Academic Freedom

The Board of Directors of Benedictine College affirms its basic commitment to the maintenance of optimal conditions for teaching, research, and learning at Benedictine College. All faculty members are entitled to discuss freely in the classroom all matters germane to the subject of instruction. Faculty members should take care not to violate academic freedom by treating extensively of matters extraneous to the subject.

In their teaching and research, faculty members should be guided by the search for knowledge and truth, not by benefactors, public opinion or partisan policy, nor by any interest group. It is the right of every faculty member of the College to be protected by the College as a whole from all such inappropriate pressures and harassments.

Faculty members should be involved in the search for knowledge and truth while fulfilling their course assignments. The specific material covered in a course is not to be determined by the opinion of administrators, directors, fellow faculty members, or students, so long as it is appropriate to the course objectives, description, or syllabus adopted by the College or school and so long as it adequately prepares students for subsequent courses. Faculty members can and should present to students accepted, as well as, newly discovered facts and laws, new developments or new applications of old knowledge, and accepted, as well as new hypotheses and theories that may be advanced in explanation of facts and laws.

The central freedom of an individual in the College lies within the framework of human activity and human life, and hence is subject also to limitations and norms:

1. Teaching, student counseling, research and scholarly activity, and service to the College and community must be carried on within the framework of legal norms, the ethical requirements of the respective disciplines and professions, and the mission statement of the College.
2. All persons joining the faculty of the College are expected to understand and respect the fact that they are coming into an institution in which Christian scriptures and tradition are recognized as a source of knowledge as valid as natural human experience or reason, and where theology is recognized as a discipline. This expectation, of course, does not prevent them from stating and explaining their own personal views under the norms of this policy.
3. While faculty members are expected to challenge students to reexamine their beliefs and opinions, they are also expected to protect the rights of students. Faculty members must be careful not to attempt to use their positions to force upon students their own personal views and partisan loyalties.
4. Faculty members shall be entitled to full freedom in research and publication of the results, always assuming that such activity will not detract from the time and effort required for the task of instruction.

5. As required by law, the College has adopted a Notice of Non-Discrimination, Equal Employment Opportunity Notice, Non-Discrimination and Harassment Policy and Procedures, and Sexual Harassment Policy and Procedures. (See Employee Handbook.) Actions or words used in the context of the academic and teaching environments that serve legitimate and reasonable educational purposes will not be deemed by the College to constitute prohibited conduct or harassment. Nor will the expression of the beliefs and/or teachings of the Catholic Church, as set forth by the Magisterium, be regarded by the College as constituting prohibited conduct or harassment.

Intellectual Property

Generally speaking, and in accordance with widespread academic practice, faculty members retain ownership of books, publications, lecture notes, syllabi, and similar course materials regardless of the medium. The College is deemed to have a non-exclusive license to use such materials for internal educational, instructional, and administrative purposes while the faculty member is employed.

The complete procedure for dealing with academic misconduct is available on Canvas > FacultyForum > Academic Forms. This includes the form needed to submit an instance of academic misconduct to the student and the Vice Provost. A condensed version of the academic misconduct process is given in the College Catalog.

Accessibility Services

Benedictine College complies with ADA requirements for reasonable accommodations for individuals with documented disabilities that may affect their performance in the classroom. To provide reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities or for students with other special circumstances, the following is available:

1. Test proctoring for students who require this as related to their documented disabilities.
2. Trained tutors to assist individual students who need additional assistance. 
3. Note takers are provided within classes on an as-needed basis.
4. Additional accommodations as needed may be available, and should be discussed with the Accessibility Services Coordinator.
5. Coordination of services with the Student Life Office is made for students who have physical disabilities.

If a faculty member receives a request for academic accommodations from a student, the faculty member should direct the student to the Student Success Center.

Faculty Access to Student Records

Benedictine College expects its faculty to be judicious and discreet with student education records. These records are protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Subject to certain exceptions, FERPA’s general rule is that the education records of a student cannot be disclosed to third parties without that student’s prior written consent. FERPA permits a faculty member of the College to review a student’s education records without that student having given prior written consent only when the faculty member has a legitimate educational reason for doing so. One's status as a faculty member does not give an instructor uninhibited access to all education records of all students at the College. If you have any doubt about whether you have a legitimate educational reason to access a student’s records, you should consult with the Registrar, Senior Vice Provost, or Provost prior to doing so.

The College may give Department Chairs electronic access to the College’s student records system. As a general matter, Department Chairs have a legitimate educational interest in accessing the records of students within their department for purposes of considering their suitability for a particular major, monitoring their academic progress for a major or degree, advising students with respect to course selection, and considering students for a departmental award or nomination. With the exception of applicants for a program within the department, Department Chairs generally do not have a legitimate educational interest in reviewing the records of students outside their particular departments and must obtain written approval of the Senior Vice Provost, Provost, or Registrar before accessing records of such students through the College’s student records system.

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