DSG Joint Statement of Rights and Freedoms of Students

From Student Link

Resources

Representation

Issues

Governance

Contents

JOINT STATEMENT OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS OF STUDENTS

Academic institutions exist for the transmission of knowledge, the pursuit of truth, the development of students, and the general well-being of society. Free inquiry and free expression are indispensable to the attainment of these goals. As members of the academic community, students should be encouraged to develop the capacity for critical judgment and to engage in a sustained and independent search for truth. The minimal standards of academic freedom of students outlined below are essential to the community of scholars at Duke University.

Freedom to teach and freedom to learn are inseparable facets of academic freedom. The freedom to learn depends upon appropriate opportunities and conditions in the classroom, on the campus, and in the larger community. The responsibility to secure and to respect general conditions conducive to the freedom to learn is shared by all members of the academic community and should be developed with the broadest possible participation of its members. The purpose of this statement is to enumerate the essential provisions for students' freedom to learn.

SECTION 1. FREEDOM TO ACCESS OF HIGHER EDUCATION

Duke University should make clear the characteristics of students which it considers relevant to success in its program. The University should also make clear what it expects from each student who chooses to matriculate. Within the limits of its facilities, Duke University should be open to all students who are qualified according to its admissions standards. Under no circumstances should a student be barred from admission on the basis of sex, race, creed, color or national origin. The University should use its influence to secure for its students similar privileges of equal access in the broader Community.

SECTION 2. ACADEMIC EXPECTATIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Recognizing that Duke University has a consistent academic mission to foster a community of scholarship, the undergraduate students feel it essential to enumerate certain expectations and responsibilities which pertain to undergraduate academic life. These freedoms and obligations must function to unshackle ideas from bias, to create an atmosphere of mutual trust, and to offer students access to the necessary facilities and opportunities required for them to actively pursue knowledge. To this end, undergraduate students of Duke University should expect the following:

a) An intellectually vibrant community both inside and outside the classroom

With the recognition that learning and scholarly engagement extend to quads, residences and dining halls, students, faculty, and staff should expect a campus of stimulating inquiry, both formal and informal. Students should strive to actively seek out opportunities for meaningful interaction, and should expect to find faculty and staff who are approachable and willing to participate in cultivating an academic community where the intellectual experience permeates daily campus life.

b) Freedom from religious, political, and other biases

Student performance should be evaluated on an academic basis and not on opinions or conduct in matters unrelated to established academic standards. Students should be free to take reasoned exception to views offered in any course and to reserve judgment about matters of opinion. However, it remains the responsibility of the student to comply with the academic standards for each course in which he/she is enrolled.

c) An atmosphere where students, faculty, and staff encourage mutually respectful discussion and constructive dialogue

Students should expect to be able to express controversial viewpoints; they should not be compelled to alter their messages or refrain from taking a particular side of an issue. A thoughtful and empathetic academic community encourages students to voice their opinions in a respectful manner, for the sake of individual and communal education. To this end, students must be mindful of the potential repercussions of their opinions and should address all controversial topics constructively and respectfully.

d) An environment of academic honesty and integrity

Students, faculty, and staff should work together to foster a spirit of honor and a climate of integrity, where academic dishonesty is not tolerated, but also not expected, from students. Accordingly, students have the responsibility of adhering to the Community Standard at all times, as well as of understanding what their instructors expect of them with regard to academic integrity. Instructors should highlight the importance of academic integrity to an intellectual community and communicate to students what is and is not acceptable academic behavior for each course, particularly when there are ambiguities regarding collaborative assignments, take-home exams, and other potentially unclear situations.

e) Access to quality academic advising

Recognizing that the array of academic opportunities can often be overwhelming, students should expect knowledgeable advice from someone in their chosen field of study, or, for undeclared students, from someone well-versed in a breadth of academic options, based on the student’s interests. In addition, students should expect to have access to meaningful input from other students, course evaluations, synopses, and other information, which will allow them to make informed decisions regarding their academic careers. Furthermore, students should work with their advisors to establish a set of reasonable expectations with which both parties are comfortable.

f) Access to all appropriate and available academic facilities

In order to make the most of their undergraduate experience, students should expect access to information, technology, and buildings for the purposes of inquiry, study, and collaboration, including times that extend beyond regular class hours. These facilities include, but are not limited to, classrooms, study rooms, computing clusters, and other multimedia equipment. Consequently, students have the duty to care for these facilities, to use them responsibly, and to ensure that they are left in good condition.

g) Flexibility in rescheduling exams and other assignments missed as a result of illness or family obligation

Students should not expect to be put in a position where receiving proper medical care/recuperation or fulfilling relevant family obligations requires them to suffer academically. They must abide by policies instituted by the instructor for each course, but instructors should strive for policies that reflect a willingness to make accommodations for students who have to miss class for circumstances beyond their control.

SECTION 3. STUDENT RECORDS

After the student leaves the University, the only records* the University will maintain are the following three:

a) Permanent official academic transcripts. These shall contain only information concerning academic performance and dates of attendance. These transcripts will be available to the student and released only upon specific request of the student.

b) Permanent records which indicate the reason for any interruption of continuous enrollment at the University. These formal letters, describing whatever action is taken, will be maintained separately from the academic transcripts (a) above and will be available to the student, but will be released only specific request of the student.

c) Materials which provide support for the action taken under (b) above. These supporting materials are confidential and will not be released, and after a reasonable length of time will be destroyed.

  • Those records compiled without the request of the student.

SECTION 4. STUDENT AFFAIRS

a) Freedom of Organization

Students bring to the campus a wide variety of interests previously acquired and develop many new ones as members of the academic community. They should be free to create and join organizations which promote their common interests. Student organizations, including those affiliated with an extramural organization, should be open to all students without respect to race, creed, color, sexual preference, or national origin. The membership, policies, and actions of a student organization should be determined by vote of only those persons who hold bona fide membership in that organization. Student organizations may be required to submit a statement of purpose, criteria for membership, rules of procedure, and a current list of officers. They should not be required to submit a membership list as a condition of institutional recognition.

b) Freedom of Inquiry and Expression

Students and student organizations should be free to examine and to discuss all questions of interest to them, and to express opinions publicly and privately. They should always be free to support causes by orderly means which do not disrupt the regular and essential operation of the institution. At the same time, it should be clear to the academic and the larger community that in their public expressions or demonstrations students or student organizations speak only for themselves.

c) Student Participation in Institutional Government

As constituents of the academic community, students should be free, individually and collectively, to express their views on issues of institutional policy and on matters of general interest to the student body. The student body should have clearly defined means to participate in the formulation and application of institutional policy affecting academic and student affairs. The role of the student government and both its general and specific responsibilities should be made explicit, and the actions of the student government within the area of its jurisdiction should be reviewed only through orderly and prescribed procedures.

d) Student Publications

Student publications and the student press are a valuable part of the academic community, both in providing a medium for free expression and inquiry on campus and in bringing student concerns to the attention of the community. These student publications involve a dual set of rights and responsibilities. The publications, on the one hand, must be governed by the canons of responsible journalism, such as the avoidance of libel, indecency, undocumented allegations, attacks on personal integrity, and the techniques of harassment and innuendo. They must explicitly state on their editorial pages that the opinions there are not necessarily those of the college, University, or student body. The University, on the other hand, in consultation with students and faculty, must provide clarification of the role of the student publications, the standards to be used in their evaluation, and the limitations on external control of their operation. It must guarantee freedom from censorship and advance approval of copy, and free its editors and managers to develop their own editorial policies and news coverage. It must protect its editors and managers from arbitrary suspension and removal because of student, faculty, administrative, or public disapproval of editorial policy or content. The agency is responsible for the appointment of editors and managers should be the agency responsible for their removal.

SECTION 5. OFF-CAMPUS FREEDOM OF STUDENTS

a) Exercise of Rights and Citizenship Duke University students are both citizens and members of the academic community. As citizens, students should enjoy the same freedoms of speech, peaceful assembly, and petition that other citizens enjoy and as members of the academic community, they are subject to the obligations which accrue to them by virtue of this membership. Faculty members and administrative officials should insure that institutional powers are not employed to inhibit such intellectual and personal development of students as is often promoted by their exercise of the rights of citizenship both on and off campus.

b) Institutional Authority and Civil Penalties Activities of students may upon occasion result in violation of law. In such cases, institutional officials should be prepared to apprise students of sources of legal counsel and may offer other assistance. Students who violate the law may incur penalties prescribed by civil authorities, but institutional authority should never be used merely to duplicate the function of general laws. Only where the institution's interests as an authority of the institution be asserted. The student who incidentally violates institutional regulations in the course of his off-campus activity, such as those relating to class attendance, should be subject to no greater penalty than would normally be imposed. Institutional action should be independent of community pressure.

SECTION 6. COLLEGE GOVERNMENTS

Nothing in this Constitution shall affect the right of undergraduate students in Trinity College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering to form auxiliary student governments composed of students in their respective schools. Such auxiliary student governments shall have power to levy fees and enact legislation binding upon their members, provided that such actions shall in no way affect, abrogate, or limit the powers, activities, or authority of the DSG.

Retrieved from "http://student.groups.duke.edu/DSG_Joint_Statement_of_Rights_and_Freedoms_of_Students"