The Ph.D. Program holds a fundamental commitment to the principle of academic freedom as it applies to teaching, research, scholarship and professional practice. We share the belief that colleges and universities serve the common good through learning, teaching, research, and scholarship; and that the fulfillment of this function necessarily rests upon the preservation of the intellectual freedoms of teaching, expression, research, and debate. Toward that end:
1. A faculty member or student is entitled to full freedom in research and in the publication of the results, subject to the adequate performance of other academic duties and the requirements of research ethics and responsibilities.
2. Faculty members are entitled to freedom in the exercise of their various instructional responsibilities, such as mentoring students, conducting seminars and workshops, etc., that contribute to the students' academic and professional maturity.
3. The Ph.D. Program faculty members are citizens, members of a learned profession, and officials of the Antioch University. When they speak as citizens, they should be free of concern or censorship. Their special position within the community of scholars imposes special obligations. As persons of learning, they should at all times strive to be accurate and demonstrate respect for the opinions of others. As public scholars, they should make every effort to indicate that they are not spokespersons for Antioch University.
4. The Ph.D. Program students are citizens and members of a doctoral learning community. When they speak as citizens, they should be free of concern or censorship. Their special position as members of a doctoral learning community imposes special obligations. As persons of learning, they should at all times strive to be accurate and demonstrate respect for the opinions of others.
Policies on Professional Ethics and Responsibility
The Ph.D. Program endorses the landmark statement on professional ethics of the American Association of University Professors on Professional Ethics (1966) when it said:
1. Professors, guided by a deep conviction of the worth and dignity of the advancement of knowledge, recognize the special responsibilities placed upon them. Their primary responsibility to their subjects is to seek and to state the truth as they see it. To this end, they devote their energies to developing and improving their scholarly competence. They accept their obligation to exercise critical self-discipline and judgment in using, extending, and transmitting knowledge. They practice intellectual honesty. Although subsidiary interests may be followed, these interests must never seriously hamper or compromise freedom of inquiry.
2. As teachers, professors encourage the free pursuit of learning in their students. They hold before them the best scholarly standards of their disciplines. They demonstrate respect for the student as an individual, and adhere to their proper roles as intellectual guides and counselors. They make every reasonable effort to foster honest academic conduct and to assure that their evaluations of students reflect the student's true merit. They respect the confidential nature of the relationship between professor and student. They avoid any exploitation of students for private advantage and acknowledge significant assistance from them. They protect the student's academic freedom.
3. As a colleague, the professor has obligations that derive from common membership in the community of scholars. He or she respects and defends the free inquiry of his or her associates. In the exchange of criticism and ideas, the professor shows due respect for the opinions of others. He or she acknowledges academic debts and strives to be objective in his or her professional judgment of colleagues. The professor accepts his or her share of faculty responsibility for the governance of the institution.
4. As a member of the institution, the professor seeks above all to be an effective teacher and scholar. Although he or she observes the state regulations of the institution, provided they do not contravene academic freedom, he or she maintains the right to criticize and seek revision. The professor determines the amount and character of the work he or she does outside the institution with due regard to his or her paramount responsibilities within it. When considering the interruption or termination of his or her service, the professor recognizes the effect of this decision upon the program of the institution and gives due notice of his or her intentions.
5. As a member of the community, the professor has the rights and obligations of any citizen. He or she measures the urgency of these obligations in the light of responsibilities to the subject, students, profession and to his or her institution. When speaking or acting as a private person, the professor avoids creating the impression that he or she is speaking or acting for the college or university. As a citizen engaged in a profession that depends upon freedom for its health and integrity, the professor has a particular obligation to promote conditions of free inquiry and to further public understanding of academic freedom.
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