3,000: Student Bill of Rights Preamble

Revised: July 2012

The University of Nevada, Reno exists for the transmission of knowledge, the pursuit of truth, the development of students, and the general well-being of society.  Free inquiry and free expression are indispensable to the attainment of these goals.  As members of the academic community, students should be encouraged to develop the capacity for critical judgment and to engage in a sustained and independent search for truth.  Freedom to teach and freedom to learn are inseparable facets of academic freedom.  The freedom to learn depends upon opportunities and conditions in the classroom, on the campus, and in the larger community.

The responsibility to secure and to respect general conditions conducive to the freedom to learn is jointly shared by all members of the academic community.  Students exercising the rights and freedoms defined in this document shall do so with concomitant responsibilities as prerequisites for achievement of the educational objectives involved.  Freedom to teach and freedom to learn are alike dependent upon modes of individual and collective conduct as permit the orderly exchange and pursuit of knowledge and opinion.

A regard for the University as a physical as well as a social entity is a condition of its satisfactory functioning.  The University has a duty to develop policies and procedures which provide and safeguard these conditions.  Policies and procedures should be developed at the University within a framework of general standards and with the broadest possible participation of the members of the academic community.

The purpose of the following is to enumerate essential student freedoms.  The term "student" shall herein refer to any person registered at the University for any course at any level.