Skyline College Catalog 2011-2012 Program & course descriptions ...

I N T R O D U C T I O N6. Provide self-supporting community education classes,contract education and training, and related servicestailored to the human and economic development ofthe community; and7. Celebrate the community’s rich cultural diversity,reflect this diversity in student enrollment, promote it inits staff, and maintain a campus climate that supportsstudent success.To fulfill this educational mission, the District is committedto effective institutional research that supports the evaluationand improvement of programs, services, and stu -dent outcomes. Shared governance is practiced throughprocesses that are inclusive with regard to informationsharing and decision making, and that are respectful of allparticipants. The District plans, organizes, and developsits resources to achieve maximum effectiveness, efficien -cy, equity, and accountability.STATEMENT ON ACADEMICFREEDOMThe San Mateo County Community College District isdedicated to maintaining a climate of academic freedomencouraging the sharing and cultivation of a wide varietyof viewpoints. Academic freedom expresses our belief ininquiry, informed debate and the search for truth; aca -demic freedom is necessary in order to provide studentswith a variety of ideas, to encourage them to engage incritical thinking and to help them understand conflictingopinions.Academic freedom encompasses the freedom to study,teach, and express ideas, including unpopular or controversialones, without censorship or political restraint.Academic freedom, rather than being a license to door say whatever one wishes, requires professional com -petence, open inquiry and rigorous attention to the pursuitof truth.The District’s faculty have the right to express theirinformed opinions which relate, directly or indirectly, totheir professional activities, whether these opinions areexpressed in the classroom, elsewhere on campus or atcollege-related functions. Faculty have a responsibility todistinguish between personal conviction and professionallyaccepted views in the discipline. In a search for truthand in a context of reasoned academic debate, studentsalso have the right to express their opinions and to questionthose presented by others.Employment by the District does not in any way restrictor limit the First Amendment rights enjoyed by faculty asmembers of their communities. Faculty members are freeto speak and write publicly on any issue, as long as theydo not indicate they are speaking for the institution.Protecting academic freedom is the responsibility ofthe college community. Therefore, in a climate of open -ness and mutual respect, free from distortion and doc -trinal obligation, the District protects and encourages theexchange of ideas, including unpopular ones, which arepresented in a spirit of free and open dialogue and constructivedebate.10 w w w. S k y l i n e C o l l e g e . e d u 2011 – 2 012 C A T A L O G