Penn to gather community input on open expression guidelines amid faculty calls for ‘transparency’

Penn is set to release a campus-wide update on Wednesday regarding the status of its Guidelines on Open Expression, according to a spokesperson for the Provost’s Office. 

Administrators aim to use the message to outline the University’s process for reviewing the guidelines — launched in June 2024 alongside the rollout of a temporary set of policies on campus demonstrations. The announcement comes after Penn’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors criticized the University for lacking “transparency and meaningful input from campus stakeholders” while reevaluating open expression on campus.

“We have a narrow window of time to advocate for a policy that reflects a commitment to the values that are at the core of Penn’s academic mission: shared governance and academic freedom,” AAUP-Penn wrote in a March 19 letter. “It is imperative that the proposed open expression guidelines, and the process behind them, are driven not by a desire to protect the university from litigation or political attention, but rather by a fundamental commitment to open expression and rigorous debate, even (and especially) about controversial topics.”

Penn instituted its temporary guidelines on open expression — which are currently in effect — in 2024 after a semester of increased protests on campus, including an encampment on College Green lasting 16 days. At the time, Penn announced the formation of a task force to provide recommendations to the Committee on Open Expression, which would then present proposals to the University Council and the president. 

According to AAUP-Penn, the prescribed process for revising the guidelines “has been ignored” by administrators.

“Despite the requirement for the current COE to approve any post-2025 drafts, according to concerned colleagues, no 2025-2026 COE has been formed,” the faculty group wrote. “It’s unclear why the Committee hasn’t been formed, and the lack of clarity surfaces additional concerns around transparency and process.”

A request for comment was left with AAUP-Penn.

The group also described a shift in shared governance at Penn, alleging that “the Vice Provost for University Life (VPUL) holds exclusive power to interpret and enforce the Guidelines, while the Committee on Open Expression (COE) has been relegated to a purely advisory role.”

They characterized official conversations regarding open expression as “opaque,” despite reassurances to the Faculty Senate that “multiple stakeholders have been involved.”

In its statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian, the spokesperson for the Provost’s Office described its upcoming message as an “update to the Penn community on this process” including “detailed ways for everyone to provide input both online and in person.”

Penn has also invited faculty and staff to nominate themselves and others for participation on the Committee on Open Expression for the 2026-27 academic year, among other standing committees of the University Council. The committee “monitors communication processes and prevents conflicts that might emerge from failure of communication by recommending policies and procedures.”

Since they were established in 1968, open expression guidelines at Penn have been a focal point of campus conversation. Most recently, Penn President Larry Jameson addressed open expression — among other University commitments — in a message to the campus community on March 18. 

---