Charter

Adopted 1/2/2021 by the founding committee members

Revised 5/13/2022

 

Jeff Andelora, PhD

Dean of Instruction

Mesa Community College (retired)

Bettina Celis, M.S.

Interim Associate Vice Chancellor

Division of Academic and Student Affairs

Nick DeFalco, MSN, RN

Nursing Program Director

Residential Faculty, Nursing

Paradise Valley Community College

Laura Dulgar, MA

Dean of Student Affairs

Estrella Mountain Community College

Yvette Espinosa, MS

Residential Faculty, Biology

South Mountain Community College

Karla Fisher, PhD

Committee on Academic Freedom Co-chair

Provost (resigned)

Eddie Genna, JD, PhD

Committee on Academic Freedom Co-chair

Residential Faculty, Philosophy/Political Science

Phoenix College

Gail Haase, MEd, MA

District Adjunct Faculty Coordinator

Maricopa Center for Learning & Innovation

Mijolae Henley, MEd

Faculty Chair

Residential Faculty, Reading

Rio Salado College

Veronica Hipolito, MA

Vice President of Student Affairs

Chandler-Gilbert Community College

Erik Huntsinger, EdD

Faculty Director, Center for Teaching & Learning

Economics Residential Faculty

Estrella Mountain Community College

Eddie Lamperez, EdD

Dean of Instruction

Scottsdale Community College

Eric Leshinskie, EdD

Vice President of Academic Affairs

Paradise Valley Community College

Matthew Jolly, MFA

English Residential Faculty

GateWay Community College

Christine Moore, MA

Department Chair

Residential Library Faculty

Phoenix College

Patrice Nango, MA

Faculty Association President

Philosophy Residential Faculty

Mesa Community College (retired)

Sasha Radisich, PhD

Economics Residential Faculty

Glendale Community College

  1. 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.
       
  2. Leadership and Membership
    1. CAF is a cross-functional standing body comprising approximately:
      1. Nine (9) appointive-status residential faculty members
      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, and they may serve up to three consecutive two-year terms.  New members will be recommended by the co-chairs to CAF for approval cognizant of the subcommittee’s needs.
    5. Inaugural CAF members will be deemed to have started their terms in the 2020-2021 academic year.
       
  3. Subcommittees
    CAF shall manage its work primarily through the following subcommittees:
    1. Education and Training
    2. Academic Freedom Assistance
    3. Policy Review and Recommendation
       
  4. 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.
       
  5. 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.
     
  6. 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 the CAF. Recusal does not preclude that person from serving as a resource for those involved.
     
  7. Training for Committee Members
    CAF shall devote time at the beginning of 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.

  1. Function
    1. The Education and Training Committee (“ET”) shall be a standing subcommittee of the Committee on Academic Freedom (“CAF”).
    2. The 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. 
       
  2. Membership
    1. The ET will draw membership from the members of CAF on a volunteer basis.
    2. Although they will not be official members of the ET, the CAF co-chairs shall have a standing invitation to attend and participate in ET meetings.
    3. The ET shall always have both faculty and administrators in its membership.
    4. At its first meeting of each academic year the 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 the ET membership and CAF co-chairs at least 24 hours prior to each meeting.
      3. The Chair shall coordinate all work of the ET.
    5. The 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.
    6. At its first meeting of each academic year ET shall choose a Secretary for the Committee, selected and approved from its membership.
      1. The Secretary shall create minutes of ET’s meetings and share them with the members of CAF.
      2. The Secretary shall run ET meetings in the absence of the Chair.
         
  3. Authority
    1. The ET shall recommend to the CAF requirements, learning outcomes, and procedures for the education and training of MCCCD employees regarding Academic Freedom rights and responsibilities.
    2. Once the CAF approves these recommendations, the ET shall work in partnership with the Center for Employee and Organizational Development (“CEOD”), the Maricopa Center for Learning and Innovation (“MCLI”), the Centers for Teaching and Learning (“CTLs”), and/or other internal entities, to develop these education and training programs.
    3. Upon completion of their development, the ET shall assess the developed education and training programs.
      1. If the ET finds flaws in the developed programs, they will return to the internal entities to modify the proposed programs accordingly. 
      2. If the ET finds the developed programs satisfactory, the ET shall recommend them to the CAF for implementation.
         
  4. Meetings
    1. The Chair shall schedule at least one meeting per semester. The Chair may schedule additional meetings or create additional work product subcommittees on an ad hoc basis as the workload requires.

  1. Function
    1. The Academic Freedom Assistance committee (AFA) shall be a standing subcommittee of the CAF.
    2. Upon request by any affected party, the AFA may choose to offer dispute resolution assistance regarding alleged (non-hypothetical) violations of either the rights or the responsibilities associated with academic freedom.  AFA may choose to recommend ameliorative actions as needed.
    3. Results of all AFA rendered assistance shall be shared with the 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 the AFA shall inform the ET so that they may modify MCCCD training protocols to eliminate these deficiencies.
    5. AFA is a standing agenda item on the CAF monthly agendas in case there is a case or recommendation that needs to be discussed with the larger CAF and to provide a synopsis of any active/pending cases. The AFA subcommittee will determine if the case or recommendations need to be reviewed with the entire CAF body. The AFA will use an investigative process for determining if a case or recommendations need to be reviewed by CAF, considering each of the following criteria:
      * Do the recommendations affect a large constituency group?
      * Do the recommendations affect more than one college campus, more than one academic department/division, more than one discipline?
      * Do the recommendations result in district wide changes?
      * Do the recommendations impact employment status?
      Full consensus of the AFA subcommittee must be reached for the case/recommendations that do not go to CAF. 
      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 then this could warrant the initiation of further investigation that could lead to disciplinary action. These are the steps followed when initiating disciplinary action processes.
      1. AFA will bring a recommendation to the full CAF to refer the matter to the appropriate disciplinary investigative process. The full CAF will discuss all such recommendations.
      2. If the matter relates to a staff member, then CAF will consider initiating a Grievance as defined in Policy C-2 of the Staff Policy Manual. The full CAF will vote on whether or not to initiate that process.
      3. If the matter relates to a College President or another employee not covered under the Staff Policy Manual or Faculty Agreement, then CAF will consider initiating a Grievance as defined by section 20.3 of the Faculty Agreement. The full CAF will vote on whether or not to initiate that process.
      4. If the matter relates to a Faculty member, then CAF will consider initiating an Administrative Evaluation as defined in section 20.6 of the Faculty Agreement.  The faculty members serving on CAF will vote on whether or not to initiate that process.
    6. The final reports produced by the AFA subcommittee will be housed in a secure Google drive folder that only active members of the CAF have access to. 
       
  2. Membership
    1. As a cross-functional team representing faculty and administration, the AFA shall consist of seven members selected from the CAF as follows:
      1. Two administrators from different colleges
      2. One administrator from the District Office
      3. Three Faculty
      4. One faculty member who has served on either the Faculty Executive Council or one of its standing committees within the last three years
    2. In addition, the following person(s) may be consulted at the request of the AFA:
      1. Adjunct Faculty
      2. A faculty member solicited by the relevant Instructional Council(s) 
    3. All members of the AFA 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, but may serve no more than three terms in a row.
    5. At its first meeting of each academic year the AFA shall choose co-facilitators for the committee, 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 AFA 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 AFA meetings.
      4. The co-facilitators shall create minutes of the AFA meetings and share them with the members of the CAF. No confidential material shall be included in the AFA minutes.
         
  3. Authority
    1. The AFA co-facilitators shall own and maintain a form (known as the “Assistance Request 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. At its discretion, the AFA may recommend dispute resolution, request the initiation of a Grievance or Administrative Evaluation using the processes ensconced in the Staff Policy Manual and Faculty Agreement, or decide to take no action (and notify the requestor).
    2. At the beginning of each academic year the AFA co-facilitators shall contact both the Chancellor’s Executive Council and Faculty Executive Council requesting that they inform the AFA co-facilitators of any disputes regarding academic freedom in the District as they unfold. They shall request the college Presidents to disseminate this information to their Vice Presidents, and they shall ask FEC to disseminate this information to their faculty Senates.
       
  4. Meetings
    1. The AFA 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 Assistance Request Form 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. Subcommittees shall keep all AFA members well-informed of their progress by sharing updates prior to DR meetings in order to preserve meeting time for shared work, strategizing, and problem-solving.
    3. At least once per semester the AFA shall hold a case study group training for its members.
    4. Decisions to begin an investigation shall require a majority agreement of the members of the AFA. All decisions shall be made by consensus through an IBN process.

  1. Function
    1. The Policy Review and Recommendation Committee (“R&R”) shall be a standing subcommittee of the CAF.
    2. The R&R shall review all official policies, regulations, and procedures of the District to ensure that they properly operationalize the spirit of academic freedom as defined by the CAF.
    3. Upon request by any interested party, the R&R may choose to review the charters or bylaws of any college- or department-level organizations for compliance with our standards of academic freedom.
       
  2. Membership
    1. The R&R shall consist of at least four members selected from the CAF.
      1. At least one member shall be residential faculty.
      2. At least one member shall be from administration.
    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 chairs shall nominate the members to fill all vacancies in the R&R, and the CAF shall confirm those nominees.
    3. At its first meeting of each academic year the R&R shall choose a Chair for the Committee, selected and approved from its membership.
      1. The Chair shall run the meetings of the R&R.
      2. The Chair shall create the agendas for the R&R meetings.
      3. The Chair shall report back on the R&R’s progress and recommendations to the CAF.
      4. The Chair shall be the primary point of contact for CAF and outside employee requests from the R&R. 
    4. At its first meeting of each academic year the R&R shall choose a Secretary for the Committee, selected and approved from its membership.
      1. The Secretary shall create minutes of the R&R’s meetings and share them with the members of the CAF.
      2. The Secretary shall run R&R meetings in the absence of the Chair.
         
  3. Authority
    1. At the beginning of each academic year the R&R Chair shall contact the faculty members serving on the Administrative Regulations Committee and the FACT Committee requesting that they keep the R&R Chair informed of any upcoming policy changes that might have academic freedom implications.
      1. The R&R 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 the FACT or Administrative Regulation committee fails to heed the R&R’s recommendation to correct an academic freedom deficiency in their proposed policy changes, the R&R shall vote on how to proceed.
        1. If the deficiency is deemed sufficiently minor, the R&R shall alert the CAF and the Faculty Executive Council of the ongoing problem and recommend ameliorative action when possible.
        2. If the deficiency is deemed sufficiently severe, the R&R shall alert the 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. The R&R shall have a two-year overarching agenda to review both the entire existing FACT agreement and the District’s entire existing Administrative Regulations to ensure that they remain in compliance with the current understanding of Academic Freedom.
      1. In academic years where the Fall semester is in an odd calendar year, the R&R shall review the FACT document. In academic years where the Fall semester is in an even calendar year, the R&R shall review the Administrative Regulations.
      2. If the R&R finds any deviations from the current understanding of best practices under the umbrella of academic freedom, then the R&R Chair shall inform the 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 the CAF shall then pass these findings on to the relevant policy-amending body with a request to amend current policies.
         
  4. Meetings 
    1. The R&R 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 FACT and the Administrative Regulations, monitoring changes for potential academic freedom violations.
      3. The committee shall evaluate a portion of the year’s target documentation in a timely fashion in order to complete the biannual review.
    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.