Course Overview

Section 1: Introduction

Activity 1:   Week 1: The Basis of Higher Education Law—How it Developed and How it is Enforced   (10 Points)

Section 2: Students’ Relationships with Colleges and Universities, Institutional Relationships, State Action and Substantive Due Process

Activity 2:   Week 2: Separation of Church and State OR State Action   (10 Points)

Section 3: Concept of Procedural Due Process, Application of Due Process, Student Conduct, and Academic Integrity

Activity 3:   Week 3: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 OR Affirmative Action in Admissions    (10 Points)

Section 4: Housing and Alcohol Issues, Concept of Free Speech, Student Protest, and Student Press

Activity 4:   Week 4: Student Rights OR Student Rights in Academic Dismissal   (10 Points)

Section 5: Recognition and Regulation of Student Organizations, and Liability

Activity 5:   Week 5: Viability of Student Organizations OR Institutional Liability    (10 Points)

Section 6: The Employment Rights of Faculty

Activity 6:   Week 6: Faculty Rights and Collective Bargaining    (10 Points)

Section 7: Academic Freedom and the Faculty

Activity 7:   Week 7: The Legal Basis of Academic Freedom    (10 Points)

Section 8: Course Project

Activity 8:   Week 8: Signature Assignment - The Case of Hartley University    (30 Points)

Section 1: Introduction

Activity 1:   Week 1: The Basis of Higher Education Law—How it Developed and How it is Enforced   (10 Points)

4 Gender Equity in Campus Athletics

Consider the question of gender equity in campus athletics. Develop a 5-7 page paper that discusses the background of the law, the issues addressed, how it came to find its way into law, and how it has been interpreted in regulations developed by the Department of Education and the various states.

Length: 5-7 pages (app. 350 words per page). Cite appropriate regulations and cases and at least 5 scholarly articles in your presentation.

Your essay should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts that are presented in the course and provide new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards.

Submit your document in the Course Work area below the Activity screen.

Learning Outcomes: 3, 4, 5

Section 2: Students’ Relationships with Colleges and Universities, Institutional Relationships, State Action and Substantive Due Process

Activity 2:   Week 2: Separation of Church and State OR State Action   (10 Points)

4 Separation of Church and State or State Action

Prepare a 5-7 page paper on the topic of Separation of Church and State OR State Action. If helpful, you may use the following questions to shape your perspective.

1. What limitations are there on the exercise of religion in institutions that accept government funds?
2. To what extent may government be involved with higher education institutions affiliated with religious organizations?
3. What does the First Amendment "free exercise clause" mandate?
4. What does the First Amendment "establishment clause" mandate?
5. How can these two clauses be reconciled?
6. What differences between private and church-related institutions are mandated in state-private sector relations?
7. When does a private institution become public? 
8. When does the Fourteenth Amendment it apply to private institutions?
9. What happens when the relationship involves the federal government or is there "federal action"?

Length: 5-7 pages (app. 350 words per page). Cite appropriate regulations and cases and at least 5 scholarly articles in your presentation.

Your essay should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts that are presented in the course and provide new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards.

Submit your document in the Course Work area below the Activity screen.

Learning Outcomes: 1, 2, 3

Section 3: Concept of Procedural Due Process, Application of Due Process, Student Conduct, and Academic Integrity

Activity 3:   Week 3: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 OR Affirmative Action in Admissions    (10 Points)

4 Equity in the Admissions Process

Develop a 5-7 page paper on Equity in the admission process as laid out in Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 OR affirmative action programs. If helpful, you may use the following questions to shape your perspective.

1. What criteria should be used in the admission process?
2. What is the difference between the meaning of equity or that of equality?
3. What are the goals to be achieved in disestablishing the Dual System of Higher Education?
4. Are historically black institutions unconstitutional?
5. What conclusions can be drawn about federal policy on compliance with title VI after reading the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
6. Must the admission process be free of any constitutionally prohibited criteria, "color blind"
7. What are the constitutionally prohibited criteria?
8. Can advantage be given to a select group based on past disadvantages?
9. Can race, ethnic origin, or gender be considered as a criteria for admissions?
10. Can targets or quotas be used to achieve equality and how do the two differ?

Length: 5-7 pages (app. 350 words per page). Cite appropriate regulations and cases and at least 5 scholarly articles in your presentation.

Your essay should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts that are presented in the course and provide new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards.

Submit your document in the Course Work area below the Activity screen.

Learning Outcomes: 1, 2, 3, 4

Section 4: Housing and Alcohol Issues, Concept of Free Speech, Student Protest, and Student Press

Activity 4:   Week 4: Student Rights OR Student Rights in Academic Dismissal   (10 Points)

4 Student Rights

Prepare a 5-7 page paper on the topic of student rights OR student rights in academic dismissal. If helpful, you may use answers to the following questions to shape your perspective. 

1. What student rights must be protected? 
2. What process is required in academic dismissal?
3. Should some questions be viewed as non-justifiable as they involve educational policy?
4. How has the Bill of Rights been applied to public higher education?
5. What are Students' Rights in:


a. Discipline
b. Freedom of Speech
c. Freedom of the Press
d. Privacy (search and seizure) 

6. What issues relating to students’ rights are involved in emerging areas like:

a. Freedom of speech, religion and student fee
b. Voting rights
c. Organization recognition. Hate speech codes
d. Gay rights
e. Sexual harassment
f. Commercial speech

7. What are the implications of FERPA as they relate to the handling of student records?
8. Are academic issues non-justiciable?
9. What institutional rights are involved?

Length: 5-7 pages (app. 350 words per page). Cite appropriate regulations and cases and at least 5 scholarly articles in your presentation.

Your essay should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts that are presented in the course and provide new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards.

Submit your document in the Course Work area below the Activity screen.

Learning Outcomes: 1, 2, 3, 4

Section 5: Recognition and Regulation of Student Organizations, and Liability

Activity 5:   Week 5: Viability of Student Organizations OR Institutional Liability    (10 Points)

4 Viability of Student Organizations

Prepare a 3-4 page paper on the topic of the viability of student organizations OR institutional liability. If helpful, you may use the following questions to shape your perspective.

1. That criteria are valid for universities in reviewing the actions of fraternities and sororities.
2. Can the university require codes of conduct for student organizations?
3. What rights and nondiscrimination principles must a university protect in regards to student organizations?
4. What liability does an institution incur for athletic injuries?
5. What liability does an institution incur for wrongdoing by student organizations?

Length: 3-4 pages (app. 350 words per page). Cite appropriate regulations and cases and at least 5 scholarly articles in your presentation.

Your essay should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts that are presented in the course and provide new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards.

Submit your document in the Course Work area below the Activity screen.

Learning Outcomes: 1, 2, 3, 4

Section 6: The Employment Rights of Faculty

Activity 6:   Week 6: Faculty Rights and Collective Bargaining    (10 Points)

4 Faculty Rights

Prepare a 5-7 page paper on the topic of faculty employment rights in general with a discussion of collective bargaining as it applies to higher education. If helpful, you may use the following questions to shape your perspective.

1. What is tenure?
2. What institutional rights must be preserved?
3. When may financial exigencies be applied in the removal of faculty?
4. Equal pay/comparable worth
5. Termination of tenured faculty for cause
6. Due process in financial exigencies
7. Part-time faculty rights
8. Sexual harassment
9. Are faculty employers or employees?
10. What procedures are mandated in the collective bargaining process?

Length: 5-7 pages (app. 350 words per page). Cite appropriate regulations and cases and at least 5 scholarly articles in your presentation.

Your essay should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts that are presented in the course and provide new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards.

Submit your document in the Course Work area below the Activity screen.

Learning Outcomes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Section 7: Academic Freedom and the Faculty

Activity 7:   Week 7: The Legal Basis of Academic Freedom    (10 Points)

4 The Legal Basis of Academic Freedom

Prepare a 5-7 page paper on the topic of academic and/or intellectual freedom. If helpful, you may use the following questions to shape your perspective.

1. What is the difference between academic and intellectual freedom?
2. How do these concepts apply to the classroom?
3. How do they apply to courseware to be offered at distance?
4. What are the limits to the instructors prerogatives in teaching?
5. How do these concepts apply to research and its products?
6. What rights do institutions have regarding products developed with institutional funding?
7. What rights do institutions have to control the work of faculty serving as experts while employed by the university?

Length: 5-7 pages (app. 350 words per page). Cite appropriate regulations and cases and at least 5 scholarly articles in your presentation.

Your essay should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts that are presented in the course and provide new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards.

Submit your document in the Course Work area below the Activity screen.

Learning Outcomes: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Section 8: Course Project

Activity 8:   Week 8: Signature Assignment - The Case of Hartley University    (30 Points)

4 The Case of Hartley University

The Case Study is a response that should be presented within 10 to 15 pages. The paper is relatively open with respect to organization and approach.

Read the following Hypothetical Case of Hartley University. Write out answers to a few the questions. In doing so, focus upon how the relevant facts either support or do not support the application of the legal theories on which you base your arguments. In other words, do not simply state a legal doctrine applies but suggest what facts might cause it to apply. If there is a cause of action based upon Title IX, for example, simply asserting that the legal theory exists is not sufficient. You must suggest how specific facts are evidence of gender discrimination as the statute defines it and whether these facts are sufficient to meet the standards of the statute. Similarly, simply including facts in your arguments without relating them to a specific legal principal or standard is not an effective use of the limited space you have available.

Educational opportunities abound along Lake Shore Drive in Fort Dearborn. Just north of downtown is the campus of Hartley University. Hartley U. enrolls 15,000 students in baccalaureate, masters, and doctoral programs in 100 fields of study. Hartley U. was founded in 1878 with a gift from industrialist Robert Hartley. Many people outside of the Fort Dearborn region know Hartley U. for its successful football team, the Bobcats. The Bobcats play their home games at Peterson Stadium, which seats 50,000 people. Tickets for home games are very difficult to obtain. In fact, due to the recent success of the football team, Hartley U. now draws most of its students from outside of Fort Dearborn and tuition charges at Hartley have become among the highest in the nation, exceeding $20,000 per year. The football success has also attracted the attention of the city of Fort Dearborn, who has passed a 5% tax on all tickets sold for “intercollegiate football games played within the city limits.” The university has challenged the tax, citing a state law forbidding the taxation of the activities of either private or public postsecondary institutions that are related to “any educational objective.”

Harley U. remains a private institution, although it receives substantial federal and state support through student loan programs and research grants and contracts. Several years ago, the institution entered into a contract with the state to offer a program in art history. The state felt that it was very important that the residents of Fort Dearborn be exposed to the fine arts and decided to fund the entire cost the program. The university has control over the program -- who is hired to teach, what is taught, what tuition is charged -- and the annual state appropriation is used to cover any shortfall in revenues. Recently, several untenured arts program faculty were dismissed without any notice or hearing by a new program director. They have sued the director and the university under the Fourteenth Amendment. The institution has responded that as a private institution they are not subject to the terms of the U.S. Constitution and the court should grant its motion of summary judgment.

Adjacent to the Hartley University campus is what the state hopes will become Borden State University. Borden was founded at the turn of the century as Borden Academy, a two-year private college offering degrees in the new field of aviation. Over the years, the college grew, changed its name to Borden College, and began to offer baccalaureate degrees in several fields. From its founding, the Borden family remained in control of the institution. In the early 1990s, the need for a comprehensive public institution -- one that would offer professional degrees at tuition priced to more affordable than at Hartley -- became apparent to many in Fort Dearborn. In response, the state legislature approached Borden College, which was struggling financially at the time and risked bankruptcy, and suggested that the college merge into the existing state system of higher education, becoming Borden State University. Several members of the Borden College board objected to the merger. They claimed that the merger violated the terms of the trust executed by Howard Borden, Sr., the founder of the Academy. The trust stated the Academy should always remain privately held -- Borden, Sr. had a lifelong hatred for the government and was what we would term today a Libertarian -- and that control of the board of trustees should always remain with the Borden family. Interestingly, the Borden family had never maintained a majority on the board since the founding of the college. The board voted 10-5 to join the state system and become Borden State College. What swayed the board was the strong evidence that Borden College could no longer remain viable as a private institution. The five dissenting board members have brought an action against the board and state to prevent the merger.

The state has also come to appreciate the need for public two-year education in the Fort Dearborn area. The region was one of the only ones in the nation without a public community college. Kessler Junior College had been operating for several years as a private two-year institution. Recognizing the immediate need for establishing a public community college in Fort Dearborn, the state entered into an agreement with Kessler JC, which like Borden College had struggled during a general economic downturn Fort Dearborn. The state agreed to fund Kessler JC -- which would remain a private institution -- through local taxes. In exchange, the state would have authority over on what programs Kessler spent the money. The state would also obtain the right to set tuition rates, audit various accounts, and select a one-third of the Kessler JC governing board. Kessler J.C. was founded by an order of Catholic nuns, who would retain a voting majority on the governing board of the college. A group calling itself “Citizens for the Separation of Church and State” has challenged the proposed arrangement in state court.

Just beyond the Kessler JC campus, at the corner of Lake Shore and Tupperman Blvd. is Robinson Church. Pastor Jerry Robinson has built Robinson Church into an institution of great reach and influence in Fort Dearborn. The church attracts over 10,000 people to services each Sunday and services are televised across the nation on cable television. Affiliated with the church are successful elementary and secondary schools. Last year, Robinson announced plans to begin what he called the Robinson Institute to train “those called to spread the word of the Lord.” The Institute would not be a traditional postsecondary institution. It would offer certificates, baccalaureate degrees, and doctorates via airtime purchased on the television stations that carried the Sunday services. In order to receive their degrees, the baccalaureate students would be required to sign affidavits attesting to the fact that they watched each of the 30 hour-long sessions, paid careful attention, and were “profoundly moved by the experience.” Several hundred prospective students sent a $500 deposit to the Institute to secure their place in the first enrolling class.

Upon hearing of Robinson’s plans, the state board of higher education -- the body charged with licensing postsecondary education institutions in the state -- brought an action in state court to enjoin Robinson Institute from offering baccalaureate and doctoral degrees. In response, Robinson applied for a license and was denied after a short hearing. The state did not include consideration of the religious affiliation in its decision. The court accepted the argument by the state that Robinson was offering degrees without meeting the conditions of the state higher education act. The act required that institutions offering baccalaureate degrees require “an amount of coursework, whether taken in residence or through other means, normally required by postsecondary institutions in the state generally.” A court in the state has never interpreted the “normally required” language in the statute, though one court in the jurisdiction suggested that residential programs were more likely to meet the definition of “coursework.” Robinson then proposed adding a residential component to the distance program. He began to raise money from the members of his church to build a dormitory to house the distance education program students during the one week each year that they would be required to be “on campus” in Fort Dearborn. Meanwhile, Robinson brought an action against the state board for violating the free exercise clause of the First Amendment and the due process provision of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution when it denied the license.

To add a further complication, when it became clear to the residents of the Tupperman neighborhood that Robinson was ready to build the dormitory, the city of Fort Dearborn secured an injunction to prevent any construction. The building would violate the Fort Dearborn zoning rules written in the 1960s intended to prevent “large groups of unrelated adults from taking residence within the city.” The intention behind the ordinance was to prevent “hippies” or “cults” from moving into large houses in the Lake Shore district. The ordinance has been upheld when applied to a religious cult similar to the Heaven’s Gate group, but has not been held to apply to fraternity houses, group homes, or bed and breakfasts. Robinson challenged the city’s ordinance under the same First and Fourteenth Amendment grounds. Finally, not trusting that Robinson would adhere to the injunction, the Tupperman Neighborhood Association began to hold sit-ins at the construction site, preventing the construction workers for doing any work on the site. Robinson sued the Neighborhood Association under the First and Fourteenth Amendments and for tortuous interference with business.

All of the attention that Robinson Institute has received has brought to public attention the rule at the church against non-U.S. citizens being members of the church. By extension, non-citizens would be expressly prohibited from attending Robinson Institute, which includes church membership within its admission criteria. The Internal Revenue Service is considering rejecting the application Robinson Institute recently submitted for Section 501(c)(3) status.

Finally, word of a secret agreement among all of the institutions in Fort Dearborn to limit the number of programs that they offer -- and therefore increase student demand and the tuition that they can charge -- has come to public attention. The Justice Department is considering taking action under the antitrust laws.

Use the following statements and questions as a basis for your answer.

1. Explore the chances of the dissenting Borden board members of preventing the merger between Borden College and the state system.
2. Would the situation be any different if the trustees had based their decision on the fact that they were late for dinner and wanted the meeting where the decision was made to end quickly?
3. Why was the state board justified in denying Robinson Institute a license to operate as a higher education institution? Is there case law that might support his position?
4. Would the Robinson case have been any different if it was a private accreditation agency denying accreditation, instead of a state agency denying a license?
5. Might Robinson be more successful against the city ordinance?
6. Will the suit by Robinson against the Neighborhood Association survive a motion for summary a motion for summary judgment?
7. How would you advise the IRS to decide on the Robinson 501(c)(3) application?
8. Should the court grant the motion for summary judgment by Harley U. in response to the action by the dismissed faculty members?
9. Discuss the merits of the challenge by “Citizens for the Separation of Church and State” against the Kessler J.C. plan.
10. Support Hartley’s contention against the city of Fort Dearborn in the football game taxation issue.
11. Outline the case the Justice Department might make against the plan by the Fort Dearborn colleges and universities to limit programs in order to raise tuition.

Length: 10-15 pages (app. 350 words per page)
 
Your essay should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts that are presented in the course and provide new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards.

Submit your document in the Course Work area below the Activity screen.

Learning Outcomes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6