The University of Connecticut received a failing grade in 2026 for free-speech climate on its campuses, according to a survey conducted by The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression.
2026 marks the second consecutive year that UConn has been included in the FIRE study.
This year, UConn scored a 57/100, increasing by 3.3 points since 2025, and ranked 195 out of 261 colleges, moving up 20 spots since last year.
The study revealed that 36% of UConn students say they have self-censored on campus at least once or twice a month.
In addition, FIRE included quotes from two anonymous UConn students.
“The administration constantly emphasizes how we basically aren’t allowed to offend anyone,” one student said.
University Spokesperson Stephanie Reitz said that UConn is not privy to the FIRE data, as it represents 334 out of UConn’s more than 34,000 students, less than 1% of its enrollment.
“UConn encourages and upholds free speech on all of its campuses as a bedrock principle of our University and society,” Stephanie Reitz said Tuesday in an emailed statement to The Daily Campus.
Reitz noted that UConn has adopted the findings of a task force studying this issue under former University President Susan Herbst, which have since been upheld by the succeeding administrations.
“The task force will promote civil discourse and understanding within our community through developing student leadership, good citizenship, free speech and free expression,” according to the Report of the President’s Task Force on Civility and Campus Culture.
This is the seventh consecutive year FIRE, whose mission is to defend Americans’ rights to free speech and thought, surveyed college undergraduates about their perceptions and experiences regarding free speech on their campuses, according to its website.
FIRE worked in collaboration with College Pulse and RealClearEducation, in an effort to provide high school students and their parents with information to help them identify which colleges promote the exchange of free speech on their campuses.
“A true university education requires freedom of expression,” the foundation wrote on its website.
New England First Amendment Coalition’s Executive Director Justin Silverman said that, as a public institution, UConn is required to abide by the First Amendment.
The New England First Amendment Coalition is the region’s leading advocate for First Aamendment freedom, as well as public right to government transparency, Silverman said.
According to Silverman, the coalition consists of six advisory teams, one for each individual state. Together, the teams discuss threats to First Amendment freedoms and government transparency, including those that concern college campuses. The coalition uses their resources to identify and handle threats, Silverman said.
Silverman, who served as an adjunct professor at UConn for two semesters teaching media law, said that he had a limited view of what was happening at UConn during his tenure, but generally speaking, there has been and continues to be a growing discomfort for opposing viewpoints on college campuses.
“Generally, not specific to UConn, controversial expressions or viewpoints will be silenced,” Silverman said in an interview with The Daily Campus on Thursday.
Silverman said that oftentimes college students are restricted when their speech is expressed in inconvenient or embarrassing ways for administrators. Silverman did not comment on UConn specifically.
Continuous and open communication between students and administrators is critical in ensuring the protection of students’ First Amendment rights, Silverman said.
“Generally speaking, it’s usually a good idea to approach administrators and campus security [if you feel limited in your free speech],” Silverman said. “Work within the university to make sure you have freedoms that are granted to you by the First Amendment.”