Academic Abstention Law and Legal Definition
The judiciary maintains a policy of academic abstention to decline to review academic, employment, and educational decisions promulgated by college and university faculty. It applies to actions by a college or university, rather than lower school levels. Academic abstention involves the concepts of institutional academic freedom and institutional autonomy. Courts usually adopt the academic abstention doctrine in disciplinary actions involving students. The doctrine also protects colleges and universities from judicial reconsideration of the merits of tenure decisions.
