Wallace State Community College subscribes to the following principles in regard to academic freedom:
- The instructor is free to conduct independent research and to publish the results so long as such activity does not interfere with assigned academic duties; however, research for monetary gain should not be undertaken without an understanding with the appropriate college dean.
- In the classroom, the instructor has full freedom to discuss subject matter. The instructor should not introduce irrelevant, controversial matter in the instruction. Within this limitation, the College protects the rights of both the student and the instructor to a “free search for truth and its free exposition.”
- The College respects the rights and privileges of the instructors as citizens, but instructors’ positions impose special obligations. Hence, the instructors are free from institutional censorship or discipline when they speak, write, or act as citizens; however, instructors should always be mindful of the fact that the public may judge the College by their words and behavior. Instructors should therefore maintain accuracy, exercise restraint, respect the opinions of others, and make it clear that they are not spokespersons for the institution.