果冻传媒app官方

Table of Contents

Northwest College Student Newspaper Advisor Suggests He鈥檚 Being Targeted for Critical Coverage

The faculty advisor of the student newspaper at Wyoming鈥檚 Northwest College says administrators because the paper he advises, , wrote articles critical of the school. Administrators, meanwhile, responded through an attorney that their actions are guided by accreditors鈥 standards.

Rob Breeding, who advises the Northwest Trail,  raised concerns that he鈥檚 being unfairly subjected to onerous new credentialing requirements鈥攊ncluding mandated journalism courses鈥攖o keep his job and seek tenure. Breeding鈥檚 attorney detailed the complaints in a letter sent to , which summarized them:  

Breeding, who was hired to teach journalism at Northwest four years ago, said he was notified recently that he would have to complete 18 hours of post-graduate journalism courses, and his tenure track status would be delayed by a year.

Breeding said his master鈥檚 degree is in liberal studies, and not in journalism. However, he has years of experience in journalism, and the committee that selected him for the job determined that his experience, combined with his master鈥檚 degree, qualified him for the job.

鈥淚 believe I was hired fairly under existing policy, and that hasn鈥檛 changed,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 went through my third year interim review last year (with) flying colors,鈥 he said.

Breeding said his credentials were brought into question following new rule clarifications from the Higher Learning Commission, the college鈥檚 accrediting agency.

Besides being required to complete additional post-graduate work, Breeding also was notified that his track to tenure would be extended an additional year.

Inside Higher Ed provides regarding the Northwest Trail鈥檚 critical coverage:

One article Breeding highlighted a law enforcement instructor had accidentally left a gun on campus. A subsequent by the Trail鈥檚 managing editor criticized the administration for alerting faculty and staff members to the incident but not students. 鈥淭he students had to pull that story out of the administration, that it actually happened,鈥 Breeding said.

Another , which led to a meeting between college officials and Breeding, raised concerns from students that a college investigation into campus drinking had been mishandled and resulted in the unfair firing of five resident assistants. The Trail has also covered college spending, including a for its president and , amid an ongoing budget crunch.

A response letter sent by an attorney for Northwest College said that the 鈥渁ccusation that the College is making decisions based on the content of some articles published in the Northwest Trail is inaccurate and false.鈥 According to Northwest College, concerns about Breeding鈥檚 credentials were raised in June of 2015鈥攂efore the Northwest Trail鈥檚 critical articles were published.

The Trail鈥檚 of Breeding鈥檚 position, however, suggests that accreditation requirements are more nuanced, and that the changes shouldn鈥檛 impact Breeding. And, as Inside Higher Ed points out, this is that Northwest College has been accused of retaliatory behavior by an advisor to the Trail.

Breeding鈥檚 attorneys have reportedly submitted an extensive public records request to Northwest College. In the meantime, FIREwill continue to monitor this dispute and watch for signs that Breeding is being targeted as a result of the Trail鈥檚 coverage.

Recent Articles

FIRE鈥檚 award-winning Newsdesk covers the free speech news you need to stay informed.

Share