AN ACADEMIC BILL OF RIGHTS hen a university accepts an undergraduate student for admission and the student then enrolls, implicit commitments constitute an unwritten contract between them. Each assumes obligations and responsibilities, and each receives benefits. The student commits to a course of study intended to lead to a degree, agrees to follow such rules of civil behavior as the university prescribes, accepts the challenge of making an appropriate contribution to the community of scholars, and pledges to cultivate her or his mind, abilities, and talents with a view to becoming a productive and responsible citizen. The student at a research university, in addition, must come with appropriate preparation for the opportunities that will be provided, must commit to the strenuous burdens of active participation in the educational process, and must be prepared to live in a diverse and heterogeneous environment. By admitting a student, any college or university commits itself to provide maximal opportunities for intellectual and creative development. These should include: Opportunities to learn through inquiry rather than simple transmission of knowledge. Training in the skills necessary for oral and written communication at a level that will serve the student both within the university and in postgraduate professional and personal life. Appreciation of arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences, and the opportunity to experience them at any intensity and depth the student can accommodate. Careful and comprehensive preparation for whatever may lie beyond graduation, whether it be graduate school, professional school, or first professional position. The student in a research university, however, has these additional rights: Expectation of and opportunity for work with talented senior researchers to help and guide the student’s efforts. Access to first-class facilities in which to pursue research—laboratories, libraries, studios, computer systems, and concert halls. Many options among fields of study and directions to move within those fields, including areas and choices not found in other kinds of institutions. Opportunities to interact with people of backgrounds, cultures, and experiences different from the student’s own and with pursuers of knowledge at every level of accomplishment, from freshmen students to senior research faculty. The research university must facilitate inquiry in such contexts as the library, the laboratory, the computer, and the studio, with the expectation that senior learners, that is, professors, will be students’ companions and guides. The research university owes every student an integrated educational experience in which the totality is deeper and more comprehensive than can be measured by earned credits. The research university’s ability to create such an integrated education will produce a particular kind of individual, one equipped with a spirit of inquiry and a zest for problem solving; one possessed of the skill in communication that is the hallmark of clear thinking as well as mastery of language; one informed by a rich and diverse experience. It is that kind of individual that will provide the scientific, technological, academic, political, and creative leadership for the next century.