Universities have a long track record of championing free speech, rigorous debate and academic freedom. This has come under greater scrutiny in recent years, as the obligations around protecting and upholding freedom of speech and fostering good relations between different groups can sometimes seem to compete. However, both are core to the values and success of the higher education sector.
Through a series of roundtable discussions, Advance HE, GuildHE and Universities UK are keen to bring the sector together to explore these tensions and identify ways in which they can be overcome, ensuring freedom of speech is protected. We are aiming to promote and reinforce university environments that encourage debate, the free exchange of ideas and protecting academic freedom, while also preventing harassment and creating environments of mutual respect and inclusion.
This work is particularly significant in the context of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill and the new requirements this will impose on universities and colleges once passed, alongside their ongoing commitments and obligations to freedom of speech and their duties and activities to creating inclusive institutions and fostering good relations between different groups.
Objectives
- To inform our engagement with DfE and OfS ahead of regulation and guidance implemented under the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill
- To understand the issues facing members/sector stakeholders and how these may best be navigated, in order to update the Promoting Good Relations on Campus guidance
Approach to sector roundtables
Five- 2-hour roundtables held under Chatham House Rule, will take place between January and March 2022. The purpose of the roundtables is to:
- Identify the areas of nuance in the range of legislation relevant to freedom of speech and good relations, including in the proposed Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill, to support good relations on campus and ensure freedom of speech is protected.
- Explore the range of issues that members are dealing with in order to ensure that subsequent guidance and training is focused and relevant.
- Provide an opportunity for members to engage constructively with these challenges as a sector/influence legislation and process.
We will all be aware of tensions arising between different groups on university campuses, and such incidents often presented in terms of competing rights – for instance, between academic freedom and protection from harassment. These issues are often deeply felt and fiercely contested on both sides. However, rather than focusing on differences and division between specific groups of people, this work will focus on understanding how institutions can navigate the complexity of multiple rights and responsibilities to ensure they are both promoting and safeguarding freedom of speech and academic freedom, and fostering good relations between different groups.
In line with this approach, rather than looking at issues relating to specific groups, the roundtable discussions will seek to understand specific areas of contention or challenge faced by universities when considering how they can promote and ensure freedom of speech, while also maintaining a campus which is free of harassment and inclusive for all.
The roundtables will bring together a number of stakeholders (15-20 per roundtable) from different roles and perspectives from across the sector, to share challenges and effective practice in five areas that have been identified as of particular concern.
Roundtable 1: Academic freedom
This roundtable event took place on 18 January 2022 at 13:15 - 15:15 (GMT), and focused on the following:
- Overlaps/tensions between academic freedom and other duties or obligations (e.g. Equality Act, employment law, IHRA definition, TNE considerations)
- Boundaries of academic freedom in practice
- Institutional processes for managing challenges to academic freedom, including roles of departmental line managers
- Students’ expectations on academic freedom
Speakers:
- Smita Jamdar, Partner, Shakespeare Martineau
- Professor Paul Layzell, Principal, Royal Holloway, University of London
Roundtable 2: Employment and employment law
This roundtable event took place on 2 February 2022 at 14:00 - 16:00 (GMT) and focused on the following:
- The impact and interaction of FoS and new legislation on employment (e.g. interaction between law and contract/codes of conduct, new duty to demonstrate no prejudice in recruitment or promotion)
- Managing tensions as an employer e.g. calls for staff to resign
- Institutional responsibility to demonstrate active promotion and safeguarding of academic freedom
- Managing staff and supporting relevant and effective development in this area
Speakers:
- David Browne, Partner, Shakespeare Martineau
Roundtable 3: Proactive advancing of EDI and good relations – protection from harm and protection of freedom of speech
This roundtable event took place on 15 February 2022 at 10:00 - 12:00 (GMT) and focused on the following:
- Determining when speech results in detriment/harm to a group protected under the Equality Act/other legislation
- Appropriate provisions to safeguard against harm
- Effective promotion and fostering of good relations between groups, including managing tensions that arise
- Specific tensions with academic freedom and protection from harm in academic settings
Speakers:
- Smita Jamdar, Partner, Shakespeare Martineau
- David Ruebain, PVC EDI, University of Sussex
Roundtable 4: Relationships with students’ unions
This roundtable event took place on 3 March 2022 at 14:00 - 16:00 (GMT) and focused on the following:
- New and existing legal requirements on SUs and points of tension (e.g. charity law, Prevent, FS Bill)
- Current points of contention and collaboration between SUs and institutions, including event management and external speaker policies
- Rights and responsibilities relating to protest, and managing tensions
- Students’ expectations
- Institution-specific considerations (e.g. small/specialist, religiously affiliated institutions etc.)
Speakers:
- Smita Jamdar, Partner, Shakespeare Martineau
- Students’ union representatives
Roundtable 5: Leadership, governance and regulation
This roundtable event took place on 16 March 2022 at 14:00 - 16:00 (GMT) and focused on the following:
- Impact of Bill on university leadership and governance
- Main findings from roundtable discussions and key takeaway messages/recommendations for institutions (especially for senior leaders)
- OfS/DfE role and guidance
- Sector principles of approach
- Advance HE/GuildHE/UUK’s next steps
Speakers:
- Smita Jamdar, Partner, Shakespeare Martineau
- John Rushworth, Committee of University Chairs (CUC)
Good Campus Relations and Freedom of Speech
Freedom of speech, academic freedom and good relations continue to be high on the HE agenda as institutions make sense of the complex relations and perceived tensions between the three. In the UK HEIs also prepare for new legislation: (the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill introduces new responsibilities for English universities and is likely to impact indirectly other UK institutions.
Register your interest in the Member Projects 2022-23: Good Campus Relations and Freedom of Speech