Accreditation is being transformed from a valued private-sector process--over which the federal government historically has exercised limited control--to a process that is subject to more and more federal involvement. The implications of this shift, profound for faculty members, can include the erosion of academic freedom and the loss of…

In the past, administrators have sometimes cited the lack of balance represented by the invitation of a college or university group or the danger that a group's invitation might violate section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code as reasons for canceling or modifying otherwise legitimate invitations. In "Academic Freedom and Outside…