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Peachy keen reforms
The University System of Georgia is praised in ACTA's new report, Protecting the Free Exchange of Ideas, for the exemplary actions it has taken in the past two years to promote intellectual diversity. As the report mentions, the USG Board of Regents commissioned a scientific survey of students, which asked them about the intellectual climate on their campus, and each of the university system's 35 campuses also reviewed its grievance policies. Called out for particular commendation is Fort Valley State University, whose revised policies struck us as some of the best we have seen.
These efforts at ensuring a vibrant intellectual environment on the Peach State's public campuses are notable for several reasons. First and foremost is the survey of the campus climate. As our report notes, such a survey "can provide crucial baseline information for trustees." And this one did: It showed that only 36.1 percent of students strongly agreed that they felt able to discuss important issues freely in class -- not an apocalyptic finding, but not a number as high as it should be at a university, of all places. Second, the university system didn't stop there: The policy review included an honest assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of each campus' grievance procedures and resulted in concrete steps to improve them. Third, the USG deserves credit for responding to substantial public interest in the free exchange of ideas, as seen in an informational hearing called by the state House of Representatives and ACTA's 2008 report card.
As we say in Protecting the Free Exchange of Ideas, all of this "offers a model for institutions across the country." We will talk more about this in November at ACTA's ATHENA Roundtable, where one of our panelists will be Georgia state representative Tom Rice -- who was one of the driving forces behind the informational hearing back in 2007.
Posted by Charles Mitchell on June 19, 2009 at June 19, 2009 12:51 PM
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