2023 AAUP Updates

The AAUP joined the AFT in submitting two public comments on proposals made by the US Department of Education. We support the administration’s efforts to lower monthly payments for borrowers, decrease the time to forgiveness for many borrowers, increase the income threshold to qualify for $0 monthly payments, and stop negative amortization for borrowers who are on income driven repayment. But we urge the department to lower the discretionary income cap to 5 percent for all borrowers, including graduate and undergraduate borrowers, and to work to include Parent PLUS borrowers in their proposals.

The vindictive act of cutting graduate student healthcare and tuition benefits rather than simply sitting down at the table to negotiate is a shameful tactic meant to break the will of the hard-working graduate students whose contributions make Temple University the premier university it is.

The AAUP submitted testimony in opposition of a proposed bill in the North Dakota state legislature that would effectively end tenure at two higher education institutions, with the potential to extend the policy to all public colleges and universities in the state. This bill establishes a dangerous precedent that threatens academic freedom, tenure, and shared governance and further entrenches the politicization of higher education.

Today the AAUP published an investigative report on the summary suspension and dismissal of Dr. Mark McPhail, a tenured professor of communication at Indiana University Northwest. The investigating committee found that the administration disregarded AAUP-supported standards of academic due process and violated McPhail's academic freedom.

The AAUP has appointed a special committee to look into recent attacks on higher education in the state of Florida.

The AAUP condemns the decision made by the presidents of the Florida College System to re-evaluate course offerings in order to root out any content that promotes "critical race theory or related concepts such as intersectionality." The AAUP is prepared to take necessary action against the FCS, including investigation and censure.

The AAUP has launched an inquiry into the decision of Hamline University administrators not to rehire part-time instructor Erika López Prater after a Muslim student complained about López Prater's showing an Islamic painting of the Prophet Muhammad in an art history class. Since this decision raises central questions of academic freedom, a committee of inquiry will visit Hamline's campus in February to interview the affected parties. The committee will prepare a report of its findings for publication.

The AAUP joined the AFT and AFSCME in filing an amicus brief supporting the Biden administration's efforts toward student debt relief.