Elena
Gurgu
Central
Research Institute, Romania
E-mail: elenagurgu@yahoo.com
Rocsana
Bucea-Manea Tonis
Central
Research Institute, USHProBusiness,
Romania
E-mail: rocsense39@yahoo.com
Laurentia
Georgeta Avram
Spiru
Haret University, Romania
E-mail: avram.laurentia@spiruharet.ro
Violeta
Simion
Central
Research Institute, Romania
E-mail: simion.violeta.elena@gmail.com
Submission: 12/16/2019
Revision: 1/12/2020
Accept: 1/30/2020
ABSTRACT
The paper shows that the management of ethics in the academic environment is the coordination of all elements related to the moral life of a university. The last decades have insistently imposed on public awareness the importance of taking into account the ethical dimension of the life of universities. Ethical codes, ethics committees, ethical audits, ethical education of staff, techniques to create an institutional culture of a moral nature have all become increasingly widespread. "Institutionalization of ethics" in academia is a new reality for which we must be prepared. The University is an institution whose goals, valid for each of its members, include development and professional affirmation, the evolution of knowledge and research in the conditions of respect for the rule of law and human rights. The University respects the dignity of each of its members and promotes academic integrity on ethical principles. Its members are committed to contributing to the democratic development and prosperity of society. We think that the values and principles that universities promote in particular, and whose actual achievement is sought to ensure, are: academic freedom, personal autonomy, justice and equity, merit, professionalism, honesty and intellectual integrity, transparency, respect and tolerance, responsibility, goodwill and care. We are firmly convinced that if in Romania these principles of academic management are applied in good faith, then the standard of education and respect throughout the academic life will increase.
Keywords: ethics management, code of ethics, ethics committees and commissions, applied ethics, ethical academic ombudsman, academic integrity
1.
INTRODUCTION
he management of ethics
in the university environment presupposes the description and analysis of the
current ethical situation through "ethical audit", i.e. by assessing
the state of "ethical content" of the academic environment,
determining the desirable situation and deciding on the measures to be taken in
perfect harmony with the other forms of management (e.g. "ethical
development of the university").
Management of ethics in
the university environment as a management discipline deals with the
development of those leadership tools that contribute to the ethical
development of a university as well as those methods that can be used to
determine the direction in which the academia should develop. Management of
ethics in the university environment is the result of the increasingly visible
imprinting of the academic environment with responsibility/morality, regarded
as an indispensable condition of their existence. A university demonstrates
moral responsibility when it subordinates its interests to the interests of its
clients, the students.
In this context, ethics
management in the university environment is represented by all the activities
and measures that follow the institutional organization of ethics for the
creation of integrated universities.
Not to confuse ethics
management with ethics of management or management ethics, i.e. the study and
control of ethical issues raised by different forms of management - strategic
management, quality management, social management, etc.
The management of
ethics in the university is altogether different. This represents a new branch
of management of an educational institution. It must also be distinguished from
"academic ethics" in the broad sense, that is, from the traditional analysis
of ethical issues in universities to provide normative clarifications and moral
guidance, using various ethical theories and analytical tools provided by the
philosophy of morality.
Concerns about
improving morality are surprisingly old, and they have always been the mark of
the civilized world. In modern times there is the temptation to neglect such
civic engagements and public programs of moral improvement. We still have the
illusion that ethics can be reduced to spontaneous compliance with laws and
regulations.
Philosophers of
morality have always been interested in the usefulness and applicability of
their theories. Studying the theories of some authors (KANT, 2010; MILL, 2013;
HARE, 1972) any student was able to see the emphasis they put on "apps"
- procedures first of all, viewed as exercises, to show that theory works.
The etymology of the
ethical word derives from the Greek ethos that originally defined the customs
in general, but today it is reduced only to the meaning of moral customs. Ethos
also mentions the moral profile of the human community, the morale of the
groups.
The applied ethics
deals with contextualization, problem-solving of concrete situations, thus is
providing accurate moral guidance. It deals with the study of controversial
issues of contemporary society, in fields such as: university ethics,
pedagogical ethics, bioethics, etc. Focused on the study of deviations from the
traditional principles of morality, the applied ethics aims to broaden the
thematic field of ethics and limit generality, thus providing answers about the
concrete life of a person or a distinct community, such as the academic
environment.
In recent years, the
importance of taking into account the ethical dimension of academic life has
been strongly imposed on public consciousness. Ethical codes, ethics
committees, ethical audit, ethical education of staff, techniques to create an
academic culture of moral nature have become more and more widespread.
"Institutionalizing university ethics" is a new reality. The various
"ethical content" in the academic world has begun to force new
theoretical refinements, simply generating a new branch of management - the
management of university ethics.
Academic ethics is an
area at the intersection between ethics of research, ethics management in the
academic environment and the professional deontology of the researcher or
professor. Although the concerns that may be circumscribed in this area are far
from being a recent development (since the dawn of modernity, ethical debates
about the correlative debts of teachers and students, or topics such as the
moral acceptability of the use of bodies for the development of medical
knowledge) there has been a significant autonomy in the last 20-25 years,
especially as a result of the need to respond theoretically to requirements
arising from research and education funding bodies as well as from public
opinion. Thus, dedicated journals have appeared or consolidated (the most
well-known is probably the Journal of Academic Ethics, edited by Springer), and
several books or compendia have been published.
According to
(JEURISSEN'S, 2005) opinion, ethics management in the university environment
aims to improve decision-making processes, procedures and academic structures,
so that academic activities are as much as possible linked to ethical
principles. The tools used are ethical codes, ethical audit, and other
strategies to lead a university on the path of morality. According to (MENZEL,
2007) ethics management in the academic environment does not consist of
controlling and penalizing the behavior of academic staff or reflecting on the
ethics of the academic workplace. It is rather the set of actions taken by
deans or vice-rectors to stimulate the formation of a moral conscience and an
ethical sensitivity capable of impregnating all aspects of university activity.
This type of ethics management in the university environment is to promote and
maintain a strong ethical culture in the workplace in the academic environment.
The experience of ethics
management in the world's universities is short-lived, about two to three
decades, but some models of university ethics have been proposed. Some authors
speak of four stages in the evolution of ethics management in the university
environment, namely: the initial stage, ethical awareness, the stage of ethical
reasoning, consisting of procedures and criteria for decision-making, the stage
of ethical action and the stage of ethical leadership, promoting employment and
ethical culture.
We consider that, for
the moment, a large part of the universities in Romania is between the second
stage of ethics management, the stage of ethical reasoning, consisting of
procedures and criteria for decision-making
and the third one, the stage of ethical action , which is not bad, but
which still requires a continuous improvement and an exchange of good ethical
practices at European and, why not, international level.
2.
THE MAIN TOOLS OF ETHICS MANAGEMENT
IN ROMANIAN ACADEMIA
The main "tools" of ethics
management in the university environment that are concerned with the creation
of an integrated university are: ethical committees, ethical codes at the
university level, ethical academic ombudsman, ethical academic training,
ethical academic audit.
2.1.
Academic committees and commissions
of ethics - a support for decision-making in educational institutions
Academic committees and commissions
of ethics have emerged internationally about two to three decades ago in
various academic institutions in Western countries, along with the emergence of
university ethical codes as an institutional tool to implement them. The
foundation of the academic ethics committees was to contribute to the formation
of the moral opinions of both the general public and university specialists, as
well as to support decision-making in various educational institutions of its
private state on high ethical issues by the academic environment.
There is no homogeneous designation
of ethics committees at university level, but it can be said that they have
been set up internationally (called: Commissions), national (called: Councils)
and local (called: Committees). There is no homogeneity in terms of conceiving
their functions or internal organization. The composition of the academic
ethics committees is also very varied: some dominate the administrators and
others the teaching staff. The university ethics committees are increasingly
formed of groups of specialized teachers who have a compulsory ethical
training.
In the Romanian university
education, the Order of the Minister of Education no. 4492 / 6.07.2005 called
for the formation of "ethics commissions" in universities, is
defining their functions as follows: a) elaboration of the code of university
ethics; b) analyzing and solving complaints regarding deviations from
university ethics.
Almost all university ethics
commissions have as their primary function the resolution of disputes. However,
there are few cases in which these commissions include ethics, ethics of
education. At the same time, no systematic procedures for moral judgment are
used. Another feature of the Romanian Commissions of University Ethics is that
it is based on an Ethical Code that does not contain true moral principles with
a function of judgment orientation, but a list of values specific to the
institution that varies, however, partly from one university to another.
In many cases, their explanation is
naïve and sometimes, superficial. In all cases, these ethics committees,
focusing on litigation, make decisions by voting - which is unnatural for a
moral decision. Normally, an ethics committee should adopt a moral evaluation
tool or more, a "moral evaluation framework", to the limit a simple
scheme of ethical thinking assimilated by all members of the committee, and to
ensure at least a minimum of common language, and so a mini-guide to moral
evaluation.
Ethics committees include university
specialists, as well as specialists with competence in the field of ethics
management in the academic environment. Their functions are multiple and complex:
(a) to develop the code of ethics of the university or the "university
ethics manual"; (b) periodically assessing ethical policies of the
university and developing new ethical policies; (c) the formation and
maintenance of an ethical academic culture; (d) counseling or moral
consultation (for example, in the case of a major ethical conflict emerging in
the university: a complicated case of sexual harassment or a new situation of
"indecent" exposure of a teacher who does not have a clear ethical
affinity); (e) coordinating the ethical education of academic or administrative
staff and providing a good image of the academic institution in moral terms;
(g) maintaining the ethical conduct of academic and administrative staff at the
highest level; (h) investigating and resolving unfair behavioral complaints
from students or staff.
In general, these ethics committees
can pursue one of the following goals: a) regulate behaviors in the academic
environment; b) punitively impose the ethical code of ethics; c) educate
university staff.
2.2.
Internal academic ethics safety
networks
Some Western universities suggest
creating genuine "internal academic ethics safety networks" to help
resolve disputes and provide consultancy services required by university staff.
There are three models in this respect: 1) simple academic ethics safety
network with only one "responsible for ethical academic issues"
(possibly a minimum staff) that receives and resolves all complaints of code
violations and advises; the manager is elected outside the management hierarchy
of the university; 2) the model of the academic ethical network composed of
various services existing in the university to solve various types of ethical
violations; an "ethical coordinator" is in this case the one
responsible for communicating and coordinating these services, services to
which the dissatisfied are addressed directly (for example: security services,
counselors, compliance officers); 3) integrated academic safety network model
where a dedicated service system is coordinated by an "Academic Ethics
Helpdesk" that collects centrally complaints or requests from academic or
administrative staff and distributes them to different compartments to solving.
This University Ethics Service
offers the opportunity to collect centrally and to discuss the complaints of
teaching or auxiliary staff or students. It records all the details of the
complaints received through the dedicated telephone line (ethical hotline) and
distributes them to the competent services, keeping the anonymity of the
persons involved. He also mediates a discreet meeting between the applicant and
the clerk who can solve the case, while pursuing his progress.
2.3.
Ethics codes - about good conduct in
academia institutions
Ethics codes emerged in the US in
the mid-twentieth century as tools to protect companies from the effects of
unethical behavior and the 70-year-old blast of corruption that led to large
financial losses due to immoral and illegal practices.
An ethical code to an academic level
is a formulation of the rules and beliefs of a university about good conduct.
The ethical code of ethics is the way in which the management of the university
wants all the staff to think. The intention is to encourage the ways of
thinking and the attitudes that will lead to the desired behavior in the
university environment. In other words, the moral code of ethics of an
university education institution is a coherent set of values, principles and
moral norms, whether imposed by sanctioning the institution, to ensure a successful,
the welfare of the teaching and management staff of the institution and society
in a broad sense, to reduce or eliminate any harm to members of the
institution, to respect the dignity, integrity and autonomy of all students,
and to ensure equal, impartial protection to all members of the institution in
their mutual relations and their relations with the society as a whole.
The punitive sanctions that apply in
the academic environment are attached to moral rules. The punitive sanctions
are of three kinds: the reproaches of one's own conscience by a teacher,
secretary, librarian, etc. in case of violation of a moral rule, emotional
reaction that is formed through moral education; the abuse of public opinion,
of colleagues and students, which discourages certain behaviors of teachers or
administrative staff and which is also a matter of social education, of forming
an ethical academic institutional culture; administrative or legal penalties in
the case of violation of professional regulations or moral laws legally
established by the teaching or auxiliary staff.
From the above, arises the
importance of institutional moral education for the effective application of an
ethical code, a task normally attributable to the Ethics Committee of the
respective academic institution, because without the taxation mechanisms the
moral code will not be respected, and much of the mechanisms of taxation
(non-judicial) are formed through moral education.
In
the opinion of some of the ethics specialists, the role of the academic ethics
codes can be: a) Punitive, regulating, imposing values and moral norms promoted
by society, therefore including a chapter of administrative sanctions; b)
Aspirational, indicative, compliance with the rules being optional - the
Romanian university codes state that they do not constrain anybody; c) Purely
educational, these do not prescribe rules or standards, for the teacher has to
decide for himself, and his moral conscience is the one that must guide his
behavior.
Moral principles underlie any
ethical code and oblige them to protect moral values, guide actions and
decisions in the academic environment, forming the benchmarks of the common
academic ethos.
2.4.
The principles that protect moral
values
The principles that protect moral
values are: 1) The principle of blessing (doing good to students); 2) The
principle of not doing evil (avoiding harm to any student); 3) The principle of
respect for dignity or autonomy (never treating a student as a mere object,
respecting the student as a supreme value); 4) The principle of justice (being
impartial, not discriminating, giving merit, etc.); 5) The principle of
happiness ("student's good" or virtue); 6) Vulnerability principle
(duty to protect vulnerable students); 7) The principle of integrity (the duty
to protect that sphere of student personality and life that confers identity
and which should not be achieved by any intervention by the teacher/secretary);
8) Precautionary principle (teachers do not have to act in ways that can be
detrimental to students in the future); 9) The principle of double effect (it
is moral that the teacher does an action that has good and bad prognosis, in
other words the production of evil is morally justified); 10) The principle of
subsidiarity (teachers in authority must recognize the right of students to
participate in decisions that directly affect them, in accordance with the
principle of respect for dignity and their responsibility for maximizing the
common good); 11) The principle of advertising (moral rules as well as the
grounds for their justification, must be known and recognized by all those
involved, teachers and students, i.e. made public); 12) The principle of
solidarity (teachers must act as to share both the advantages and the burdens
in equal and just. Teachers have the obligation to participate in supporting
students who cannot afford their own social needs, increase social cohesion,
etc.); 13) The principle of equality (university and teachers must act to
ensure equal opportunities for all students and for removing any forms of
discrimination).
The academic ethics code is based on
the defining moral values of the university education institution. The ethical
codes of the Romanian universities have benefited from a model elaborated by
the Ministry of Education and have a remarkable homogeneity. They formulate the
ideals, values, principles and moral norms shared by members of the academic
community. These moral values are: academic freedom, personal autonomy, justice
and equity, merit, professionalism, honesty, intellectual correctness,
transparency, professional and social responsibility, respect and tolerance,
goodwill and care.
The fact that these moral values are
called "principles" does not change their status of value, the virtue
of the academic institution and of the teachers working in that institution. A
value is an "ideal", a description of the perfect state, not a rule
of conduct. Some universities have (partly) adopted other moral values such as
competence, integrity, collegiality, loyalty, responsibility.
All the ethical codes of Romanian
universities (and to a great extent foreign ones) are based, without
acknowledging this, on a single moral principle: the principle of institutional
integrity.
2.5.
The University Ombudsman - an
academic advisor
The University Ombudsman is
organized and operates in a university to advise, in a context of independence,
impartiality and confidentiality, all members of the academic community who
consider themselves to be treated unfairly. It facilitates communication
between members of the academic community in the event of conflicts, seeking to
help them find new ways by themselves to solve problems. At the same time, it
promotes the preliminary intervention, in order to avoid the negative
consequences of a conflict.
The University Ombudsman is
independent of the university structures in which he is active. In the course
of its work, the university ombudsman has access to all relevant sources of
information of the university and the university will provide him with a budget
and adequate resources to carry out his activity.
The Ombudsman must have sound
knowledge of the organization and functioning of the university in which he
operates, avoiding affiliations likely to affect his / her independence and
impartiality. The duration of each mandate of the university ombudsman overlaps
with the rector, which can be re-elected without any limitation of the mandate,
the rules of organization and functioning of the university ombudsman being
reviewed in each mandate.
In order to carry out its work, the
university ombudsman may be assisted by a deputy. The Ombudsman presents an
annual report to the Senate, classifying the issues raised and recommending how
to resolve it. In its work, the university ombudsman must comply with the
principles of impartiality, independence and confidentiality. He will not
disclose any confidential information, except in duly justified cases. He will
not mention the names of the persons who consult him, except with their
consent. Notes and other documents resulting from consultations will be kept in
safe conditions only for the time necessary to resolve the case and then
destroyed. They will not be passed to the university or faculty.
Any person belonging to the academic
community may address the university ombudsman, and he or she may complain ex
officio. All interactions with the ombudsman are voluntary. He has no right to
call anyone. Requests addressed to the university ombudsman by members of the
academic community are exempt from taxation. The Ombudsman will ensure by
appropriate measures that his / her mission and ways of contacting him / her
are known to the academic community.
The Ombudsman has the following
competencies: he /she receives the requests made by persons whose rights or
freedoms have been violated within the academic community and decides on how to
deal with these requests; gives audiences can conduct inquiries to solve the
requests he/she is consulted, formulates recommendations, helps all parties
involved in a conflict to identify possible solutions to solve problems by
providing specialist guidance, collaborates with decision-makers at the
university level, can do proposals for modifying and refining the rules and
practices of the university.
2.6.
Ethical training at the university level
- an intensive formative process at the academic level
Ethical
training at the university level refers to a teacher and administrative staff's
instability about "conflict of interest," "informed
consent," "moral complaints," or "transparency requirements"
in the academic environment.
Ethical
training at the university level is an intensive formative process, dependent
on academic specificity, designed to sensitize teachers and administrative
staff morally, to internalize their ethical code of ethics and common values,
to help them develop a moral character and at the same time improve their moral
judgment capacities in accordance with the requirements of the educational
institution they belong to.
The objectives pursued through
ethical training at the academic level may be more, but they must always be
adapted to the solving of the students' problems, as follows:
1) For the teaching staff and the
administrative staff of the educational institution can be pursued objectives
such as: explanation of the basic ethical notions and significance the
provisions of the university code of ethics; elements of identifying the moral
problems in the life of the university and their hierarchy; increasing general
sensitivity to the ethical issues of the university, viewed as aspects of her
way of being; reducing confusion as to who and what is morally responsible (who
must be punished); identifying, discussing and resolving real moral cases;
providing tools to help them understand ethical decision-making processes by strengthening
their moral reflection capacity; strengthening the ethical climate in the
university, the academic culture being the one that decisively guides the
behavior of the teaching staff and the administrative staff (by specific norms
of the university, rituals, ceremonies, etc.).
2) For those with leading positions and
especially for those involved in the moral management of the university, one
can pursue objectives such as: learning how to build and develop an ethical
code in the university environment; providing ethical tools to systematically
judge morally and independently of new cases occurring in the academic
environment; learning how to identify and apply various means of implementing
ethical codes in academia; learning techniques to create and improve the
ethical climate of the university, etc.
Ethical
training at the university level tends to become the most effective tool at the
disposal of the manager interested in building universities of integrity. Its
forms are multiple and their use depends on the evolutionary stage of ethics
management in that university, as follows:
a) The dominant form today in the world
is the "model of conformity". From this perspective, ethical academic
training has a prescriptive, punitive and coercive character, following the
inoculation of teaching staff and auxiliary staff with the ability to observe
university regulations and avoid vicious behavior. It is a training centered on
studying laws and understanding what the moral regulations of the university
say;
b) The "Integrity Model" is
related to the long-term evolution of ethics management in the academic
environment. It would aim at gradually creating the consciousness of an ethos
of the university, the sense of respect for its values and rules (regarded as
second nature), as well as the assimilation of simple procedures of moral
reasoning and decision, of practical wisdom at the academic level.
Ethical training in the university
environment is designed to empower employees, their skills and, most
importantly, their ability to make decisions in the area of academic ethics. As
we are in a maturing process of ethics management in academia, we can state
that at academic level, academic institutions may decide to use a combination
of elements belonging to the two models. Academic and administrative staff in a
university, which has received more intense ethical training, has a positive
perception of the ethical culture of the university where they are active and
exhibit less unethical behavior.
3.
COMPLIANCE TRAINING
The most widespread form of ethical
training is compliance training because it seeks to raise awareness of existing
moral rules and their inoculation. It's an incipient and quite superficial form
of ethical learning. The methods used are quite well known:
1) Occasional conferences, workshops
and seminars organized once or several times a year. Of great effect are the
conferences held by the rectorate or the deans of the university (not
specialists) through which they prove their own adherence to the adopted
ethical rules. These conferences are focused on clarifying basic concepts and
rules ("informed consent", "honesty", " how to make
complaints of ethical nature", what does "conflict of interest"
mean, acceptability of "gifts" etc.);
2) Some ethical training uses the case,
scenario and roles method to try to make the participants decide on their own
whether something is unethical in an unusual case, how to judge a moral
dilemma, or what it means to compare comparatively two competitive cases .
Generally, these compliance training at the academic level is focused on
standards of conduct and understanding of the ethical code of the respective
education institution.
3) 3.Very effective are the techniques
of persuasion: using stories copies to inoculate a particular rule, evoking
positive or negative heroes academia, the use of films. The most successful
workshops are conducted by deans, not by external trainers, but these deans
must be trained in advance by external experts; "Instructor training"
is a necessary part of a seriously built ethics training program;
4) Collective meetings are also
effective, where anonymous participation in voting is provided by a wireless
voting device. Thus, a list of questions is put, and the answer is voted
anonymously. In this way, all participants can see the degree of adherence of
the collective to a moral or other attitude without revealing their choice;
5) Discussing cases (casuistic method)
is an ideal teaching process for academic ethical training. A possible scheme
is that of "dilemma training session": one participant presents an
ethical dilemma to two other participants. These two participants then help the
former find alternative solutions and reflect on the pros and cons of them. The
rest of the group attends the discussion and intervenes from time to time, with
the instructor's acceptance;
6) Ethical online self-training is an
increasingly widespread ethical training method. It addresses the same
objective of knowing the code of ethics and advocating for it. The themes of
questionnaires, crosswords or games are specific to the ethics of that
university and can be solved in ten minutes or in tens of minutes. Texts can be
accompanied by audio and video connections. In general, the IT service accounts
for whether the teacher or the academic staff responded to how many
questionnaires they had and how they responded (a score automatically appears
at the end of the process as well as a certificate on the printer). The basic
idea is to keep employees connected to the ethical issues of the respective
educational institution: to know it, to discuss it, not to forget it;
7) Specifically created videos, with
actors playing roles similar to those in the university, in the series, have a
major emotional impact. Many Western university employees who have participated
in such events say they are just waiting to see what's next. Often immoral
behaviors are exaggerated and ironized, sometimes moral dilemmas are presented
and discussed;
8) Dilbert's animated cartoons by (ADAMS,
2013) suppose work on small groups of 5-6 teachers or auxiliaries who
masquerade a movie character. Teachers take a card with a question and each has
3 minutes to choose the answer from a list of 5 options. The replies of the
members of the university staff must not be the same. These answers are
quantified and a winner from the teaching or administrative staff participating
in the game is finally displayed. The idea is to make the players interested to
represent which of the answers is more ethical and why. There is also an
"ethical decision model" printed on the game guide, on souvenir
calendars, on postcards, etc. The Dilbert cartoon game has four steps:
a) Evaluates factual information;
b) Appreciate how the decision taken by
the teaching or auxiliary staff will affect stakeholders - students, other
teaching or auxiliary staff, university / faculty / department management,
etc.;
c) Appreciates which ethical values are
relevant to that situation;
d) Determine the best course of action
that takes into account the relevant values and stakeholder interests.
The means available to the academic
ethics manager to effectively implement the moral code of the university are
several, namely: The use of the ethical performance of the teaching staff
(established by the rectorate) as a criterion in the evaluation of the activity
and the promotion of the post; Use of punitive sanctions for violating the code
of university ethics; Communicating the code of ethics to all teachers and
administrative staff in the form of a brochure or online; Inoculation of
respect for the Code through training and discussion; Creating the
"ethical ombudsman" at the academic level; Creating a formal channel
for complaints, such as an ethical hotline at university level; Creating an
ethics committee at university level; Creating an ethics training committee and
conducting trainings for teachers and administrative staff; Including ethical
elements in all the components of the strategic plan of the university, thus
incorporating ethical values into the strategy of the educational institution.
3.1.
The integrity ethical training
In its superior forms, according to
the "integrity model", the integrity ethical training could include
sophisticated character-building programs to internalize the ethical values of
the university. But especially it should be complemented by programs for the
formation of an academic institutional culture that puts pressure on the
individual behavior of the teaching staff or auxiliary staff.
Creating an ethical culture of the
higher education institution presupposes the acceptance of ideas: that personal
morality is not enough to have an integrated university; that a moral culture
of the academic education institution must exist and stimulate moral behavior;
that ethical debate is important and is the only way to raise awareness and
solve the moral problems that arise at university level; that institutional
ethics can be learned at any age; that editing a code does not solve the
problem.
3.2.
Pedagogical strategies
The imaginative pedagogical
strategies for teaching teachers as characters are many, including: Using
stories (novels, movies, biographies) to encourage respect for virtues and the
rejection of vice; Imitation of models, use of moral mentors, in addition to
vocational ones. Once again, it is highlighted the important role of the
academic managers in the moral aspect of establishing a moral life in the
academic education institution; Working in small, collaborative, united
collectives where teachers trust one another working in a framework in which
virtues can be formed or strengthened, such as the desire to help,
communication and mutual trust - essential in good functioning of any
university; Self-reflection methods, such as keeping a journal, internal
ethical debates, or limiting situations (staying one night in jail, working in
an unqualified business), though harder to organize, are also methods of
consolidation of virtues.
3.3.
University ethical audit - an
assessment of the various relevant aspects of aN
university ethics
Ethical academic audit is a new
field of activity that consists in examining the state of a higher education
institution in an ethical way to see if changes are needed in its academic
policies. Universities have recently hired a director to promote ethical
behavior in academia.
Ethical
academic audit is a systematic activity that carries out a description,
analysis and assessment of the state of the various relevant aspects of a
university's ethics. Systematicity based on the
application of measurement and evaluation standards gives the specificity of a
good ethical academic audit. Starting from the results of an ethical audit,
higher education institutions can take concrete steps to develop activities to
improve their "moral content". Such activities are concerned with the
management of ethics in the university environment. The ethical progress of
universities, taking the form of an ethical project or program integrated into
the university's strategic plan, consists of a set of measures and activities
designed to strengthen and improve the ethics of an university.
Ethical academic audit is therefore
the process by which the "ethical academic climate" is measured.
Ethical academic audit seeks to determine: what moral values and standards are
in place, whether or not moral standards are pursued, whether the ethical goals
of the university (internal control) are attained and, on the other hand,
whether the university behaves responsibly and transparently with students,
taking into account, where appropriate, cultural, value differences, which may
occur especially when students come from different countries (the external
side).
Ethical academic audit establishes
the moral profile of a university, the factors that affect its reputation and
the image it has in the eyes of students and the general public.
An ethical academic audit can
fulfill five functions, according to (KAPTEIN, 2004) :
a) A descriptive function: an ethical
academic audit describes the current moral state of a university;
b) A normative function: based on the
description of the current situation of a university, a desirable situation is
imagined and created; or: the current situation of the university is described
starting from a pre-formulated desirable situation;
c) Identify discrepancies: an ethical
academic audit shows the discrepancy between the current situation of an
university and the desired situation - the "moral goal";
d) A sanctioning function: an ethical
academic audit provides information for penalizing teachers or administrative
staff;
e) An evaluation function: making more
ethical academic audits over time can determine the improvements or
deteriorations suffered by the analyzed aspects of a university.
3.4.
Ethical academic auditor
The profession of ethical academic
auditor presupposes the existence of intellectual capacities and experiences
gained through training and education and through a code of values and common
conduct for all ethical auditors. The quality of the services of an ethical
academic auditor consists in the auditor's competence to carry out his / her
tasks with: objectivity, responsibility, diligence, honesty.
In performing their service duties,
ethical academic auditors should promote cooperation and good relations.
Essential elements of the profession of ethical academic auditor are the
following: support, professional co-operation, balance, fairness.
Ethical academic auditors must have
a perfect conduct both professionally and personally, and the information
provided by their reports and opinions must be faithful to academic and
trustworthy reality.
In doing business, ethical auditors
at university level are bound to respect the following fundamental principles:
A. Integrity: the ethical academic auditor must be fair, honest and
incorruptible, integrity being the support of trust and credibility; B.
Independence and objectivity: B1. Independence from the audited institution and
any other interest groups is indispensable. Ethical academic auditors should
make every effort to be independent in dealing with the issues in the analysis
and must be independent and impartial both in theory and in practice. In all
matters relating to audit work, the independence of ethical auditors must not
be affected by personal or external interests. Ethical academic auditors have
an obligation not to engage in those activities in which they have a legitimate
interest; B2. Objectivity refers to the fact that in their work, ethical
academic auditors must show objectivity and impartiality in the drafting of
reports, which must be precise and objective. The conclusions and opinions
expressed in the reports should be based solely on documents obtained and
analyzed according to audit standards, ethical academic auditors having to use
all useful information received from the audited entity and from other sources.
Ethical academic auditors should also analyze the views expressed by the
audited university and, depending on their relevance, formulate their own
opinions and recommendations. They must make a balanced assessment of all
relevant circumstances and not be influenced by their own interests or the
interests of others in forming their own opinion. C. Confidentiality. Ethical
academic scholars are bound to keep confidentiality about the facts,
information or documents about which take knowledge in the exercise of their
attributions to a university. It is forbidden that ethical academic auditors
use the information acquired in the exercise of their professional duties in
the personal interest or for the benefit of a third university; D. Professional
competence. Ethical academic auditors are required to perform their
professional duties with professionalism, competence, impartiality and
international standards, applying their acquired knowledge, skills and
experience; E. Political neutrality. Ethical academic auditors must be
politically neutral for the purpose of impartially performing their activities.
In doing so, they must maintain their independence from any political
influence. They have the duty, in the exercise of their duties, to refrain from
expressing or manifesting their political convictions.
3.5.
Rules of conduct for ethical
academic auditors
Conduct rules of ethical academic auditors
are behavioral norms for them, and are helpful in interpreting principles and
their practical application, with the role of ethically guiding academic
managers. Thus: It is forbidden to involve ethical auditors in activities or
relationships that might conflict with the interests of the audited institution
and which could affect an objective assessment; ethical academic auditors are
forbidden to provide audit services to other services institutions than
auditing and consulting services; it is forbidden for ethical academic
auditors, during their mission, to receive from the audited university
advantages of a material or personal nature that could affect the objectivity
of their evaluation; ethical academic auditors are required to submit in their
reports any documents or facts known to them, which would otherwise affect the
work of the audited university; it is forbidden to use by ethical academic
auditors the information obtained in the course of their personal activity or
in a manner that may be contrary to the law or to be in the detriment of the
legitimate and ethical objectives of the university; auditors must behave in a
professional manner in all their activities, apply professional standards and
show impartiality in the performance of their duties; ethical academic auditors
have to engage only in those missions for which they have the necessary
knowledge, skills and experience; ethical academic auditors should use the best
quality methods and practices in their activities; in conducting auditing and
in producing reports, ethical academic auditors have a duty to adhere to basic
postulates and generally accepted audit standards; ethical academic auditors
need to continually improve their knowledge, efficiency and quality of work.
The University Rectorate must provide the necessary conditions for the
professional training of ethical academic auditors, the period allocated for
this purpose being at least 15 working days a year; ethical academic auditors
must have an appropriate level of specialized education, training and eloquent
professional experience; ethical academic auditors must be familiar with the
academic legislation and should be constantly concerned about the level of
preparedness, in line with international standards; ethical academic auditors
are forbidden to overcome their job responsibilities.
4.
CONCLUSIONS
Of course, there is no single recipe
for forming an ethics culture. But university management must go beyond
compliance training. This is an increasingly emphasized conclusion in the literature,
along with the idea that the articulation of a good academic institutional
culture has the strongest influence in reducing the risk of unethical
behaviors.
The members of the university need
not only to become aware of and internalize ethical norms, but also to ask what
is morally correct in one case or another. It is the formation of ethical
discernment (of some abilities to solve moral problems and to decide in
complicated situations) by studying and applying ethical decision-making
methods at the academic level.
The main ethical tools already
mentioned - codes, ethics committees, ethical training, ethical or moral audit
- are complementary tools that need to be used together. In some countries,
ethics is part of the academic institutional culture, and university management
requires an ethics course as a condition for promotion. Otherwise, in the
annual evaluation sheet the teacher must tick a box that reminds him that his
duty is to treat students and colleagues with respect and dignity.
In the future, our research wants to
move towards a less studied side in our country, namely to the one of finding a
pedagogical strategy for the formation of character in the sense required by
the university. We believe that this is a problem faced by both American and
Western universities.
At this moment, in Romania, ethics
in higher education is approached as "something to be done", being
imposed by normative acts. Therefore, most Romanian universities aim at
fulfilling the minimum standards imposed by specific methodologies, the effects
of which are relatively low. Compliance with national standards leads to
uniformity, compliance. However, we consider that a voluntary approach to
ethics management in the higher education system is necessary in order to increase
the competitiveness of the system. The elements of ethics management in the
university environment must be acknowledged and assumed by each academic member
of the academic environment.
University ethics management must
offer universities the opportunity to exchange good practices and promote both
traditional European values such as solidarity, cooperation,
freedom, tolerance, efficiency, respect for human rights and the principles of
ethics management, and of total quality, materialized in: orientation towards
students, the internalization of student-faculty/university relationship, the
quality of primary education, continuous improvement of teaching methods,
system vision and data argumentation.
Generally speaking, the
effectiveness of ethics management in the academic environment depends on the
university's ability to exploit all types of information, namely all
communication channels, both formal and informal, thus building an open
university ethic culture. This is fundamental in the university environment
where the construction of an "ethical learning community" calls for
the presence of efficient information networks - supported both by structural
platforms and by individual efforts.
Ethical dilemmas arise when there is
no clear answer about how "right" or "wrong" action occurs
in a particular situation that may arise in academia. Dilemmas arise everywhere
- at the level of academic governance, when designing strategic policy at
university level, for academic leadership teams when putting university policy
into practice, and for university staff with regard to everyday questions about
ethical behavior in the university. Complex dilemmas may arise when the values
of a higher education institution collide with those of civil society or with
the personal or professional values of the employee of an academic institution.
Dilemmas are a useful tool to help
higher education institutions think about their own ethical approach. They can
also play an important role in forming university ethics to encourage academic
staff to discuss issues and deal with difficult situations that may arise
during their university work.
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