Philosophy Academic tenure and academic freedom are considered essential for the proper development of a university. Their function is to protect the institution from unwarranted interference by external groups and to insure the retention of the services of the university intellectual community.
Academic freedom is the unqualified right of every member of the faculty and all students.
It includes freedom in research and publication as well as in the classroom. Its goal is to allow the teacher or student to be free from institutional censorship or discipline, but also imposes on its recipients a responsibility for both their own views and those of the institution. Tenure is a means for securing both academic freedom and for establishing a sufficient degree of economic security to make teaching at the collegiate level a profession attractive to men and women of ability. Promotion exists separately but integrated with these two ideas. Promotion is the method by which the university offers recognition to faculty for demonstrated accomplishments.