April 24, 2023 The unparalleled success of Collin College is guided by a commitment and focus to our colleges educational mission which is shaped by the policies approved by our own publicly elected Board of Trustees. While Collin College recognizes the long history of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) as an advocacy group and, now, as an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, the college has never adopted AAUPs standards, nor has tenure ever been offered at Collin College. Instead, we are guided by the standards set out in our own Board policies.
Since the onset of AAUPs cursory investigation into matters of tenure and academic freedom, Collin College has cooperated with AAUPs requests for additional resources and information, as we are firm in our conviction that all Board approved policies pertaining to academic freedom are consistently followed at the college, as are procedures for faculty contract renewals.
We are therefore disheartened to see AAUPs continued refusal to acknowledge the inherent responsibility of an institution to uphold both a set of academic duties and academic rights, according to its own specified policies, and that tenure and academic freedom are not unqualified privileges that can be extorted by external groups for their own purposes.
The faculty and staff of Collin College remain committed and focused on the many exceptional developments taking place here every day and are dedicated to the ongoing success of our students. There is no higher priority than our colleges educational mission, as is evidenced by our consistent ranking as one of the top performing community colleges in Texas and recognition as among the best employers in higher education in the country.