Academic Freedom

The Board authorizes the College to ensure procedures for safeguarding and protecting academic freedom by allowing faculty and students the freedom to cultivate a spirit of inquiry and scholarly criticism when discussing discipline related subjects. However, the principle of academic freedom shall not prevent the College from taking the initiative to assure the best possible instruction in accordance with the mission and goals of the College. (ACCS Policy 719.01: Academic Freedom. June 7, 2017).

Northeast Alabama Community College is committed to two supreme values: knowledge and the freedom to seek truth. From this commitment instructors derive both their liberty and their responsibility. Their liberty is to seek knowledge and truth and to communicate them without unreasonable social or political pressures. Their responsibility is to be proficient in their profession and to grant to others the same respect and freedom which they claim for themselves. An instructor’s academic freedom includes full freedom to discuss the area of special competence without irrelevant controversial material; with this freedom goes the responsibility to perform competently and to respect the integrity of others.