Georgia AAUP Weighs in on Commission for Public Higher Education's Plans for Accrediting USG Institutions

CSU faculty and staff recently heard from the Georgia chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) about the new accreditation group founded in part by the University System of Georgia and known as the Commission for Public Higher Education (CPHE). According to Georgia AAUP President Matthew Boedy, a professor of rhetoric and composition at the University of North Georgia, the CPHE is seeking feedback on the evidentiary guidance for its standards. This guidance will help peer reviewers as they visit campuses to evaluate institutions, and the institutions themselves as they aim to meet the standards. Two USG institutions, CSU and Georgia Southern University, are part of the first cohort of institutions to be evaluated by the CPHE. According to Boedy, the Georgia AAUP holds the view that the CPHE, as a “state run” accreditation group, is a threat to the long-standing traditions of independent accreditation and shared governance. The Georgia AAUP also believes the CPHE’s standard of “intellectual diversity” undermines the primacy of academic freedom in higher education.

The CPHE is looking for feedback by March 4. The Georgia AAUP offers its own guidance in providing this feedback, noting that the intellectual diversity standard and guidelines are redundant if institutions already have robust academic freedom standards. Moreover, if the CPHE deems it necessary to keep this standard, the section in its evidentiary guidance on faculty should be deleted. Conflating intellectual diversity in co-curricular and student activities with faculty research and teaching is misguided. According to the Georgia AAUP, the section on faculty can be met by tenure policies, academic freedom policies, and policies of shared governance. With regard to shared governance, the Georgia AAUP adds that the proposed guidelines and standards are sparse compared to SACS on purpose, and that while mentioning AAUP standards, they need more robust emphasis on the faculty's primary role in academic matters. The nature of any accreditation group statement on shared governance is often simplistic even when they cite AAUP standards, the Georgia AAUP concludes. Lastly, when it comes to the role of the state or university system in accreditation, the Georgia AAUP holds the position that because the CPHE is part and parcel of the state and its university systems, it needs more robust standards and guidance on how board members should exercise oversight through policy and not interfere with day-to-day operations, including decisions on faculty matters.