Survey: Georgia professors respect political views

The majority of students at public colleges in Georgia believe their professors respect their political opinions and don’t inappropriately push their own views, according to a survey released this week.

Only 13.3 percent of students thought professors inappropriately talked about politics in class. The majority of those cited criticism of the president, Republicans or conservatives as examples of that.

Still, nearly a quarter of the 1,200 students interviewed last spring for the student speech survey said they have had a class where they felt they had to agree with the professor’s political views to get a good grade.

The University System of Georgia commissioned the survey after Republican lawmakers pushed a legislation they titled as an academic freedom bill during the last two sessions of the General Assembly. House Bill 154, sponsored by Rep. Tom Rice (R-Norcross), was killed both years. It would have required schools to report annually to the General Assembly on what steps they are taking to protect “the free exchange of ideas.”

The proposal is almost a word-for-word a copy of legislation provided by the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative lawmakers’ group. Other states have considered it and some have passed it.

Susan Herbst, the chief academic officer of the University System, said the survey showed most students are happy with the discourse on college campuses.

“Eighty five percent rated their overall academic experience as good or excellent,” she said.

Still, many students said they don’t feel other students are tolerant of differing viewpoints, according to the survey.