"We're not particularly interested in trying to own people's courses," Rudenstine says.
"We approach this not as a matter of intellectual property, but commitment and broaches of commitment," he says. "I think this is the right approach."
Provost Fineberg set up the advisory group to begin revision of the old stipulations in December, says Thompson. The other members of the group include Faculty from the University Research Policy Committee and the University Academic Computing Committee.
While Thompson says he initially planned on simply reworking the current set of rules, the committee felt it necessary to rewrite them altogether, even if leaving much of their content the same.
In the next few weeks, the schools will submit their drafts with revisions. Most likely, the president and Corporation will approve some form of the stipulations. However, whether or not the revised rules will affect faculty members' academic freedom will ultimately be decided by how each individual dean interprets them.