Charter

Function

1. The MCCCD Committee on Academic Freedom (CAF) was formed in May 2020 and charged with providing academic freedom education and training, serving as a source of expertise for collegial dispute resolution, and promoting a culture conducive to academic freedom and freedom of expression.
2. CAF’s success implicitly demands committee membership that includes individuals serving in various administrative and faculty roles, from a wide range of colleges and perspectives, all working in a collaborative and open-minded fashion to achieve its purpose.

Leadership and Membership

1. CAF is a cross-functional standing body comprising approximately:
   1. Nine (9) appointive-status residential faculty members and
   2. Seven (7) administrators.
2. At no time shall the number of administrators exceed the number of appointive-status residential faculty members serving on CAF.
3. CAF is co-chaired by the Provost and one faculty member elected by CAF members from its membership. The faculty co-chair serves a two-year term; CAF membership may elect the faculty co-chair to serve up to three consecutive two-year terms as co-chair.
4. CAF members will serve two-year terms. New members will be recommended by the co-chairs to CAF for approval, cognizant of the subcommittees’ needs.
5. Members are expected to:
   1. Commit to the principles of American academic freedom,
   2. Regularly attend meetings,
   3. Be fully engaged, and
   4. Maintain the confidentiality of all meetings.
6. The co-chairs will address members who are not meeting expectations. If the co-chairs both agree that a member is no longer able to meet expectations, the co-chairs may remove that member from CAF.

Subcommittees

CAF shall manage its work primarily through the following subcommittees:

1. Education and Training
2. Academic Freedom Assistance
3. Policy Review and Recommendation

Charter Approval and Amendments

1. This charter shall take effect upon approval by the Chancellor.
2. Amendments to this charter may be offered by any member of CAF, and with due consideration may be approved by CAF to go into effect at a time of its choosing.
3. As references to policies change over time, or grammatical errors are detected, it is within the authority of the CAF co-chairs to amend references to policies or correct grammar errors to keep this document updated. These changes will only be of a non-substantive nature and will not need to be approved through the regular amendment process. 

Decision-making Process

CAF and its subcommittees commit to practicing interest-based decision-making to reach consensus. If after sustained effort consensus proves to be infeasible, simple majority rule decision-making will be used. 

Recusal

Any member of CAF may recuse themselves from discussion and/or voting for any reason. When there are clear conflicts of interest, they will do so as a matter of course. If a CAF member is unsure of whether or not their involvement constitutes a conflict of interest, they will seek guidance from CAF. Recusal does not preclude that person from serving as a resource for those involved. 

Training for Committee Members

New members to CAF shall participate in an onboarding process led by CAF leadership to introduce them to the principles of academic freedom.

CAF shall devote time throughout each academic year to training for its members. Training topics may vary based on the needs of the current CAF members; at a minimum, training should ensure that all members have strong familiarity with:

1. academic freedom,
2. IBN / conflict resolution, and
3. all relevant District policies for faculty and for employees.

Function

1. The Education and Training Committee (ET) shall be a standing subcommittee of CAF.
2. ET shall plan, develop, and implement appropriate education and training on academic freedom and related issues necessary for all constituencies to acquire a practical understanding of academic freedom rights and responsibilities. This training may include individual or small group tutorials by request or to assist those recommended by the Academic Freedom Assistance subcommittee.

Membership

1. ET will draw membership from the members of CAF on a volunteer basis.
2. Although they will not be official members of ET, CAF co-chairs shall have a standing invitation to attend and participate in ET meetings.
3. ET shall always have both faculty and administrators in its membership.
4. At its first meeting of each academic year ET shall choose a Chair, selected from its membership and approved by a majority vote.
   1. The Chair shall establish the schedule for all ET meeting dates.
   2. The Chair shall establish the agenda for ET meetings and share the agenda with ET membership and CAF co-chairs at least 24 hours prior to each meeting.
   3. The Chair shall coordinate all work of ET.
5. ET shall have the following expectations for its members:
   1. Members shall review agendas prior to meetings.
   2. Members shall contribute to committee work and activities.
   3. Members shall attend all committee meetings unless they notify the ET Chair in advance.

Authority

1. ET shall recommend to CAF requirements, learning outcomes, and procedures for the education and training of MCCCD employees regarding Academic Freedom rights and responsibilities.
2. Once CAF approves these recommendations, ET shall work in partnership with the Center for Employee and Organizational Development (CEOD), the Maricopa Center for Learning and Innovation (MCLI), the colleges’ Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTLs), and/or other internal entities, to develop these education and training programs.
3. Upon completion of their development, ET shall assess the developed education and training programs.
   1. If ET finds flaws in the developed programs, they will work with the partner to modify the proposed programs accordingly.
   2. If ET finds the developed programs satisfactory, ET shall recommend them to CAF for implementation.

Meetings

1. The Chair shall typically schedule one meeting per month during the academic year. The Chair may cancel meetings, schedule additional meetings, or create additional work product subcommittees on an ad hoc basis as the workload requires.

Function

1. The Academic Freedom Assistance Committee (AFAC) shall be a standing subcommittee of CAF.
2. Upon request by any affected party, AFAC may choose to offer dispute resolution assistance regarding alleged (non-hypothetical) violations of either the rights or the responsibilities associated with academic freedom. AFAC may choose to recommend ameliorative actions as needed.
3. Results of all AFAC rendered assistance shall be shared with CAF. If an inquiry reveals violations that may require disciplinary action then that case will be discussed with the entire CAF.
4. If an inquiry reveals groups of employees with important deficiencies in their understanding of academic freedom, then AFAC shall inform ET so that they may modify MCCCD training protocols to eliminate these deficiencies. They may also recommend to ET that specialized training is needed for certain employees.
5. AFAC shall have a standing Information item on the CAF monthly agendas to discuss cases or recommendations as needed and to provide a synopsis of any active/pending cases. AFAC will determine if cases or recommendations need to be reviewed with the entire CAF body. AFAC will use an investigative process for determining if cases or recommendations need to be reviewed by CAF, considering each of the following criteria:
   1. Do the recommendations affect a large constituency group?
   2. Do the recommendations affect more than one college, more than one academic department/division, and/or more than one discipline?
   3. Do the recommendations result in districtwide changes?
   4. Do the recommendations impact employment status?
6. Full consensus of AFAC must be reached for cases/recommendations that do not go to CAF.
7. CAF’s purpose is to provide recommendations and resources when it receives a Request for Assistance. If an investigation implies a policy violation, or some form of punitive action, or if recommendations are not completed/followed through, this could warrant the initiation of further investigation that could lead to disciplinary action. These are the steps followed when recommending the initiation of disciplinary action processes.
   1. AFAC will bring a recommendation to CAF to refer the matter to the appropriate disciplinary investigative process. CAF must approve all such recommendations.
   2. If the matter relates to a staff member, then CAF will consider recommending that the claimant (or aggrieved party) initiates a grievance as defined in the Staff Policy Manual. CAF will vote on whether or not to recommend that process.
   3. If the matter relates to a College President or another employee not covered under the Staff Policy Manual or the Residential Faculty Agreement, then CAF will consider recommending that the claimant (or aggrieved party) initiate a grievance as defined by section 20.3 of the Residential Faculty Agreement. CAF will vote on whether or not to recommend that process.
   4. If the matter relates to a Full-Time Faculty member, then CAF will consider recommending that the claimant (or aggrieved party) initiate a Peer Review Investigation as defined in the Residential Faculty Agreement. The CAF will vote on whether or not to recommend that process.
8. The final reports produced by AFAC will be housed in a secure shared drive folder that only active members of CAF have access to. An anonymized version of the final reports will be published on the District’s academic freedom website as case studies.

Membership

1. As a cross-functional team representing faculty and administration, AFAC shall consist of seven members selected from CAF as follows:
   1. Two administrators from different colleges,
   2. One administrator from the District Office,
   3. Three Residential Faculty, and
   4. One additional faculty member who has served on either the Faculty Executive Council or a College Faculty Senate within the last three years.
2. In addition, witnesses or subject matter experts may be consulted at the request of AFAC.
3. All members of AFAC shall be non-probationary employees with training in conflict resolution (IBN) and a working knowledge of academic freedom.
4. Members shall serve two-year renewable terms.
5. At its first meeting of each academic year AFAC shall choose co-facilitators, selected and approved from its membership.
   1. The co-facilitators shall schedule meetings, determine meeting locations, and send out meeting invitations.
   2. The co-facilitators shall work with AFAC members to create meeting agendas which will be informed by CAF decisions and will reflect overall CAF priorities and strategies.
   3. The co-facilitators shall preside over all AFAC meetings.
   4. The co-facilitators shall create minutes of the AFAC meetings and share them with the members of CAF. No confidential material shall be included in the AFA minutes.

Authority

1. The AFAC co-facilitators shall own and maintain a form (known as the “Request for Assistance Form”) located on the Maricopa Academic Freedom website where any interested party may allege violations of, or seek guidance regarding, academic freedom rights or responsibilities. If AFAC determines that a Request for Assistance deals primarily with problems within existing policy, they may refer the issue to the CAF Policy Review and Recommendation subcommittee.
2. At the beginning of each academic year the AFAC co-facilitators shall contact both the Shared Governance Executive Council and Faculty Executive Council requesting that they inform the AFAC co-facilitators of any disputes regarding academic freedom in the District as they unfold. They shall request that the college Presidents disseminate this information to their Vice Presidents, and they shall ask FEC to disseminate this information to their faculty Senates.

Meetings

1. AFAC shall hold regular meetings once per month. In these meetings:
   1. The committee shall set priorities and strategies for achieving its purpose.
   2. The committee shall plan and execute tasks for evaluating Request for Assistance submissions.
   3. The committee shall review problems and solve them collectively.
   4. The committee shall consult with stakeholders regarding academic freedom.
2. The committee may choose to hold additional meetings or to create subcommittees to perform necessary work outside of the regular meeting hours.
   1. Subcommittees shall keep all AFAC members well-informed of their progress by sharing updates prior to AFAC meetings in order to preserve meeting time for shared work, strategizing, and problem-solving.
3. Decisions to begin an investigation shall require a majority agreement of the members of AFAC. All decisions shall be made by consensus through an IBN process.

Function

1. The Policy Review and Recommendation Committee (PRR) shall be a standing subcommittee of CAF. 
2. PRR shall review changes to all official policies, regulations, and procedures of the District to ensure that they properly operationalize the spirit of academic freedom as defined by CAF.
3. Upon request by any interested party, PRR may choose to review the governing documents of any college- or department-level organizations for compliance with our standards of academic freedom.
4. PRR will anonymize official AFAC final reports for publication.

Membership

1. PRR shall consist of at least four members selected from CAF.
   1. At least one member shall be a Residential Faculty member.
   2. At least one member shall be an administrator.
2. Members shall serve for two-year renewable terms.
   1. Membership terms shall be staggered so that at least two terms expire each year.
   2. Terms shall begin immediately after the first CAF meeting of the year.
   3. The CAF co-chairs shall nominate the members to fill all vacancies in PRR, and CAF shall confirm those nominees.
3. At its first meeting of each academic year PRR shall choose a Chair for the Committee, selected and approved from its membership.
   1. The Chair shall run the meetings of PRR.
   2. The Chair shall create the agendas for the PRR meetings.
   3. The Chair shall report back on PRR’s progress and recommendations to CAF.
   4. The Chair shall be the primary point of contact for CAF and outside employee requests from PRR.
4. At its first meeting of each academic year PRR shall choose a Secretary for the Committee, selected and approved from its membership.
   1. The Secretary shall create minutes of PRR’s meetings and share them with the members of CAF.
   2. The Secretary shall run PRR meetings in the absence of the Chair.

Authority

1. At the beginning of each academic year the PRR Chair shall contact the faculty members serving on the Common Pages Committee and the Residential Faculty and Administration Collaboration Team (RFACT), requesting that they keep the PRR Chair informed of any upcoming policy changes.
   1. PRR shall review all proposed policy changes on an ongoing basis and recommend to the faculty representatives any alterations necessary for compliance with academic freedom.
   2. If RFACT or the Common Pages Committee fails to heed PRR’s recommendation to correct an academic freedom deficiency in their proposed policy changes, PRR shall vote on how to proceed.
      1. If the deficiency is deemed sufficiently minor, PRR shall alert CAF and the Faculty Executive Council of the ongoing problem and recommend ameliorative action when possible.
      2. If the deficiency is deemed sufficiently severe, PRR shall alert CAF of the issue and ask that they recommend to an appropriate Senior Council of the District that they move to block the implementation of the proposed changes.
2. PRR shall have a primary agenda to review changes in or requests for evaluation of both the Residential Faculty Agreement and the District’s Administrative Regulations to ensure that they remain in compliance with the current understanding of academic freedom.
   1. If PRR finds any deviations from the current understanding of best practices under the umbrella of academic freedom, then the PRR Chair shall inform CAF of their findings, along with recommended changes to the policy language that will align that document with the principles of academic freedom. The co-chairs of CAF shall then pass these findings on to the relevant policy-amending body with a request to amend current policies.

Meetings

1. PRR shall hold regular meetings once per month. In these meetings:
   1. The committee shall vote on all requests from interested parties on whether or not to review the requested regulations.
   2. The committee shall evaluate ongoing amendments to the Residential Faculty Agreement and the Administrative Regulations, monitoring changes for potential academic freedom violations.
2. If the workload requires it, the committee may choose to hold additional meetings or to create subcommittees to perform necessary work outside of the regular meeting hours.