The Anderson University (AU) has the responsibility to prepare students for ethical challenges in the job market. Hart (2009) noted that up to 56% of the employers expect students from universities to have a sense of integrity and ethics. Therefore, colleges and universities have no option other than creating environments, and content that promotes ethical behavior.
First, AU needs to uphold ethics in its operation to act as a good example for the students. For instance, the university needs to enroll student based on exact promises other than false incentives that would attract students only for them to find that they are not true. The university should uphold the golden rule of doing unto other what one expects from them. In this case, if it plans other organization not to practice unethical behaviors that would lead to losses or unfair gain, the university should also follow the same principles. Ethics may also be on the way the institution awards grades, solves ethical problems such as the question of transgender washrooms, among others.
The above proposition agrees with Dodd and Couch (2005) that due to ethical lapses that face American corporates, the institutions of learning have since come up with ethical learning environments. Four or three years of been in an institution that upholds morals would offer the students enough experience.
Besides, the university needs to come up with relevant content that would prepare the learners to handle ethical challenges in the workplaces. The institution needs to create a curriculum that would instill methods of identifying ethical problems and solving them. For instance, all the units may have moral subtopics on top of a unit that is entirely deal with ethics. Ethical aspects of the coursework would provide the best theoretical framework that would guide the students in the future.
Moreover, AU can invite speakers from the corporate world to share their experiences on morals to the students. Higher educational institutions may not operate like the corporates. It follows that accounts of those in the corporate would provide a significantly valuable lesson on ethics. Therefore, AU should welcome different leaders and relevant authorities on morals to give public lectures at least every semester.
Since the focus of the AU is to the students, it would be appropriate if it establishes an ethics center. The center would handle the invites of the speakers and also carry out campaigns for ethical behaviors within the university. The center may also reach out to the alumni of the institution to track their records on the ethical issues and offer support if there is a need.
Moreover, the center for ethics in collaboration with the University leaders can come up with a code of ethics for all. Although students, tutors, and support staff may be operating under different terms, they all need to adhere to certain ethics rules. A code of ethics, in this case, would be a replica of what happens in the corporate world and, therefore, would give the students experience of how to handle ethical challenges upon leaving school.
Besides, there should be students’ representation in the case of disputes touching on ethics. In this case, students should have an ethics jury that would help in judging the action of their fellow students. The panel would offer recommendations to the administration in agreement with the other existing rules and regulations of the school.
References
Dodd, S. & Couch, S. (2005). Doing the right thing: Ethical issues in higher education. Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences; Sep. 2005. Vol. 97. No. 3. P. 20. Retrieved on April 13, 2016 from https://www.cse.cuhk.edu.hk/irwin.king/_media/teaching/gen1113/scn_20090202113342 _001.pdf
Hart, D. P., (2009). How should colleges prepare students to succeed in today’s global economy? The Association Of American Colleges And Universities. Retrieved on April 13, 2016 from https://www.aacu.org/sites/default/files/files/LEAP/2007_full_report_leap.pdf
