LINK: DRAFT Policy J-500: Academic Freedom
Please submit your feedback on the proposed joint policy to Lindsey Kovacevic via email (lindsey.kovacevic@ubc.ca) no later than 5:00 p.m. on 13 June 2025.
Background
Academic freedom is one of the five core values of UBC. The current UBC Senate policy on academic freedom was endorsed in 1977 and adopted by the Okanagan Senate in 2005 when UBC Okanagan was established. While the policy served UBC well in general, the way that the University and its members support the academic freedom rights of individuals has been questioned in recent years.
There were calls to consider whether the current policy continued to meet current needs and whether it aligned with the University’s values, including inclusivity and respect. In the summer and fall of 2019, several speeches on the Vancouver campus by individuals who were not members of the UBC community raised concerns that the speakers were likely to convey messages that were not in keeping with the institution’s core value of respect towards different people, ideas and actions. One clause in the policy attracted particular attention in relation to controversial speakers: “This freedom extends not only to the regular members of the University, but to all who are invited to participate in its forum”.
In 2019, a request was made that the Senate policy be reviewed. The Vancouver Senate Academic Policy Committee struck the Academic Freedom Working Group. In its report to the Committee, the Working Group identified the need to, at the very least, rewrite the policy in the standard Senate policy format. This would require definition of terms in order to avoid ambiguities. That exercise further supported the need to reconsider several parts of the policy. In the interim, the UBC administration instituted a new, more rigorous process for assessing requests for the booking of UBC spaces that should preclude the most egregious cases of ideologically driven individuals being given a forum at UBC independent of a connection to the academic pursuits of members (Controversial Speakers). Thus, importantly, the draft policy sought to clarify what constitutes an “invited” speaker.
In 2022, the Academic Policy Committees of both campuses approved a draft for consultation which, in September and October 2022, was broadly circulated for consultation including via UBC Broadcast. This initial revision of the 1977 policy evoked polarized feedback during the consultation process. The Okanagan and Vancouver Academic Policy Committees agreed that the creation of a second working group would be the most effective way to analyze and address the feedback. This working group consisted of members of both Policy Committees and was charged with revising the initial consultation document in light of the feedback received. Through careful and in-depth consideration of the feedback and the core values of the University, the working group prepared a draft policy which went to both Senates in December 2024. Some members raised concerns that the version of the policy presented differed significantly from the version initially circulated for consultation. As a result, several senators requested additional time to review and comment on the updated draft. Additional feedback was received during the Senate meetings and the Senate Academic Policy Committees were given direction to consider the feedback and whether there should be any resulting changes to the policy.
Since the December 2024 meetings of the Senates, the Okanagan and Vancouver Senate Academic Policy Committees have convened jointly on four occasions to review and discuss proposed revisions to draft Policy J-500: Academic Freedom and its associated procedures. Between these meetings, representatives from both Committees and the Office of the Senate have engaged with several groups to gather feedback and guidance. These groups include the Office of the University Counsel, Human Resources, the Provosts, and external legal counsel.
Feedback provided by senators and the groups mentioned above has been carefully considered. In several cases, their input has resulted in changes to both the policy and its procedures. A supplementary document has been appended to the policy, outlining issues that have been raised since December.
Members of the UBC community are invited to submit their feedback to Lindsey Kovacevic at lindsey.kovacevic@ubc.ca by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, June 13. The Committees will review all feedback received, consider any further revisions, and return a final version of the policy to the Senates for approval in the fall. The draft policy and supplementary document can be found here.