New Report: Academic Freedom and Collective Bargaining

A new comprehensive report analyzing the incorporation of academic freedom provisions in collective bargaining agreements across higher education institutions was jointly released by the National Center for the Study of Collective Bargaining in Higher Education and the Professions at Hunter College (National Center) and the American Association of University Professors' Center for the Defense of Academic Freedom (CDAF).

The report provides the first in-depth, industry-wide examination of how academic freedom has been written into collective bargaining agreements across American higher education. Drawing upon contracts collected as part of the National Center's 2024 Directory of Bargaining Agents and Contracts in Institutions of Higher Education and its Contract Research Site, the report highlights the variations and commonalities in contractual language and enforcement mechanisms, offering a valuable resource for institutions and unions seeking to strengthen academic freedom protections.

The report provides an extensive overview of scholarly literature on academic freedom and collective bargaining, along with a legal review of administrative agency decisions and arbitration awards addressing academic freedom issues.

The study concludes with a call for a nationwide training program on incorporating academic freedom into collective bargaining agreements. It emphasizes the need for uniformity in defining and enforcing academic freedom principles, as outlined in the 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure. The proposed program would assist negotiators in fully protecting academic freedom and free speech in higher education and suggests a separate program for arbitrators on these principles.

The full report can be found below.