decisions. (57…

The first amendment does not either require or permit government to threaten religiously affiliated colleges and universities with reduced eligibility for public funding in the event of increased religious control over institutional governance or academic functions. However, government may decline to fund education at "pervasively sectarian"…

Argues that too often public schools appear to focus on keeping order and giving students minimal vocational skills. Maintains that such schools should get out of the newspaper business rather than inculcate students with false conceptions as to what freedom of speech and press encompass--and what it means to be a responsible citizen in a…