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Acceptable Use or Censorship? A Study of Research Universities’ IT Policies

Acceptable Use or Censorship? A Study of Research Universities’ IT Policies. Barbara I. Dewey University of Tennessee. Methodology. Examined IT acceptable use policies in terms of references to academic freedom issues

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Acceptable Use or Censorship? A Study of Research Universities’ IT Policies

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  1. Acceptable Use or Censorship?A Study of Research Universities’ IT Policies Barbara I. Dewey University of Tennessee Educause 2001 Poster Session

  2. Methodology • Examined IT acceptable use policies in terms of references to academic freedom issues • Target institutions: Top 50 research universities as indicated by the Association of Research Libraries Index Statistic Educause 2001 Poster Session

  3. AUP Project Purpose • To what extent to university AUP policies affirm or contain verbiage related to academic freedom or the free exchange of ideas? • Do policies refer to other institutional documents containing commitment to academic freedom, exchange of ideas (e.g. strategic plans, faculty handbook)? • Do policies refer to other organization’s statements related to academic freedom (e.g. ALA Bill of Rights, AUP…) Educause 2001 Poster Session

  4. Guidance for AUP Creation • Computers & Academic Freedom: Frequently Asked Questions, www.eff.org/CAF/faq/policy • Cornell’s Computer Policy & Law, www.cornell.edu/CPL/ • AAUP Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure with 1970 Interpretive Comments and Academic Freedom and Electronic Communication Report www.aaup.org • American Library Association Library Bill of Rights and Access to Electronic Information Services, and Networks, www.ala.org • American Association for Higher Education Bill of Rights and Requirements for Electronic Learners • Educom Code Educause 2001 Poster Session

  5. Selected Characteristics of AUP References to Academic Freedom • Same principles apply to computer resources as to spoken and written communications • Strong reference to institutional policies or national policies • Positive/affirming statement • Negative statement (emphasis on “but”) • Link access to information to sexual harassment • Use of pornography and obscenity not consistent in definition or related to policy Educause 2001 Poster Session

  6. AUP Policy General Issues • Difficulty in locating policy – prominence on the university website • Determining if a document is a policy • Multiple policies at a single institution • Definition of computing/information resources is unclear Educause 2001 Poster Session

  7. Appearance of Academic Freedom Language • Language in policy – 25 institutions (out of 50 total) • No language in policy – 12 institutions • No policy in existence or apparent on institutional website – 15 institutions Educause 2001 Poster Session

  8. AUP Language Related to Academic Freedom • Of the 25 institutions with statements referring to academic freedom, 3 institutions specifically referred to opposing censorship • 16 additional institutions affirmed academic freedom, freedom of expression rights • 6 institutions were ambiguous or conflicted related to academic freedom or censorship Educause 2001 Poster Session

  9. Conclusions/Next Steps • Although research universities typically protect academic freedoms and freedom of expression not all tie these philosophies to AUP policies in an explicit manner • Continuing as well as new efforts are underway related to national security and the events of Sept. 11th which must be scrutinized by the university academic and IT communities for their impact on freedom of expression and academic freedom • All academic institutions should consider explicit statements in AUP policies related to academic freedom Educause 2001 Poster Session

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