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Guidebooks
Collective Bargaining for Academic Freedom and Its Enforcement
The guidebook is designed to to assist collective bargaining chapters in protecting academic freedom on their campuses. It analyzes the content of collective bargaining agreement provisions closely linked to achieving strong and effective protection of academic freedom. These include provisions concerning protections for the full scope of the bargaining unit and enforcement of academic freedom protections in contexts such as reappointment, tenure and promotions, and disciplinary cases.The guidebook includes two appendices. The first appendix provides examples of strong CBA language that protects a broad scope of academic freedom for all faculty through effective enforcement measures. The second appendix provides a list of AAUP policy statements and AAUP reports that are useful and relevant in crafting CBA provisions that define and help to enforce academic freedom protections.
AAUP members can download this guidebook as a pdf at no cost; member login required. Download (.pdf).
The Family and Medical Leave Act
The AAUP receives many inquiries about the application of the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to faculty members at colleges and universities. To clarify how to apply the FMLA in academic settings, this guidebook is broken into sections in which specific mandates are introduced and explained through a series of questions and answers. The guidebook has been updated to reflect changes since the US Supreme Court's June 2013 decision striking down the Defense of Marriage Act.
AAUP members can download this guidebook as a pdf at no cost; member login required. Download (.pdf).
Pregnancy in the Academy
This guidebook explains how the Pregnancy Discrimination Act applies to women in the academic workplace and addresses such issues as the differences between pregnancy disability leave and family and medical leave; the application of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act in job interviews and the promotion and tenure process; and academic employees’ rights under the act. This guidebook, originally published in 2006, was revised and republished in 2016. Changes include updates to reflect additional protections for students and for spouses in same-sex marriages.
AAUP members can download this guidebook as a pdf at no cost; member login required. Download (.pdf).
Recommended Principles to Guide Academy-Industry Relationships
This book-length report, originally published by the AAUP Foundation, offers general advice on basic faculty intellectual property rights; mechanisms to ensure academic freedom in publishing; handling faculty and administrator conflicts of interest; and grievance procedures for faculty members, academic professionals, and students. An appendix provides language appropriate for inclusion in faculty handbooks and collective bargaining agreements.
Download the full report (.pdf)
Download just the summary of recommendations (.pdf)
See also our Faculty Handbooks Guide, which addresses the enforceability of faculty handbooks as contracts.