Rule 3344-11-14 | Attachment B to Chapter 3344-11 of the Administrative Code - A statement on professional ethics and academic resonsibility.
(A) The basic functions of the university are the advancement and dissemination of knowledge, the development of critical intelligence in the young, and the education of citizens and professional workers for the society of which the university is a part.
(B) The indispensable condition for the successful discharge of these functions is an atmosphere of intellectual freedom. Unless a faculty member 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 their work. It is imperative, therefore, that the university maintains an atmosphere of intellectual freedom and that faculty members uphold that freedom by their own actions. To make that freedom operational, it is equally imperative that the university establish democratic mechanisms for meaningful faculty participation in the governance of the institution.
(C) Freedom entails responsibilities. It is incumbent upon the faculty member to accept the responsibilities and, which are concomitant with the freedom and, for the most part, enjoys. Those responsibilities are: to students, to scholarship, to colleagues, to the university, and to the larger community which the university serves.
(D) Responsibilities to students.
(1) As teachers, faculty members have the responsibility for creating in the classroom or laboratory and in relations with students a climate that stimulates and encourages the students' endeavors to learn. To the best of their ability, exemplify high scholarly standards, and respect and foster the students' freedom to choose and pursue their own goals.
(2) Regardless of rank or position, the instructor of record is required to file with the department and shall provide each student with a course syllabus specifying at a minimum:
(a) The instructor's office and phone number.
(b) The instructor's office hours.
(c) The basis for determining the student's grade.
(3) Adequate supporting documentation regarding student performance should be continually maintained. Any changes to items in paragraphs (D)(2)(a) to (D)(2)(c) of this rule should be provided to the student in writing. Documentation shall be maintained for one semester.
(4) Refusal to fulfill this responsibility after reasonable warnings and an opportunity to rectify the condition is cause for the dean to recommend that the chief academic officer initiate the procedure for sanctions.
(a) The faculty member has the obligation to make clear the objectives of the course or program, to establish requirements, to set standards of achievement, and to 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.
(d) 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 shall not be influenced by irrelevancies such as religion, race, sex, or political view, or be based on the student's agreement with the teacher's opinions pertaining to matters of controversy within the discipline.
(e) Every student is entitled to the same intellectual freedom that the faculty member enjoys. The faculty member shall respect that freedom. The faculty member may not impose restraints 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.
(f) The faculty member has obligations as intellectual guide and counselor to students. The faculty member has a responsibility to be available to students without undue delay. In advising students, the faculty member should make every reasonable effort to see that information given to them is as accurate as possible. The progress of students in achieving their academic goals should not be thwarted or unduly retarded because a faculty member has neglected obligations as advisor and counselor.
(g) Faculty members should conduct themselves at all times so as to demonstrate respect for the student. They should always respect the confidences deriving from the faculty-student relationship.
(h) The faculty member shall avoid exploitation of students for personal advantage. For example, in writing and oral presentations, the faculty member makes due acknowledgement of their contributions to the work.
(E) Responsibilities to scholarship.
(1) 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 state 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 teaching and research and to guard it from abuse.
(2) More specifically:
(a) Faculty members are committed to a lifetime of study. Although no one can know everything, even about a limited subject, they shall constantly strive to keep abreast of progress in their field, to develop and improve scholarly and teaching skills, and to devote part of their energies to the extension of knowledge in their area of competence.
(b) The faculty member has the responsibility of being unfailingly honest in research and teaching, refraining from deliberate distortion or misrepresentation and taking regular precautions against the common causes of error.
(c) In order to maintain or increase their effectiveness as a scholar, faculty members 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 their development as a scholar in the 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.
(F) Responsibilities to colleagues.
As a colleague, the faculty member has obligations that derive from common membership in the community of scholars. The faculty member respects and defends the free inquiry of associates and avoids interference with their work. In the exchange of criticism and ideas the faculty member shows due respect for the rights of others to their opinions, refraining from personal vilification. The faculty member acknowledges contributions of others to the work. When asked to evaluate the professional performance of a colleague, the faculty member strives to be objective.
(G) Responsibilities to the institution.
The faculty member's primary responsibility to the institution is to seek to realize 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:
(1) When acting or speaking as a private person, the faculty member should make clear that the actions and utterances are entirely the faculty member's own and not those of the university.
(2) The faculty member shall never attempt to exploit standing within the university for private or personal gain. The faculty member may, on appropriate occasions, cite connection with the university, but only for purposes of identification not permitting the impression to prevail that the university in any way sponsors any of the faculty member's private activities.
(3) University facilities, equipment, supplies, etc., shall never be used for personal or private business.
(4) 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 the right to attempt to reform those regulations by any appropriate orderly means.
(5) 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 the institution's decision-making processes to the best of the faculty member's ability and should accept a fair share of the faculty's responsibilities for its day-to-day operation.
(6) During periods of disturbance or high tension on campus, a faculty member should do everything possible to prevent acts of violence and to reduce tension.
(7) A faculty member determines the amount and character of the work and other activities pursued outside the responsibilities within the university and his primary loyalties to it.
(H) Responsibilities to the community.
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 an opinion on political and social issues. However, in exercising these rights, the faculty member shall make it clear that the faculty member does not speak for the university, but simply as an individual. The faculty member does not use the classroom to solicit support for the faculty member's personal views and opinions.
(I) 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 obligations as a citizen and moral agent precludes the fulfillment of substantial academic obligations, the faculty member cannot escape the responsibility of that choice, but should either request a leave of absence or resign the academic position.
* Originally published with the kind permission of the faculty senate of the university of Iowa, which adopted this statement on April 27, 1971; subsequently revised and edited.
Last updated October 3, 2024 at 11:49 AM
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