Protecting Academic Freedom or Managing Reputation? An Evaluation of University Social Media Policies

Abstract

University social media policies appear to favor institutional reputation over the tenets of academic freedom upon which research and teaching are based. A content analysis of social media policies of 82 doctoral-granting research universities found that policies used language and concepts that restrain online faculty speech. Two-thirds of policies are overseen by marketing departments rather than by committees that include faculty members as recommended by the American Association of University Professors. Contradictory boundary logic presented double binds for faculty who were enjoined to be brand ambassadors, creating tension for them and creating paradoxes for institutions whose social media policies contradict their commitment to freedom of research and teaching.