CHAPTER 15: PROFESSIONAL
ETHICS AND ACADEMIC RESPONSIBILITY
( President 5/73; Board of Regents amendment
15.2
Responsibilities to Students
15.3
Responsibilities to Scholarship
15.4
Responsibilities to Colleagues
15.5
Responsibilities to the Institution
15.6 Responsibilities to the Community
15.1 GENERAL.
The basic functions of the University are the advancement and dissemination of
knowledge, the development of critical intelligence, and the education of
citizens and professional workers for the society of which the University is a
part.
The
indispensable conditions for the successful discharge of these
functions is an atmosphere of intellectual freedom and collegial
discussion. Unless he or she is free to pursue the quest for
knowledge and understanding, wherever it may lead, and to report and discuss
the findings, whatever they may be, the University faculty member cannot
properly perform his or her work. As a participant in an enterprise that
depends upon freedom for its health and integrity, the faculty member has a
special interest in promoting conditions of free inquiry and furthering public
understanding of academic freedom. Further, each
faculty member and the faculty collectively, is responsible for establishing
and maintaining a safe, supportive, healthy and humane environment on campus
Freedom entails responsibilities. It is incumbent upon the faculty member to accept the responsibilities which are concomitant with the freedom he or she needs.
Those
responsibilities are: 1) to students, 2) to scholarship, 3) to colleagues, 4) to
staff, 5) to the University, and 56)
to the larger community which the University serves.
All faculty, staff, students, and administrators are expected to act at all times with fairness, integrity, and respect for others. Faculty, by the nature of their position and responsibilities, have a position of superior power relative to other members of the community especially students, staff, junior faculty and postdoctoral students and staff. Ad hominem attacks in any form are unacceptable at any time or in any place. Our community requires open and collegial discussion of issues; the faculty is responsible for seeing that their conversation and discussions do not become personal or involve threats or intimidation. We are individually and collectively responsible for our behavior and accountable for our actions; harassment, intimidation, or violence against persons or property in violation of University policies will not be tolerated. We will not accept ignorance, one's upbringing, anger, or substance abuse as an excuse, reason, or rationale for such behavior.
To make these responsibilities operational, it is
necessary that ethical and professional standards be adopted to guide faculty
members in their conduct and that effective mechanisms be established to monitor
and enforce compliance with these standards.
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15.2 RESPONSIBILITIES TO STUDENTS.
(Board of Regents amendment
As a teacher, the faculty member has the responsibility for creating in his or
her classroom or laboratory a climate that encourages the student's endeavors
to learn. The faculty member should exemplify high scholarly standards and
respect and foster the student's right to choose and pursue his or her own
educational goals. For the purposes of this policy, graduate students
employed in a laboratory or teaching setting, should always be regarded first
and foremost as students.
a. The faculty member must make clear the objectives of the course or program, establish requirements, set standards of achievement, and evaluate the student's performance.
b. The faculty member has the responsibility to meet classes as scheduled and, when circumstances prevent this, to arrange equivalent alternate instruction.
c. The faculty member has the responsibility to teach courses in a manner that is consistent with the course description and credit published in the catalogue and with the announced objectives of the course. He or she must not intentionally interject into classes material or personal views that have no pedagogical relationship to the subject matter of the course.
d. In order to facilitate student learning, faculty members should present the appropriate context for course content. While challenge is essential to good teaching, challenge is ordinarily most effective when students are adequately prepared to deal with course materials. On controversial issues within the scope of the course a reasonable range of opinion should be presented. When the faculty member presents his or her own views on such issues, they should always be identified as such. Wherever values, judgments, or speculative opinions constitute part of the subject matter, they should be identified as such and should not be offered as fact.
e. The faculty member owes to the student and the University a fair and impartial evaluation of the student's work. Such evaluation should be consistent with recognized standards and must not be influenced by irrelevancies such as religion, race, sex, or political views, or be based on the student's agreement with the teacher's opinion pertaining to matters of controversy within the discipline.
f. Every student is entitled to the same intellectual freedom which the faculty member enjoys. The faculty member must respect that freedom. Restraints must not be imposed upon the student's search for or consideration of diverse or contrary opinion. More positively, the faculty member has an obligation to protect the student's freedom to learn, especially when that freedom is threatened by repressive or disruptive action. The classroom must remain a place where free and open discussion of all content and issues relevant to a course can take place. While students remain responsible for learning class material and completion of course requirements, faculty should respect reasonable decisions by students, based on their exercise of their own intellectual freedom, not to attend part or all of a particular class session.
g. The faculty member has obligations as an intellectual guide and counselor to students. He or she has a responsibility to be available to students for private conferences. In advising students, every reasonable effort should be made to see that information given to them is accurate. The progress of students in achieving their academic goals should not be thwarted or retarded unreasonably because a faculty member has neglected his or her obligation as advisor and counselor.
h. The faculty
member should conduct himself or herself at all times so as to demonstrate
respect for the student. He or she should always respect the confidence
deriving from the faculty-student relationship. He or she must not
abuse the teacher-student
relationship. On the
behavioral level, abuse may be operationally defined as behavior by faculty or students,
which is exploitive or punishing. Examples of inappropriate behavior are:
physical punishment or physical threats; sexual harassment; discrimination
based on race, religion, ethnicity, sex, age, sexual orientation, or physical
disabilities; repeated episodes of psychological punishment of a student by a
particular superior ( e.g. public humiliation, threats, intimidation, removal
of privileges); grading used to punish a student rather to evaluate objective
performance; assigning tasks for punishment rather than educational purposes;
requiring the performance of personal services; intentional neglect or
intentional lack of communication.
i. The faculty member must avoid exploitation of students for personal advantage. For example, in writings and oral presentations, due acknowledgment of their contributions to the work should be made.
j. In order that students can make knowledgeable choices about whether to take a particular course, it is the faculty member's responsibility to provide, on the first day of class, a course syllabus containing the following information:
(1) the instructor's name, office, office hours, and telephone number (if the instructor is a teaching assistant, the syllabus should also include the course supervisor's name, office, office hours, and telephone number);
(2) goals and objectives of the course;
(3) course content and schedule of topics;
(4) list of readings and/or other anticipated course materials;
(5) expectations for attendence, assignments, and examinations;
(6) dates and times of any examinations scheduled outside of class time;
(7) grading procedures including whether plus/minus grading will be used;
(8) statement on the availability of accommodations for students with disabilities;
(9) resources for obtaining additional help, such as tutors or teaching assistants; and
(10) any changes in information about the course from that which appears in the Schedule of Courses or other official University publications.
k. At the
beginning of each course students should be informed of departmental and
collegiate complaint procedures and services of the Office of the University
Ombudsperson. Complaints should be initiated at the faculty or departmental
level. If a complaint cannot be resolved at the departmental and/or collegiate
level, students may file a formal complaint utilizing the procedure specified
in II-29.7.
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15.3 RESPONSIBILITIES TO SCHOLARSHIP.
The faculty member's responsibilities to scholarship derive from the University's
commitment to truth and the advancement of knowledge. Furthermore, society has
a vital stake in maintaining the University as an institution where knowledge
can be sought and communicated regardless of its popularity, its political
implications, or even its immediate usefulness. The faculty member has an
ethical responsibility both to make full appropriate use of that freedom in his
or her teaching and research and to guard it from abuse. More specifically:
a. A faculty member is committed to a lifetime of study. Although no one can know everything, even about a limited subject, he or she must constantly strive to keep abreast of progress in his or her field, to develop and improve his or her scholarly and teaching skills, and to devote part of his or her energies to the extension of knowledge in his or her area of competence.
b. The faculty member has the responsibility of being unfailingly honest in research and teaching. He or she must refrain from deliberate distortion or misrepresentation, and must take regular precautions against the common causes of error.
c. In order to
maintain or increase effectiveness as a scholar, a faculty member may find it
advantageous to assume certain obligations outside the University, such as
consulting for government or industry, or holding office in scholarly or
professional societies. Such activities are appropriate in so far as they
contribute to his or her development as a scholar in his or her field, or at
the very least, do not interfere with that development. On the other hand,
acceptance of such obligations primarily for financial gain, especially when
such activities may be incompatible with the faculty member's primary
dedication as a scholar, cannot be condoned.
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15.4 RESPONSIBILITIES TO COLLEAGUES.
As a colleague, the faculty member has obligations that derive from common
membership in the community of scholars. He or she respects and defends the
free inquiry of associates and avoids interference with their work. In the exchange
of criticism and ideas, he or she shows due respect for the rights of others to
their opinions and avoids potentially abusive
behaviors and communications. He or
she refrains from personal vilification, and acknowledges contributions of
others to his or her work. When asked to evaluate the professional performance
of a colleague, the faculty member strives to be objective.
On the
behavioral level, abuse may be operationally defined as behavior that is
exploitive or punishing. Examples of inappropriate behavior are: physical
punishment or physical threats; sexual harassment; discrimination based on
race, religion, ethnicity, sex, age, sexual orientation, or physical
disabilities; repeated episodes of psychological abuse
of colleagues ( e.g.
public humiliation, threats, intimidation, denial
of privileges); assigning tasks for
punishment rather than scholarly or educational
purposes; requiring the performance of personal services; taking credit for
another individual's work; intentional neglect or intentional lack of
communication.
15.5
RESPONSIBILITIES TO STAFF.
The faculty, individually and collectively, is/are
responsible for developing and maintaining a collegial and supportive
working environment in their units. Each
faculty member has obligations that derive from common membership in the University
community. All faculty, staff,
students, and administrators are expected to act at all times with fairness,
integrity, and respect for others. Faculty, by the
nature of their position and responsibilities, have a superior power position
relative to other members of the community especially staff. When asked to
evaluate the performance of a staff member,
the faculty member strives to be objective.
He
or she shows due respect for the rights of others to their opinions and avoids
potentially abusive behaviors and communications. He or she refrains from
personal vilification, and acknowledges contributions of others to his or her
work. On the
behavioral level, abuse may be operationally defined as which is exploitive or
punishing. Examples of inappropriate behavior are: physical punishment or
physical threats; sexual harassment; discrimination based on race, religion,
ethnicity, sex, age, sexual orientation, or physical disabilities; repeated
episodes of psychological punishment of a staff member by a particular superior
( e.g. public humiliation, threats, intimidation, removal of
privileges);assigning tasks for punishment rather than remediation purposes;
requiring the performance of personal services; taking credit for another
individual's work; intentional neglect or intentional lack of communication.
15.5 6 RESPONSIBILITIES
TO THE INSTITUTION.
The faculty member's primary responsibility to his or her institution is to seek
to realize his or her maximum potential as an effective scholar and teacher. In
addition, the faculty member has a responsibility to participate in the
day-to-day operation of the University. Among the faculty member's general
responsibilities to the University, the following may be particularly noted:
a. When a faculty member acts or speaks as a private person, he or she should make clear that his or her actions and utterances are entirely his or her own and not those of the University.
b. The faculty member must never attempt to exploit his or her standing within the University for private or personal gain. The faculty member may, on appropriate occasions, cite his or her connection with the University, but only for purposes of personal identification. The faculty member must not permit the impression to prevail that the University in any way sponsors any of his or her activities.
c. University facilities, equipment, supplies, and other properties must never be used for personal or private business.
d. A faculty member has the duty to ensure that the regulations of the University are designed to achieve the University's goals as well as being in accord with the principles of academic freedom. Recognizing the importance of order within the institution, the faculty member observes the regulations of the University, but in no way abdicates his or her right to attempt to reform those regulations by any appropriate orderly means.
e. Effective faculty participation in the governance of the University promotes academic freedom and the goals of the institution. Each faculty member should take part in his or her institution's decision-making processes to the best of his or her ability and should accept a fair share of the faculty's responsibility for its day-to-day operation.
f. During periods of disturbance or high tension on campus, a faculty member should take reasonable steps to prevent acts of violence and to reduce tension.
g. Subject to
the requirements of this statement and other institutional regulations, a
faculty member determines the amount and character of the work and other
outside activities he or she pursues with due regard to his or her paramount
responsibilities within the University and primary loyalties to it.
15.6
7 Responsibilities to the Community.
Each faculty member and the faculty collectively,
is responsible for establishing and maintaining a safe, supportive, healthy and
humane environment on campus.
As a member of the community, the faculty member has the rights
and obligations of any citizen. These include the right to organize and join
political or other associations, convene and conduct public meetings and
publicize his or her opinion on political and social issues. However, in
exercising these rights, the faculty member must make it clear that he or she
does not speak for the University, but simply as an individual. The faculty
member does not use the classroom to solicit support for personal views and
opinions.
Because academic freedom
has traditionally included the faculty member's full freedom as a citizen, most
faculty members face no insoluble conflicts between the claims of politics,
social action, and conscience, on the one hand, and the claims and expectations
of their students, colleagues, and institutions on the other. If such conflicts
become acute, and the faculty member's attention to his or her obligations as a
citizen and moral agent precludes the fulfillment of substantial academic
obligations, the responsibility of that choice cannot be escaped, but the
faculty member should either request a leave of absence or resign his or her
academic position..