Although some consider electronic publishing to be the wave of the future, publishers must first build an infrastructure of citations, copyrights, authentication, and preservation to make it work well. Consistency is a crucial consideration in making information and documents accessible, and significant resources must be dedicated to archiving…

Asserts that for universities to avoid the growing possibility of lawsuits, tenure evaluation procedures must be clear and fair. Provides suggestions to reduce the likelihood of litigation and to increase the institution's chance of success in a lawsuit. (EV)

In trying to formulate rules governing financial exigency, professors and administrators alike should adhere to the basic ideas of the AAUP guidelines, thus affirming the values of the tenure system yet retaining the flexibility to respond intelligently to deteriorating financial circumstances. (MSE)

The uncertainty of the tax treatment of faculty accepting a temporary visiting position that becomes indefinite is discussed, and related issues including salary differentials, salary types such as fellowships, traveling and living expenses, home residence considerations, and related tax benefits are outlined. (MSE)

Two views of the future of peer review for college and university faculty promotion are presented. One proposes that open files will mean less candid peer reviews and that evaluators may be called on to defend their evaluations in court. The second argues that openness has not led to increased litigation. (MSE)

Looks at the history of fair use of copyright-protected works, from concerns about photocopying to emergence of early guidelines, opposition, and continuing struggles to interpret the Copyright Act of 1976. Argues that no current fair use guidelines have the force of law; indeed, the law is a less complex measure than most guidelines. Recommends a…

Increased appreciation of the commercial value of intellectual property has triggered a major debate on college campuses, focusing on two issues: ownership of intellectual property and use of copyrighted works in teaching and research. Because these raise faculty-rights issues, faculty must identify its claims and interests clearly and make itself…

A 1998 court decision ruled that a recent Virginia law requiring official approval for state employees to put materials with "sexually explicit content" on the Internet was unconstitutional. However, the extent to which the First Amendment will protect academic freedom in cyberspace in this case and for other issues is not clear. (MSE)

The American Association of University Professors' (AAUP) expanded participation on behalf of faculty in court litigation is outlined for seven areas: free speech and academic freedom, collective bargaining, use of AAUP standards, financial exigency, governance, employment discrimination, and confidentiality of tenure votes and evaluations. (MSE)

Discusses "National Labor Relations Board v. Yeshiva University," which ruled that college faculty were managers and thereby excluded from collective bargaining, focusing on why the Supreme Court classified professors as managers, whether the Court did something unusual in this case, or whether faculty is simply the unlucky vanguard of a…

Intellectual property questions, as they concern college faculty, are composed of many issues and have substantial and far-reaching implications for the work of faculty and students and for administrative decision making. Both faculty and the American Association of University Professors must become involved to guard against incursions of academic…

Describes concerns within the academic community on the use of collegiality as a factor in decisions concerning faculty employment, promotion, tenure, and termination. Such concerns include discrimination and stifling of dissent. Discusses how courts have decided in favor of universities in almost every discrimination case in which collegiality…

Legal and educational aspects of the debate over religious expression entering the college classroom are examined, particularly as they relate to inclusion of creationism into science instruction. It is concluded that the central question is not whether creationism is religious, but whether it is true, and that truth benefits from open debate over…

Although a casual analysis might suggest that a faculty member cannot afford a two-term sabbatical leave, factors affecting income loss from sabbaticals have changed. These include an increase in the number of two-income households, general increases in salary levels, and substantial revisions in federal tax law. Income loss from sabbaticals,…

The statement of the American Association of University Professors' Special Committee on Distance Education and Intellectual Property addresses the rights and responsibilities of faculty, institutions, and third parties in the current volatile, highly entrepreneurial environment of distance education. A statement on copyrights is included. (MSE)