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[retrenchment]

Specific questions: 1. Do you believe that you have academic freedom?
2. Upon what do you base this belief?

After years of adjuncting in the same college, I just found out I have academic freedom. It says so in the contract between the full time teachers' union and the university.

[educator1]

According to the Faculty manual all faculty (including adjunct faculty) are accorded academic freedom. The manual is incorporated by reference into all faculty contracts.

[retrenchment]

Your policy is better than ours. I discovered mine by accident.
Here's the thing: some people would teach differently, and better, if they had an assurance of academic freedom that they could actually believe in. So I think that the ability to not rehire a teacher, without giving a reason, or having due process, deprives the students of something.
I'm not talking about myself necessarily, because I'm not original enough to think of anything controversial.

[sagit]

So I think that the ability to not rehire a teacher, without giving a reason, or having due process, deprives the students of something.

I'm not sure that I'd call that Academic Freedom.  The adjuncts teaching in my department (most teach 1-2 courses a semester, at most) could be *not rehired* for a number of reasons that have nothing to do with Academic Freedom and we wouldn't be required to give a reason.  We might have fewer students now and not need the additional section.  The person might have gotten low teaching evaluations. 

I guess I'm having a hard time understanding how Academic Freedom applies to positions that are by their very nature not permanent. 

[seniorscholar]

Look up the statement of academic freedom (written I think in 1939) which is somewhere on the AAUP website. This is the still-traditional meaning of the term, and it has to do with freedom of speech and opinion -- nothing whatever to do with writing your syllabus (except that it would let you include the Communist Manifesto and Mein Kampf for classroom study if appropriate to your subject), nothing to do with whether you can be let go at the end of a one-year or any other contract short of tenure, etc. People have come to misuse the term to mean whatever they want it to mean.

[retrenchment]

So I think that the ability to not rehire a teacher, without giving a reason, or having due process, deprives the students of something.

I'm not sure that I'd call that Academic Freedom.  The adjuncts teaching in my department (most teach 1-2 courses a semester, at most) could be *not rehired* for a number of reasons that have nothing to do with Academic Freedom and we wouldn't be required to give a reason.  We might have fewer students now and not need the additional section.  The person might have gotten low teaching evaluations.  

I guess I'm having a hard time understanding how Academic Freedom applies to positions that are by their very nature not permanent.  

Glad you asked. Both my and educator1's employer state (at least somewhere) that academic freedom is provided. But this may require a leap of faith, in some instances, if there is no way to determine that they have mistakenly overlooked their policy in support of it.
I can answer with questions.
Academic freedom: who is supposed to benefit from it? If not the students, then why is it an educational tool? Is it a job perk, or the right of the public to know what academics are thinking? Which students are having "non-permanent" instruction?
And how can you teach without exercising it?

[jonesey]

I think someone said it best when they said that there is no Constitutional right to academic freedom.  It's a job perk, but if you get fired over it you really don't have any recourse.  Sure, the AAUP will get upset, but so what?  They aren't going to get you your job back.

[olddrone]

Although OP’s question appears innocuous enough, one must first define what “academic freedom” is, indeed, and under what context.  Being able to present more than one view to our students, in an attempt to enhance their educational experience, should be part of academic freedom, right?  Not so fast.  It all depends.  What might be considered as academic freedom in public institutions might not pass as such in private institutions.  Consider the following Affirmation to Our Faith commandments, for example, and then try to bring “diversity” to your classroom, which might reveal, however inadvertently, your true religious/nonreligious orientation.  Don’t do it—unless you have another job. 

Mind you, this excerpt comes from the very one and the same institution that is allegedly “committed” to building “diversity.”

1. The Word of God
We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, fully inspired and without error in the original manuscripts, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and that it has supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.
2. The Trinity
We believe that there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons, that these are equal in every divine perfection, and that they execute distinct but harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence, and redemption.
3. God the Father
We believe in God, the Father, an infinite, personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love. We believe that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of each person, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.
4. Jesus Christ
We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, and teachings. We believe in His substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people, and personal visible return to earth.
5. The Holy Spirit
We believe in the Holy Spirit who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify, and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ. We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Christ, and that He is an abiding helper, teacher, and guide.
6. Regeneration
We believe that all people are sinners by nature and by choice and are, therefore, under condemnation. We believe that those who repent of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ as Savior are regenerated by the Holy Spirit.
7. The Church
We believe in the universal church, a living spiritual body of which Christ is the head and all regenerated persons are members. We believe in the local church, consisting of a company of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized on a credible confession of faith, and associated for worship, work, and fellowship. We believe that God has laid upon the members of the local church the primary task of giving the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world.
8. Christian Conduct
We believe that Christians should live for the glory of God and the well-being of others; that their conduct should be blameless before the world; that they should be faithful stewards of their possessions; and that they should seek to realize for themselves and others the full stature of maturity in Christ.
9. The Ordinances
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has committed two ordinances to the local church: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water into the name of the triune God. We believe that the Lord’s Supper was instituted by Christ for commemoration of His death. We believe that these two ordinances should be observed and administered until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
10. Religious Liberty
We believe that every human being has direct relations with God, and is responsible to God alone in all matters of faith; that each church is independent and must be free from interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority; that therefore church and State must be kept separate as having different functions, each fulfilling its duties free from dictation or patronage of the other.
11. Church Cooperation
We believe that local churches can best promote the cause of Jesus Christ by cooperating with one another in a denominational organization. Such an organization, whether a regional or district conference, exists and functions by the will of the churches. Cooperation in a conference is voluntary and may be terminated at any time. Churches may likewise cooperate with interdenominational fellowships on a voluntary basis.
12. The Last Things
We believe in the personal and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth and the establishment of His kingdom. We believe in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment, the eternal felicity of the righteous, and the endless suffering of the wicked.

[canuckois]

Great.  Now we have Christian spam.

[aslan78]

As a Christian who studied both religion and English in undergrad & grad school, I wouldn't ever apply to study or work at an institution that required the signing of a statement of faith. If I wrote or said anything that went against it, I could lose my job, my dissertation. It's the opposite of academic freedom.

Related to faith & academic freedom, as an adjunct at a public school, how much can I say about my own convictions? I would never proselytize, but if religion came up in discussion, in class or out of class, and I said what I believed, could I be terminated? or asked not to return? or would no one care?

[olddrone]

Personally, sir, I would play safe and try to avoid any revelation of my true belief/disbelief even under the most comfortable personal circumstance; invariably people expose their true color when they feel they are in their comfort zone, especially after a few drinks.  I have seen prominent people losing their jobs thanks to their lose lips in those circumstances.

Here is why: even if one works for a public institution, which tolerates academic freedom more than a straight-laced religious institution that disregards the separation of church and hate, consider the milieu of that school.  Where is it located?  What is the predominant religion in the region?  It can be located at the buckle of the Bible Belt, for instance, which means the people who will be renewing your contract might get the wind that you are “the other” in their imaginary battle, “Us against Them.”  Why reduce your odds?

In such circumstance, and when your evaluation hangs on balance, they COULD hire someone else (say, the choice is between a Muslim and a Christian, for instance) to replace you under the official pretext that “We have found someone else with better fit or someone who best meets the current needs of the institution.”  There are so many ways to discriminate people officially, legally, and with politeness.

When introducing “diversity” material in your classroom, make sure you always qualify by saying “According to this particular author’s view, which is not my personal” etc. because there could be overzealous students, watching your comments carefully, and many of them might not even know there is such a thing as Academic Freedom.  But they can relate to their parents, who could be Board Members or Department Chairs, this is what my Professor  Foreigner said, and he is a heathen, infidel,  liberal, or not one of us, etc.

Tread lightly and carefully, always being mindful about what is going on around you.

[isaacsweeney]

We all have academic freedom as long as weI don't say exactly how we feel or do things administrators don't like. ;)

[spinnaker]

We all have academic freedom as long as weI don't say exactly how we feel or do things administrators don't like. ;)

Not only administrators.

[kamal88]

 I think academic freedom depend on types of relationship between student and teachers. To make it easy teachers should be broad minded. They remember that a teacher is not only a guide, but also a good friend.