POSTED BY HANK REICHMAN

The following is the text of a press statement released on Friday by the Purdue University chapter of the AAUP.  It is followed by the full text of the resolution passed by the chapter.

Members of Purdue University’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) passed a resolution at a special meeting Thursday night calling for an end to Purdue University Global’s unfair labor practices. Purdue University Global (PUG) is the new name of Kaplan University, a private, for-profit university acquired by Purdue last year. The acquisition of Kaplan by Purdue raised concerns among faculty on the West Lafayette campus, as the faculty was not invited to contribute their thoughts in advance of the decision.

Purdue University Global has recently come under fire nationally for requiring faculty members sign as a condition of employment a non-disclosure agreement containing a gag clause and language waiving the intellectual property rights of faculty to own their own original course content. Under pressure from the Indiana State Conference of the AAUP, Purdue University Global changed its policy on the non-disclosure agreement, but has not yet changed other policies of concern. These include requiring PUG students to consent to forced arbitration and giving up the right to a jury trial or being part of a class action lawsuit related to PUG, and the practice of prior restraint, where PUG faculty must report to the administration when they have been contacted by the media within 60 mins of that contact.

“We consider these intimidation practices that are designed to limit students’ access to a fair education and to limit faculty capacity for academic freedom and control of their work,” said AAUP-Purdue chapter member Bill Mullen, who brought the resolution to the chapter along with chapter member David Sanders. “While these may be commonplace practices in for-profit higher education, Purdue University administrators, the Board of Trustees, and the State of Indiana now consider PUG part of the Purdue University system, a not-for-profit educational system. These problematic practices should have no place in the Purdue University system, including in PUG, and their presence signals a devastating turn for higher education away from faculty governance and academic freedom for all our universities.”

At last night’s meeting, members passed unanimously the resolution condemning these PUG policies. Specifically, the resolution seeks to “to end the use forced arbitration agreements as a condition of student enrollment,” and “to end the use the use of prior restraint of faculty, including any requirement that infringes upon faculty to freely comment on any matter related to the university, including any matters of governance.”

Resolution regarding Purdue University Global
Purdue University AAUP Chapter

WHEREAS, it is the mission of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) to advance academic freedom and shared governance; to define fundamental professional values and standards for higher education; to promote the economic security of faculty, academic professionals, graduate students, post‐doctoral fellows, and all those engaged in teaching and research in higher education; to help the higher education community organize to make our goals a reality; and to ensure higher education’s contribution to the common good;

WHEREAS, it is the purpose of the Purdue University AAUP Chapter to serve as a faculty voice to advocate for and defend the rights of faculty and students associated with Purdue University;

WHEREAS the Purdue faculty was not invited to contribute in advance to the decision for Purdue University to acquire and partner with Kaplan to produce Purdue University Global, and have had little opportunity as a body to substantially discuss or vote on policies and practices already governing the work practices of faculty and students employed by or studying through Purdue Global;

WHEREAS, the Indiana Conference of the AAUP has strongly urged Purdue faculty to reject collaboration with Purdue University Global until it ends the use of forced arbitration as a condition of student enrollment and prior restraints;

WHEREAS, Purdue University Global has rescinded its use of nondisclosure agreements for faculty after increased public scrutiny and a successful public pressure campaign led by the Indiana Conference of the AAUP, but still requires students to consent to forced arbitration agreements as a condition of enrollment;

WHEREAS, new information has emerged showing that Purdue University Global is enforcing a system of prior restraint by requiring faculty to notify administration within sixty minutes of any contact with a media outlet;

BE IT RESOLVED that the AAUP chapter of Purdue University calls on Purdue University Global Board Chair Michael Burghoff, the Board of Trustees, and Chancellor Betty Vandenbosch to end the use of forced arbitration agreements as a condition of student enrollment; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the AAUP chapter of Purdue University calls on Purdue University Global Board Chair Michael Burghoff, the Board of Trustees, and Chancellor Betty Vandenbosch to end the use of prior restraint of faculty, including any requirement that infringes upon faculty to freely comment on any matter related to the university, including any matters of governance; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the AAUP chapter of Purdue University ask the Purdue University Senate to join us in calling for the end of forced arbitration and prior restraint, and non-disclosure agreements.

October 4, 2018.