Boston College’s recent decision to expand administrative oversight of on-campus speakers could ignite a debate over free-expression policies at Catholic colleges and universities, though Georgetown says it will not change its policy.

The changes to BC’s speaker policy allow university administrators to reject or cancel speakers whose views do not comport with Catholic teaching if a speaker with a Catholic perspective cannot be found to provide balance.

Georgetown’s Speech and Expression Policy includes no explicit requirement that speakers on campus support Catholic teaching. University spokesperson Erik Smulson called Georgetown’s policy “well established” and said administrators were not planning to revise it.

BC sought to change its policy after an on-campus panel discussion on abortion last year failed to include a speaker opposed to abortion.

Jack Dunn, director of pubic affairs for BC, said the new policy seeks to balance perspectives presented on campus.

“The Dean’s intention was not to censor or cancel events, but to give the university a right to request that a balanced perspective be presented on sensitive Church issues such as abortion,” he said.

Dunn said that speakers with beliefs or opinions divergent from Catholic teaching would still be allowed on campus, and that the change will require only that “a Catholic perspective also be aired.” The policy shift applies only to student groups receiving university funding, and not to faculty.

At Catholic and Jesuit institutions across the country, administrators have taken different approaches to the sometimes-tense relationship between Catholic tradition and a variety of opinions on campus.

In May, the University of Notre Dame approved changes to its own speaker policy that are similar to those enacted at BC. The decision came after a campus production of “The Vagina onologues” last spring, which many conservative Catholics opposed. Georgetown came under fire from one group, the Cardinal Newman Society, for allowing the production to be performed on campus.

Don Wycliff, associate vice president of news and information at Notre Dame, said the new rule was more a shift in “principle” than a shift in policy.

“As a matter of principle, we ought to at the same time give space or time to a representative for the Catholic view since we’re a Catholic institution,” Wycliff said.

Smulson said that Georgetown’s policy has always welcomed speakers with diverse viewpoints to campus while maintaining the university’s Catholic and Jesuit identity. He noted that both the “Pacem in Terris” and “Nostre Aetate” lecture series, sponsored by the Office of the University President, have brought leading scholars with numerous religious viewpoints to campus.

Smulson said that the GU Lecture Fund, Catholic Studies Program and Woodstock Theological Center also bring speakers who explore various issues of the Catholic faith to Georgetown.

“In a range of ways the university works proactively to ensure that Catholic voices and the Catholic intellectual tradition are a prominent part of campus life,” Smulson said.

Mike Jurist (SFS ’07), chair of the GU Lecture Fund, said that Georgetown’s speaker policy has always been conducive to bringing a wide variety of speakers to campus.

“Georgetown’s current speaker policy works very well,” Jurist said. “At the end of the day, we want students to have been exposed to many differing viewpoints. The current policy allows for us to do this quite effectively.”