National Study of Faculty Attitudes Toward Academic Freedom

Dark-skinned teacher standing with book and lecturing to students in university classroom setting

A new study of academic freedom inspired by Paul Lazarsfeld’s 1958 research

Client

American Association of Colleges and Universities and American Association of University Professors
Dates

August 2023 – August 2024

Problem

Claims and definitions of academic freedom are increasingly coming under question.

Colleges and universities have often been viewed as havens for freedom of thought and inquiry. Some institutions even codify that freedom in their missions. But as our society has become increasingly polarized, claims of academic freedom—and even the definition of academic freedom—have come into question from inside and outside academia.

The American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and American Association of University Professors (AAUP) partnered with NORC to refine a national study of faculty focused on academic freedom, freedom of expression, self-censorship, and diverse political viewpoints and attitudes, inspired by Columbia University professor Paul Lazarsfeld’s 1958 study of the attitudes of social science faculty during the McCarthy era. NORC collected the 1958 survey data.

Solution

NORC administered a survey to faculty at American colleges and universities about academic freedom.

NORC collaborated with AAC&U and AAUP to develop and conduct a national survey of faculty viewpoints about a variety of dimensions at their institutions, including academic freedom, freedom of expression, self-censorship, respect for diverse political views and values, and openness to and willingness to practice civil discourse.

To do so, NORC, AAC&U, and AAUP examined Paul Lazarsfeld’s original 1958 survey measures to understand McCarthyism-related experiences and perceptions of social science faculty. The teams identified conceptual and methodological dimensions of the original survey to both retain and update to fit contemporary higher education and sociopolitical contexts. To test the effectiveness of the survey refinements, NORC conducted a series of cognitive interviews with a sample of faculty from diverse geographical and higher education contexts and used that evidence to inform final survey refinements.

Result

The findings provide insights about the climate for academic freedom across U.S. higher education.

NORC delivered data and analyses to the AAC&U project team. There are several findings to highlight.

More than one in three faculty members perceive a recent decline in their academic freedom.
Faculty are concerned about restrictions on academic freedom and worry that expressing their views freely may lead to online harassment or professional repercussions.
Faculty value diverse student perspectives, encourage civil discourse among students, and support free speech in the classroom.
Faculty see educational value in classroom discussions of controversial topics or issues and do not support censoring course materials.
In the current climate, faculty themselves are less willing to address controversial topics and more likely to self-censor when it comes to expressing controversial or political views.
The spread of divisive concepts legislation has produced a chilling effect on academic freedom.
Although most faculty members say their administration is publicly supportive of academic freedom, they would look to their faculty colleagues or disciplinary societies for support if their own speech or writing were to attract public controversy.