Acadeum Statement on Academic Freedom

Home Institution Responsibilities

When Home Institutions work with Acadeum to offer courses to their students via course sharing, it is the right and responsibility of the student’s Home Institution to assess course quality and alignment with the Home Institution's values.

Acadeum respects the right of Home Institutions to select and approve courses that align with their institutional values, and to decline courses that are not aligned with the institution’s beliefs, philosophies, or academic standards.

Acadeum works with a variety of institutions, including faith-based institutions. It is the sole responsibility of the Home Institution to review and approve course sharing courses on behalf of their students to ensure alignment with institutional values and academic standards.

Acadeum respects and is committed to the fundamental principles of academic freedom and the rights of freedom of speech and expression as set forth in the Acadeum Statement on Academic Freedom.

Acadeum’s Statement on Academic Freedom

Both Home Institutions and Teaching institutions that participate in course sharing via Acadeum hold the right of free speech, guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and the American Association of University Professors’ 1940 Statement on Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure. The First Amendment and the principle of Academic Freedom protect the right of both faculty members and students to express ideas and engage in debate – in writing, in the classroom, on campus, and beyond the university – without fear of censorship, sanction, or retaliation.

Academic freedom provides students and faculty the right to express their views and the right to challenge the views of others without penalty. It gives both students and faculty the right to study and do research on the topics they choose and to draw conclusions consistent with their research, though it does not prevent others from judging whether their work is valuable and their conclusions sound. Academic freedom thus preserves intellectual integrity and serves the public good by allowing all arguments and all viewpoints to be considered before coming to a conclusion.