Bill Is Another Attack on Higher Education, Academic Freedom, And Tenure Under the Guise of “Accountability”

Ohio Professors Strongly Oppose HB 698

The American Association of University Professors- Ohio Conference (OCAAUP) strongly opposes HB 698. The bill is an attempt to address a problem that does not exist. In doing so, HB 698 imposes exorbitant unfunded mandates on colleges and universities and further erodes academic freedom and tenure.

“This bill is another attack on higher education; it’s not about accountability.  It’s nonsensical to claim non-compliance when the ink is barely dry on SB 1,” Jennifer Tisone Price, OCAAUP Executive Director, said. “Even the sponsor of SB 1 said HB 698 isn’t necessary.”

Price explained that most SB 1 policies were not required to be adopted by boards of trustees until Dec. 31, 2025. She said the deadline for the SSI compliance report, which is the existing mechanism by which the Chancellor of the Board of Higher Education can withhold funds, is even more notable. That report wasn’t due until Feb. 1, 2026—less than two weeks before HB 698 was introduced.

“This bill is not about accountability. There is a clear pattern of this legislature introducing bills that erode public education rather than strengthen it. Higher education has long been a proven pathway to economic mobility and opportunity, particularly for working families and first-generation students. They should be supporting and investing in it.”

OCAAUP also firmly disputes the sponsor’s claim that HB 698 does not impose new restrictions or prohibitions than what was included in SB 1. Price pointed out that the bill includes numerous provisions that are intended to further erode academic freedom and tenure and to micromanage things like workload policies.

“HB 698 includes nearly five pages of new language around retrenchment,” Price said. “This bill basically gives boards of trustees absolute authority to initiate retrenchment for any reason and use it to destroy tenure protections and further erode academic freedom.”

Price said the retrenchment provisions of the bill make it easy for boards of trustees to sacrifice education to appease powerful special interests, partisan politics, or the influence of large donors. She said the bill goes so far as to specifically prohibit things like positive performance reviews in retrenchment decisions.

“One would think that universities would want to keep top teaching talent and researchers,” Price said. “The focus should be on making sure they retain professors who repeatedly receive outstanding student evaluations and peer reviews; are nationally recognized experts in their fields; enhance the school’s academic reputation, and bring in millions of dollars in research funding.”

In addition to the anti-education provisions of the bill, OCAAUP takes issue with the DEI provisions of the bill and the targeting, tracking, and scrutiny of certain categories of employees. Price noted HB 698 requires universities to publish “justification reports” naming, detailing the responsibilities of, and disclosing the salaries of employees who previously worked on diversity initiatives.

“When lawmakers targeted programs that have historically employed minorities, as they did with SB 1, it raised serious concerns about equity and fairness. HB 698 requires the singling out specific categories of employees for special scrutiny and basically puts them on a watch list which raises serious constitutional questions,” Price said.

OCAAUP is concerned about the costs associated with the unfunded mandates and compliance measures. Price said SB 1 compliance is costing colleges and universities tens of millions of dollars and HB 698 will significantly increase them.

“Investing in education and instruction would be an exponentially better use of taxpayer dollars than ideologically driven unfunded mandates. Supporters of HB 698 are pricing working families out of a college education. Why are legislators trying to make it even harder for parents to send their kids to college?”

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Ohio’s Legislators Must Stop Attacking Higher Education!

Ohio’s public colleges and universities are under attack–AGAIN– and the people who will pay the price are students, workers, and communities across the state. House Bill 698 doubles down on a troubling pattern of legislation designed to politicize higher education, single out employees, and erode the academic freedom that makes our institutions worth attending. If you believe Ohio’s future depends on strong, independent public universities—free from political interference—we urge you to add your name to this petition and call on the Ohio General Assembly to reject HB 698.

Click HERE to sign the petition.

One of the most misunderstood concepts in higher education is tenure. No, it’s not a job for life. Yes, it is fundamental to safeguarding academic freedom.

Does tenure guarantee a job for life?
Tenure is not a guarantee of lifetime employment but rather a protection of academic freedom and a guarantee of due process. In terms of tenure, it means a professor cannot be dismissed for arbitrary reasons, such as departmental politics or disagreement with an administrator. Just like in other professions, termination can occur due to just cause such as misconduct or incompetence as well as a severe financial crisis at the college or university, or program elimination.

Tenure is also not a one and done achievement; there is continuous evaluation. Tenured professors receive performance reviews to support continued professional development, maintain high standards, and identify areas for improvement or remedial steps if performance is lacking.

Why is tenure important?
The principal purpose of tenure is safeguarding academic freedom, the foundation upon which the pursuit and transfer of knowledge is built and the common good is advanced. Tenure protects academic freedom by insulating faculty from the whims and biases of administrators, legislators, and donors, which allows them to contribute to the common good through teaching, research, and service activities. In short, this freedom is the right to teach, research, and publish ideas—even controversial ones—without the fear of institutional retaliation or job loss.

Tenure helps create an environment where scholars can, in good faith, pursue cutting edge research, exchange and challenge ideas, and reach evidence-based conclusions unimpeded by the threat of arbitrary dismissal. At its best, the tenure system is a big tent, designed to unite a diverse faculty within a system of common professional values, standards, rights, and responsibilities.

Do all professors have tenure?
No, there are fewer tenured professors today than at nearly any other time in history. Only about 32 percent of faculty members in the U.S. hold full time tenure or tenure track appointments. Colleges and universities have moved to using contingent or adjunct faculty which means they are not eligible for tenure.

Some argue this is for cost cutting purposes as non-tenure positions traditionally have lower salaries but that argument quickly falls flat since the hiring of administrators with bloated salaries skyrocketed during this same time period. There are now three times as many administrators and other professionals, basically non-teaching positions, as there are professors according to Forbes.

How does a professor earn tenure?
First, a professor must be hired for a position that offers tenure as most faculty positions are non-tenured. Professors must go through a rigorous multi-year process—typically 6-7 years—to be eligible to earn tenure. There are slight differences in timeframe by university. But all tenure track professors will be continuously reviewed during this time and ultimately must be able to demonstrate excellence in teaching, research and scholarship, and service. Basically, a tenure track professor spends the first part of their career in a very long probationary period.

• Research and Scholarship: Publishing original work in peer-reviewed journals or books and securing external research grants.
• Teaching: Demonstrating excellence in the classroom through student evaluations, peer reviews, and innovative curriculum development.
• Service: Contributing to the university and the broader academic community via committee work, advising students, and reviewing for journals.

Toward the end of the multi-year probationary period, the university will solicit independent evaluations from recognized experts in the person’s field at other universities. The dossier or body of work that they have compiled, will then be reviewed and voted upon within the university through a multi-level approval process which usually includes the department, the dean, the provost and ultimately the board of trustees as it is a binding long-term contract between the university and the professor.

Tenure is very much an “up or out” process. If a professor does not earn tenure within their multi-year “probationary” period, they are terminated. Clearly, tenure is not easily earned and it is worthy of protection.

No, it isn’t indoctrination. It’s not opinion.  And, it’s not brainwashing.
But those are convenient myths when facts don’t support powerful special interests or politics.

Academic freedom is essential to higher education. It ensures that the pursuit and transfer of knowledge are not hindered by powerful special interests, partisan politics, or the influence of large donors. By protecting independent teaching, learning, and research, academic freedom safeguards the integrity of colleges and universities and strengthens their ability to serve the public good.

What Academic Freedom Means
Academic freedom means that subject matter experts are responsible for developing course content and materials, designing assignments that support knowledge-building, and assessing student academic performance based on established academic standards.

It supports a classroom environment where ideas can be openly exchanged and rigorously tested through discussion and debate. Faculty must be able to address current topics and issues relevant to their discipline, consistent with professional standards and ethical responsibilities. Academic freedom is not, and never has been, a license to offer personal opinions on any topic. Rather, it protects the ability of educators to teach and engage in scholarship within their areas of expertise.

Academic Freedom and Student Success
Academic freedom benefits students by fostering the development of knowledge, critical thinking skills, independent analytical thought, and objective evaluation. It creates an educational environment where students learn how to examine evidence, consider competing perspectives, and draw informed conclusions.

These skills are essential for preparing future generations to succeed in an evolving and competitive job market. Graduates must be equipped to solve complex problems and navigate the challenges facing our country and the global community.

Academic Freedom and Research
Academic freedom is critical to research and discovery. It allows scholars to investigate important questions, challenge prevailing assumptions, and publish evidence-based findings without fear of censorship, political pressure, or commercial interference.

From advancing medical breakthroughs and curing disease to developing innovative technologies and informing public policy, independent research improves lives and strengthens society.

Serving the Public Good
At its core, academic freedom enables institutions of higher education to understand, explain, and address complex societal challenges. By protecting open inquiry and scholarly independence, academic freedom ultimately serves the public good and reinforces the vital role of higher education in a democratic society.

Earlier this month, the State Employment Relations Board (SERB) ruled on the composition of the proposed bargaining unit for Miami faculty.

The ruling contended that only the full-time tenured/tenure-track and full-time non-tenure-track faculty on continuous contracts were part of a “community of interest” and eligible to be in the same bargaining unit. The more than 800 faculty who are eligible will have the opportunity to vote for a union between April 18 and May 2. The vote count will occur at SERB on May 17.

Unfortunately, the other faculty that the Faculty Alliance of Miami (FAM) attempted to include in the bargaining unit–visiting assisting professors, librarians, and those who are 50% faculty and 50% staff–were excluded from the unit. Nevertheless, efforts already are underway to organize these faculty into separate bargaining units.

Congratulations to FAM for getting to this point! Faculty union organizing is a volunteer-led effort that takes years. We hope that all eligible Miami faculty will vote in favor of establishing the union to begin a new era of shared governance at Miami University!