This course will treat selected topics in higher education and law. A recurring issue throughout the course will be the extent to which legal doctrines should be modified, if at all, in light of the arguably unique characteristics of colleges and universities. The course should therefore be valuable not just for students with particular interests in higher education and the law; it should also provide an opportunity for detailed study of various aspects of free speech, due process, affirmative action, and employment discrimination. The course will address the First Amendment rights of faculty and students, the relationship between free speech and academic freedom, campus regulations prohibiting “offensive” speech, affirmative action in higher education, tenure, contractual analysis of academic rights, employment discrimination in higher education, and “institutional” academic freedom.
Rabban, David M.