Standard 11: Integrity
Description
SCSU continues to advocate high ethical standards in the management of its dealings with students, faculty, staff, governing board, external organizations and the general public. The university expresses in public statements and in published documents this commitment to high ethical standards. The information presented to prospective students is honest and forthright. Codes of conduct for faculty, found in the AAUP Collective Bargaining Agreement (AAUP CBA) and Faculty Handbook; for staff, found in the Employee Handbook; and students, found in the Student Handbook are freely available to the university and public through the university Website. Ethical growth is supported by continued training, such as the electronic training in data security and affirmative action provided by Human Resources for faculty and staff. Institutional leadership has promoted an open door policy by which issues of integrity can be addressed, mainly through town hall meetings, held on a regular and frequent basis each semester, and email communication. The Research Protection Program (RPP) promotes and assures integrity and ethical behavior in areas of research. The Office of Research Integrity (ORI) promotes and monitors the responsible conduct of research for all SCSU human and non-human research, and acts on substantive allegations of research misconduct. The Institutional Review Board (IRB) is charged with reviewing research for integrity before data is collected and requires all researchers to provide documentation of education regarding research ethics. The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) oversees the proper care and welfare of vertebrate animals used in research and teaching.
SCSU is committed to principles of intellectual honesty and academic freedom, diversity and respect for every person, due process for all members of the community, and the highest ethical standards in its policies, practices, publications, and operations. Academic honesty statements, along with procedures for dealing with allegations, are clearly spelled out and can be found in the Student Handbook, Graduate Catalog, Undergraduate Catalog, and AAUP Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). These publications are regularly updated. The Student Handbook details the academic rights and responsibilities for students. Procedures for adjudication of academic misconduct cases are currently being reviewed by the Faculty Senate as required by a recently adopted Board of Trustees (BOT) policy. Academic freedom has been a pillar of academic life at SCSU and continues to be an important part of the academic culture. Detailed statements of academic freedom are found in the AAUP CBA, the Faculty Handbook, and the Student Handbook.
The university is authorized to issue undergraduate and graduate degrees by Section 10a of the Connecticut General Statutes, which guides the Board of Trustees (BOT) in setting the policies and procedures under which SCSU functions. SCSU is also bound, as a state agency, to the state Code of Ethics and Freedom of Information Act, and as a public agency, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act protecting the privacy of students. The Office of the Connecticut State Attorney General represents the university in legal actions and serves as a source of legal advice, such as on contracts. The Office of the State Attorney General also approves all contracts, which are available to the public through Connecticut's open records laws. The university also complies with all federal regulations regarding research integrity and the use of human participants and nonhuman vertebrate animals in research. SCSU strives to observe all applicable legal requirements. In 2010, a BOT policy allowing the Chancellor to dismiss a university president was challenged by faculty, and later found to be in violation of State law by the Connecticut State Attorney General. The BOT rectified the policy.
SCSU has made significant strides in improving the search processes for faculty, management confidential, administrative faculty, and classified positions. Human Resources and the Office of Diversity & Equity (ODE) revised the search procedures and published them online for the campus to access. In faculty searches, particular attention has been paid to recruitment plans that provide a blue print for the efforts made to attract a diverse population of candidates. Directed training sessions are also instrumental in communicating the need to hire more women and candidates of color. SCSU has added additional oversight with respect to Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) guidelines and procedures in faculty and staff searches. The university continues its long-standing commitment to affirmative action, equal employment, and diversity. The ODE advises and supports the university community on hiring practices and procedures, affirmative action plans, equity policies and other employment, and student legal issues. The office is also responsible for ensuring the university's compliance with all state and federal laws pertaining to diversity and equity. These include Title VII and Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, state and federal equal opportunity, sexual harassment laws and regulations, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ODE has focused effort on retention and creating a healthy work environment by continuing training efforts for managers on sexual harassment and workplace diversity. The grievance procedures and the policy for sexual harassment prevention and discrimination were revised and published by the ODE. The policy and procedures were communicated to the community via online training. Grievance procedures to protect faculty, students and staff against violations of academic freedom or any other alleged infringement of institutional policies or procedures are clearly published in the AAUP CBA, the Faculty Handbook, the Student Handbook and the SUOAF-AFSCME CBA.
The university collaborates with associations and organizations, such as Special Olympics, that share the same mission and support the disciplines offered at the university. Outside entities that wish to use campus resources must follow university facility usage policies. SCSU has consistently demonstrated a commitment to conduct itself with integrity and honesty in all its dealings with the NEASC Commission. Each year since the Commission's site visit in 2001, SCSU has filed reports to facilitate the Commission's monitoring of its accreditation and to keep the Commission informed of any substantive changes within the reporting period.
Appraisal
Integrity is the basis for trust, and no university can be successful and grow if the parties involved - faculty, administration, staff, and students - do not trust one another. There are high expectations for the members of the university community, including the board, administration, faculty, staff, and students, for responsibility and integrity. A survey conducted as part of the NEASC self-study found that 70% of respondents believed that SCSU adheres to high ethical standards. Evidence that there are high expectations for integrity can be seen in the objections raised by the Faculty Senate about the BOT's personnel policy change regarding university presidents, as well as in the BOT's subsequent amendment of the policy as requested by the Connecticut State Attorney General.
Employee and faculty satisfaction surveys have been utilized in the past, but the results were mixed and the process costly, so these were abandoned. However, as an alternative mechanism to obtain employee feedback, town hall meetings and university dialogues were instituted and serve as forums for communication and understanding. The university publishes institutional policies regarding research integrity to faculty and students through the Website and RPP newsletter, and through about a dozen classroom presentations per year. The ethical review process for research has ensured that all applicable federal regulations regarding human and nonhuman vertebrate animals have been followed. Neither the ORI nor the IRB have encountered any falsification of research data or mistreatment of research participants. Email has also been used successfully to disseminate the need for other types of ethical training by HR to faculty and staff. The ethical use of computer technology, hardly SCSU's problem alone, deserves attention. Faculty, administration, students, and staff have been made aware of the potential problems related to protection of privacy and intellectual property that accompany the access to one another and to the Internet (See Standard 7).
The issue of plagiarism is a serious one, particularly as online resources become more common, and the current work of the Faculty Senate on revising the academic misconduct policy is addressing this issue. The commitment to academic honesty is crucial to a vibrant university and the codifying of the academic freedom of faculty and staff in Collective Bargaining Agreements demonstrates the strength of the commitment to these principles at SCSU. The description and procedures for academic freedom are comprehensive, and as a contractual obligation, have been reached through collaboration with administration and faculty. Data from a survey of faculty and students indicate that a majority agreed that SCSU assured faculty and students the freedom to teach and to study. With freedom comes responsibility, and the principles of academic integrity and honesty for both faculty and students are clearly delineated, and fair processes for resolving issues exist. A majority of the university community indicated that they believed that SCSU values and promotes academic freedom, equitably applies educational policies and procedures to all students, and promotes policies and procedures for the fair resolution of grievances.
To foster an atmosphere that respects and supports people of diverse characteristics and backgrounds, the Diversity and Equity Leadership Council (DELC) was charged with the task of drafting a Diversity Action Plan. A draft Diversity Action Plan was first communicated to the entire campus in May 2010. The President and the Cabinet respond quickly to any acts of intolerance with clear messages that such acts are unacceptable. The Minority Recruitment and Retention Committee and the Minority Recruitment and Mentoring Committee collaborate to increase diversity and tolerance on campus. The self-study survey found that the majority of respondents believed that SCSU adheres to non-discriminatory policies and practices, fosters an atmosphere of respect, and supports respect for the free expression of diverse viewpoints.
The comments and opinions of the Commission have been valued and followed. The Liberal Education Program is the university's response to Commission comments in the last review that the undergraduate general education requirements needed strengthening. Furthermore, the institution has sought to educate all community members as to the importance and value of the accreditation process. The reaccreditation steering committee is drawn from all campus constituencies, and an open call was made for committee members.
Projection
Integrity is a matter of perception, and having a broad sense of the campus climate regarding integrity should be reconsidered. The commitment to integrity will be made evident through a centralized Website or "clearinghouse" for ethical information and required training that will increase the ability of students, faculty and staff to learn about maintaining integrity in their professional behavior. This site, to be developed during the 2011-2012 academic year as the new university Website is implemented, will aggregate university policies on ethical behavior and integrity, provide links to appropriate campus resources, and increase the ability of all involved to know of and comply with the existing policies. A new policy that will allow the university to better address and track student academic misconduct through the Judicial Affairs Office is currently under review and is expected to be implemented during the coming academic year. Different mechanisms exist to deal with academic freedom/honesty issues for faculty. Yearly announcements and reminders by the Provost or President regarding academic freedom and the procedures to be followed when academic freedom has been violated will underscore the university's commitment to integrity, and raise awareness about reporting.
Advancing integrity requires ongoing attention. As a step toward becoming a campus that reflects the diversity of the larger community, the DELC will finalize and begin implementation of the Diversity Action Plan over the 2011-2012 academic year. In addition, compliance with research regulations will be maintained.
Institutional Effectiveness
Southern Connecticut State University has demonstrated commitment to integrity through the continued application of resources. Constituent groups report beliefs in the integrity of the institution and fairness in the application of policies. The ongoing pursuit of institutional integrity is supported through education, communication, collaboration, training, and continuous examination of policies and procedures.
