How Universities and States Are Increasing Surveillance of Professors

State officials, university administrators and students are increasingly monitoring college classrooms. Several states have passed laws requiring professors to post course syllabuses in searchable databases and have set up offices or tip lines to receive complaints about instructors.

Supporters say the measures increase transparency and accountability, while many professors and free-expression groups warn they amount to censorship and self-censorship. John White said, "We’ve never seen this much surveillance." The article cites cases in which instructors were removed or fired after complaints and notes requirements in some states that syllabuses be searchable by keywords.

Critics say the rules have made teaching a minefield, particularly in fields such as gender studies and Middle Eastern studies, and that publishing syllabuses can be dangerous when combined with a hostile public environment.

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