The Ethical & Moral Compass of the Graduate Honor System

The graduate Honor Code Constitution serves as a roadmap, compass, or informational pamphlet that navigates and informs the appropriate social and academic standards of conduct to uphold while at the institution, and hopefully a standard that extends beyond the institution. The Constitution is an established standard to ensure that academic integrity is maintained and followed. The Constitution to some degree is a moral and ethical compass that’s provides direction to a personal responsibility in preserving the value of academic integrity and reframing from unethical conduct.

It’s a serious pledge and commitment as a graduate student to abide by and consent to the submission of all assignments, documents, research, and etc. is devoid of plagiarism, any form of cheating, academic sabotage, and falsification. While we are granted academic freedom and independence, we still have an obligation to remain honest, demonstrate a level of integrity, and ethical standard in the work we carry out and practice as well as report any academic violations, and etc.. The current Constitution is lucid, and instills a high ethical component and exhibits a collaboration of faculty, students, and staff in ensuring that the integrity of the work is modeled, upheld, and demonstrated to support and provide academic success.

"Your reputation and integrity are everything. Your credibility can only be built over time, and it is built from the history of your words and actions." - Maria Razumich-Zec

Moral & Ethic Temperature Check: Be Aware of Your Discipline's Code of Ethics

"Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do." - Potter Stewart

Code of ethics is emplaced to serve as a moral and ethical thermometer. The moral and ethical thermometer is utilized when its a necessitate to check the temperature on ethical decision making in the code of academics and/or professional work, or when its essential to check as a basis for judging the merit of an official complaint pertaining to a violation of professional/academic ethical standard(s). According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIH), ethical norms and standards are behaviors that suite a particular aim(s) and goal(s) as well as permit the public to hold those who conduct scientific research accountable. So, ethical standards govern a conduct, but also aids in coordinating actions or activities that establish the public's trust of the discipline as well as construct public support.

It's important to understand moral norms, scientific conduct, and humanist conduct because it serves as a conduct of ethical standard for academic and/or professional behavior as well as an obligation to uphold and exemplify the values and principles that protect the quality of life of all people, their human rights, and their diverse backgrounds and cultures. It also aids in ensuring the accountability, trust, and mutual respect in collaborative research.

As Social Scientist, we want to make sure we collect the necessary data, information, and materials, but we also want to make sure we’re protecting all parties involved as well as exercising appropriate judgment between right and wrong and having the ability to distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behavior. As we conduct research or collaborate, it’s noble to have unsystematic temperature checks to make sure that a level of academic/professional standards is being maintained as well as the trust, quality, and integrity of the research.

Temperature Checks Should Include the Following:

Honesty & Trust Worthiness,

Equal Opportunity/ Fairness,

Distribute Proper Credits,

Honor/Protect Human & Animal Rights,

Respect All Parties Involved, and

Continuously Uphold the Code of Ethics

The Purpose of Higher Education in the 21st Century

The purpose of  higher education or continuing education is rapidly changing as well as the context and students' exceptions of the institution. In providing high quality education, institutions should align and be prepared to remain abreast with the emergence of technical trends, educational environments, and various teaching and learning pedagogical strategies. Higher education is leveraging these developments to make the most of students’ learning experiences and choices.

The future of higher education is leading more in the direction of curricula reform, offering more multi-disciplinary programs in STEM majors or cross-disciplinary programs, fostering relationships with K-12 sector, finding balance between non-traditional/informal learning (i.e. MOOC's or distant learning) with traditional learning, investing in technology and apps, recreating space for increased class sizes, and finding unique ways to increase retention and enrollment rates.

Maintaining the balance of non-traditional and traditional learning is adapting to innovated or contemporary pedagogical approaches while retaining the foundation of traditional methods. There is no absolute way of knowing the future of higher education or make certain an institutions success in the future, but the objective is to empower students, establish an inclusive environment, and strengthen transfer.