Faculty members in public universities could be disciplined or fired, even those with tenure, if they are found to fall short of the new requirements.

Alice Pawley, a professor of engineering education at Purdue University, said that many faculty members in Indiana were angered by the new restrictions, and that “nobody trusts that this is actually going to be fairly applied.” Many felt discouraged about their job security, believing it would be at the mercy of trustees who are not experts in their fields and would be making decisions on the basis of highly subjective criteria, Dr. Pawley said.

  • @BrianTheeBiscuiteer
    45•3 months ago

    This statement from the sponsor is worth the read: https://www.indianasenaterepublicans.com/deery-higher-education-reform-bill-passes-senate

    An excerpt:

    Deery said the worry is backed by multiple surveys. Gallup observed that the percentage of Republicans who have confidence in higher education fell 37 percentage points from 2015 to 2023 with only 19% of Republicans now trusting universities. In 2018, the Pew Research Center found that “professors bringing their political and social views into the classroom” was the leading cause of the decline in approval, cited by 79% of Republicans.

    This is literally a bill about forcing “conservative viewpoints” into the classroom based on the opinions of people that probably didn’t go to college and learn everything about liberal teaching bias from right-wing talk radio.

    • @[email protected]
      14•3 months ago

      “I know exactly what’s going on in those classrooms!” - someone who’s never set foot in those classrooms

    • @whereisk
      1•3 months ago

      I guess my only question is what is that 19% doing being part of a party that doesn’t trust expertise.