Reports and Professional Guidelines
Authored by MLA committees and task forces over the last two and a half decades, the documents collected below provide information and recommendations on a variety of issues, including teaching, scholarship, diversity, ethics, governance, academic freedom, graduate education, and the rights and working conditions of contingent faculty members.
Please visit the Career Resources page for academic job market data as well as resources and guidelines for job seekers, faculty advisers, and hiring departments.
To complement the resources on the site, the Executive Council Subcommittee on Advocacy and Guidelines has created an annotated compilation of guidelines, policies, and reports from the MLA, the Association of Departments of English (ADE), and the Association of Departments of Foreign Languages (ADFL; now the Association of Language Departments [ALD]). Organized by subject, the guide aims to provide a downloadable overview of the association’s positions on key issues that shape our work.
Teaching, Enrollments, and Programs
- Report of the ADE Ad Hoc Committee on English Majors' Career Preparation and Outcomes (2024)
- Enrollments in Languages Other Than English in United States Institutions of Higher Education
- Language Enrollment Database, 1958–2021
- Data on Second Majors in Language and Literature, 2001–13 (2015)
- Special Considerations for Language and Literature: The AAUP Statement on Distance Education (2014)
- The MLA Survey of Postsecondary Entrance and Degree Requirements for Languages Other Than English, 2009–10 (2012)
- Report to the Teagle Foundation on the Undergraduate Major in Language and Literature (2009)
- Foreign Languages and Higher Education: New Structures for a Changed World (MLA Ad Hoc Committee on Foreign Languages) (2007)
- Successful College and University Foreign Language Programs, 1995–99 (2001–05)
- Report from the MLA Ad Hoc Committee on Teaching (2001)
Publishing and Scholarship
- Guidelines for Evaluating Publicly Engaged Humanities Scholarship in Language and Literature Programs (2022)
- Language and Literature Research in Regional Comprehensive Institutions (2020)
- MLA Statement on the Scholarly Edition in the Digital Age (2016)
- Statement on Publication in Electronic Journals (2015)
- Approved Editions from the Committee on Scholarly Editions
- Guidelines for Authors of Digital Resources (2013)
- Guidelines for Evaluating Work in Digital Humanities and Digital Media (2012)
- Evaluating Translations as Scholarship: Guidelines for Peer Review (2011)
- Guidelines for Editors of Scholarly Editions (2011)
- Guiding Questions for Vetters of Scholarly Editions (2011)
- MLA Statement on the Fair Use of Copyrighted Works (2010)
- Advice for Authors, Reviewers, Publishers, and Editors of Scholarly Books and Articles (2007-08)
- Report of the MLA Task Force on Evaluating Scholarship for Tenure and Promotion (2006)
- Shakespeare Variorum Handbook: A Manual of Editorial Practice (2003)
- Call for Action on Problems in Scholarly Book Publishing (2002)
- The Future of Scholarly Publishing: Report from the Ad Hoc Committee on the Future of Scholarly Publishing (2002)
- Preserving Research Collections: A Collaboration between Librarians and Scholars (1999)
- Significance of Primary Records (1995)
Ethics, Service, and Diversity
- Guidelines for Good Practice by the Committee on the Literatures of People of Color in the United States and Canada (2015)
- Standing Still: The Associate Professor Survey (2009)
- Report of the Task Force against Campus Bigotry (2007)
- Final Report, MLA Ad Hoc Committee on Diversity and Tolerance (2007)
- Statement of Professional Ethics (2004)
- Women in the Profession, 2000 (Committee on the Status of Women in the Profession) (2000)
- Making Faculty Work Visible: The Report of the MLA Commission on Professional Service (1996)
Governance and Academic Freedom
- Report on the Current State of Academic Freedom in US Education (2023)
- Report on the Current State of Academic Freedom in US Education (2022)
- CAFPRR Statement on Resource Allocation and Academic Freedom (2016)
- MLA Statement on Academic Freedom (2014)
- Ramifications of the Supreme Court’s Ruling in Garcetti v. Ceballos (2010)
- Report from the ADE Ad Hoc Committee on Governance (2002)
Graduate Education
- Report of the MLA Task Force on Ethical Conduct in Graduate Education (2020)
- Report of the Task Force on Doctoral Study in Modern Language and Literature (2014)
- Improving Institutional Circumstances for Graduate Students in Languages and Literatures: Recommendations for Best Practices and Evaluative Questions (2013)
- MLA Surveys of PhD Placement (1976–2007)
- Professionalization in Perspective: Report from the MLA Ad Hoc Committee on the Professionalization of PhDs (2002)
Salaries and Working Conditions
- MLA Recommendation on a Minimum Salary for Full-Time Entry-Level Faculty Members (2024)
- MLA Recommendation on Minimum Per-Course Compensation for Part-Time Faculty Members (2024)
- Guidelines for Information Technology Access and Support for the Modern Languages (2013)
- ADE and ADFL Surveys of Department Chair Compensation (2011)
- Computer-Related Repetitive Strain Injuries: An Advisory (2009)
Staffing and Contingent Labor
- Resources on Collective Action (2022)
- Data from the MLA Survey of Departmental Staffing, Fall 2014 (2014)
- Professional Employment Practices for Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Members: Recommendations and Evaluative Questions (2011)
- Education in the Balance: A Report on the Academic Workforce in English (2008)
- Statement on Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Members (2003)
- Ensuring the Quality of Undergraduate Programs in English and Foreign Languages: MLA Recommendations on Staffing (2002)
- MLA Survey of Staffing in English and Foreign Language Departments, Fall 1999 (2001)
- Summary of Data from Surveys by the Coalition on the Academic Workforce (1999)
- Final Report from the Committee on Professional Employment (1997)
- MLA Statement on the Use of Part-Time and Full-Time Adjunct Faculty Members (1994)