Pathways to a Culture of Academic, Personal, and
Social Integrity
by Claire A. Stiles, Ph.D.
Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL
International Center for Academic Integrity
Annual Conference
February 28, 2014
Jacksonville, Florida
Academic Integrity in the Classroom
TO
Integrity and Civility Across the Campus
Community
Honesty and Respect between Faculty and Students in
Academic Settings
TO
Respect, Responsibility, and Consideration, i.e.,
CIVILITY among all members of the Campus
Community in All Settings

Prevalence of incivility, dishonesty, and disrespect in academic
and non-academic activities across the campus culture in many
institutions

New norm of cheating to get ahead, rudeness, disrespect, lack
of consideration and disregard for right and concerns of others
Examples:
 Academic dishonesty, cheating, and plagiarism
 Cyberbulleying, sexual assault, and fighting
 Abusive language and behavior at sporting events
 Vandalism and petty theft across campus
 Disregard for classroom protocol – cell phone use
 Disrespectful language and behavior toward faculty, staff,
and students
Weeks, K.M. (2011). In search of civility. New York: Morgan James Pub.
To bridge the gap between the academic and nonacademic dimensions of student life
To instill a viable culture of integrity and civility
throughout the entire institution.
•
Widely shared beliefs, values, attitudes,
perceptions, and behaviors based on history and
tradition
•
Reinforced by conformity of most community
members
•
Formal Written Rules, Policies, and Standards
•
Informal Norms - “How we perceive, think, feel and
do things around here.”
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Support ethical and civil behavior by the entire campus
culture
Recognize the interdependence of personal and
academic integrity
Understand that ideals and needs of the larger
community may be in conflict with individual self-interest
*Moral thought and behavior is shaped by the “institutional
ethos” [either intentionally or unintentionally]
*Keller, P. A. (2011). Integrating Ethics Education Across the
Education System, pp. 169-182.
In T.B. Gallant (Ed.). Creating the Ethical Academy. New
York: Routledge.
Creating Campus Community – Ernest Boyer’s work
at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of
Teaching
1990 Campus Life: In Search of Community
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Declining state of community in higher education
Inappropriate and uncivil student behavior
Lack of commitment to serious learning
Vestiges of sexism, racism, ethnocentrism, and
classism
Need for
 Shared learning goals
 Openness – freedom of civil expression
 Justice and affirmation of diversity
 Adherence to codes of conduct as well as to
courtesy and privacy values
 Sense of connection, caring, and service to
others
 Celebration of heritage and traditions
NASPA & APCA (2004)
“learning must be reconsidered – that new research,
changing times, and the needs of today’s emerging
generations of students require that our traditionally distinct
categories of academic learning and student development
be fused in an integrated, comprehensive vision of learning
as a transformative process that is centered in and
responsive to the whole student.” (p. 35)
Keeling, R. (Ed). (January 2004). Learning reconsidered: a campus-wide
focus on the Student experience. The National Association of Student
Personnel Administrators and The American College Personnel
Association. Retrieved from
http://www.myacpa.org/pub/documents/learningreconsidered.pdf
◦ Intertwining of student learning and development
◦ Transformative education with student at the center
◦ Learning, development and identity formation as interactive
processes shaping each other
Use of all resources on campus to support student learning and
development
Keeling, R. (Ed). (January 2004). Learning reconsidered: a campuswide focus on the Student experience. The National Association of
Student Personnel Administrators and The American College
Personnel Association. Retrieved from
http://www.myacpa.org/pub/documents/learningreconsidered.pdf
” establishment of vibrant educational
partnerships among members of the academic
faculty and student affairs professionals in
which all campus educators share broad
responsibility for achieving defined student
outcomes.” (p. 35)
Keeling, R. (Ed). (January 2004). Learning reconsidered: a campuswide focus on the Student experience. The National Association of
Student Personnel Administrators and The American College
Personnel Association. Retrieved from
http://www.myacpa.org/pub/documents/learningreconsidered.pdf
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Faculty members
Academic Affairs Administrators
Student Affairs Professional Staff
Student Leaders
Everyone!
Tackling the larger questions and broader issue:

How do we extend integrity beyond the academic
sphere to encompass the whole community and all of
student life?
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Who will take the lead and what best practices will
develop?
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What resources will be available and what
constituents will engage in the process on each
campus?
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Minority of institutions of higher education
seriously evaluating the ethical quality of programs
and practices across the entire campus
community
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Beginnings of developing initiatives to promote
ethical and civil behavior along with personal and
social responsibility
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Widespread failure to address systematically the ethical
development of student
Career and employment focus of a degree undermines
liberal arts/general education and more generalized
character development
Difficult to know how college life shapes moral
development – many confounding factors
Faculty incentives for tenure, promotion, and
compensation oftentimes in conflict with addressing
ethical development of students
Keller, P. A. (2011). Integrating Ethics Education Across the Education
System, pp. 169-182. In T.B. Gallant (Ed.).
Creating the Ethical Academy. New York: Routledge.
College Learning for the New Global Century
at website
http://www.aacu.org/leap/publications.cfm
Report from the National Leadership Council for
Liberal Education & America’s Promise [LEAP],
(2007). Washington, D.C.
Spells out aims, learning outcomes, and guiding
principles for a 21st century college education
AAC&U (Association of American Colleges and Universities). (2007). College
learning for the New Global Century: A Report from the National Leadership
Council for Liberal Education and America’s Promise. Washington, DC: AAC&U.
Accessed at
http://www.aacu.org/leap/documents/GlobalCentury_final.pdf
http://www.aacu.org/leap/index.cfm
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Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World
Focused on engagement with big questions, enduring and contemporary
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Intellectual and Practical Skills
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Practiced extensively across the curriculum, in the context of progressively more
challenging problems, projects, and standards for performance
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Personal and Social Responsibility
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Anchored through active involvement with diverse communities and real-world
challenges

Integrative and Applied Learning

Demonstrated through the application of knowledge, skills, and responsibilities
to new settings and complex problems
Diagram From: Esther Perález
Vice President for Student Affairs
Missouri Western State University
Partnering with Academic Affairs
to Ensure
Student Success
New Faculty Luncheon
August 25, 2010
Knowledge of Human
Cultures & the
Physical & Natural
World
College Learning for the New Global Century. A Report from the National Leadership Council for Liberal Education & America’s Promise,
(2007). Washington, D.C.: Association of American Colleges and Universities.
Integrative
Learning
Intellectual
& Practical
Skills
Personal &
Social
Responsibility
AAC&U (Association of American Colleges and Universities). (2007). College learning
for the New Global Century: A Report from the National Leadership Council for
Liberal Education and America’s Promise. Washington, DC: AAC&U. Accessed at
http://www.aacu.org/leap/documents/GlobalCentury_final.pdf
• Civic knowledge and engagement—local and
global
• Intercultural knowledge and competence
• Ethical reasoning and action
• Foundations and skills for lifelong learning through
active involvement with diverse communities and
real-world challenges
AAC&U (Association of American Colleges and Universities). (2007).
College learning for the New Global Century: A Report from the National
Leadership Council for Liberal Education and America’s Promise.
Washington, DC: AAC&U. Accessed at
http://www.aacu.org/leap/documents/GlobalCentury_final.pdf
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Foster students’ development of personal and social
responsibility.
Focus national attention on the importance of students
exploring their ethical responsibilities to self and others.
Help campuses create learning environments in which
all students
◦ reach for excellence in the use of their talents
◦ take responsibility for the integrity and quality of their work
◦ engage in meaningful practices to fulfill their obligations in
an academic community and as responsible global and
June 21, 2006--AAC&U Announces National Initiative on
local citizens.
Fostering Personal and Social Responsibility in Today’s College
Students. Retrieved at
http://www.aacu.org/press_room/press_releases/2006/CoreCom
mitmentsInitiative.cfm
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Higher education institutions have an educational and civic obligation to
unapologetically teach for personal and social responsibility.
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Education for personal and social responsibility, to be intentionally fostered
in all students, should pervade institutional cultures.
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Student learning is the collective responsibility of all individuals and units
responsible for the curriculum and co-curriculum.
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Ethical, civic, and moral development should be closely tied to a substantive
vision for student learning in the college years that is shared across
constituent groups.
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The development of personal and social responsibility is cumulative, builds
on prior knowledge and experience, and should be assessed along the way.
Association of American Colleges and Universities.
(2012). Core Commitments: Educating Students for
Personal and Social Responsibility. Retrieved from
http://www.aacu.org/core_commitments/
Leadership Consortium
 Twenty-three institutions from across all sectors of higher
education comprise the Core Commitments Leadership
Consortium
◦ Share promising institutional practices
◦ Deepen and extend these efforts.
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Selected from a pool of more than 125 applicants in 2007.
Administered in fall of 2007 the new Personal and Social
Responsibility Institutional Inventory to students, faculty,
student affairs administrators, and academic administrators.
◦ To identify where different groups on campus see opportunities to
foster learning about personal and social responsibility
of American Colleges and
◦ To target areas in need of change Association
Universities. (2012). Core Commitments:
Educating Students for Personal and Social
Responsibility. Retrieved from
http://www.aacu.org/core_commitments/
See link for more detail on inventory
http://www.psri.hs.iastate.edu/
 Assesses five dimensions with input from
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Students
Faculty
Academic Affairs Administrators
Student Affairs Professional Staff
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Striving for Excellence
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Cultivating Academic Integrity
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Contributing to a Larger Community
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Taking Seriously the Perspectives of Others
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Developing Competence in Ethical and Moral Reasoning and
Action
◦ Developing a strong work ethic and consciously doing one's very best in
all aspects of college
◦ Recognizing and acting on a sense of honor, ranging from honesty,
fairness, and respect for others and their work to engaging with a formal
academic honors code
◦ Recognizing and acting on one's responsibility to the educational
community and the wider society, locally, nationally, and globally
◦ Recognizing and acting on the obligation to inform one's own judgment;
engaging diverse and competing perspectives as a resource for learning,
citizenship, and work
◦ Developing ethical and moral reasoning in ways that incorporate the
other four responsibilities; using such reasoning in learning and in life
Should Colleges Focus More on Personal and Social
Responsibility?
Initial Findings from Campus Surveys Conducted for the
Association of American Colleges and Universities as Part
of Its Initiative, Core Commitments: Educating Students
for Personal and Social Responsibility
Survey Administered and Report Written By
Eric L. Dey and Associates
Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education
University of Michigan School of Education
610 E. University
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1259
Data from the Core Commitments PSRII effort clearly
demonstrate the importance of personal and social
responsibility as a necessary component of a college
education:
 Across the board, students, faculty, administrators, and student
affairs staff on the 23 campuses believe that personal and
social responsibility should be a major focus of attention at their
own college or university.
 Despite the perceived value of attending to these issues, all
surveyed groups reported that their campuses were not
focusing enough attention on issues of personal and social
responsibility.
Dey & Associates (Center for the Study of Higher and Post Secondary
Education at the Univeristy of Michigan School of Education). (2008). Should
colleges focus more on social responsibility? AAC&U. Retrieved at
http://www.aacu.org/core_commitments/documents/PSRII_Findings_April200
8.pdf
“evidence suggests that genuine success in
promoting integrity in the academy requires a
more extensive focus on ethics that pervades all
aspects of an institution’s culture.” P. 170
Keller, P. A. (2011). Integrating Ethics Education Across the
Education System, pp. 169-182. In T.B. Gallant (Ed.).
Creating the Ethical Academy. New York: Routledge.
Publication of the AAC&U (Washington, DC) – 2010
Online version
https://www.aacu.org/core_commitments/document
s/MoralCompassReport.pdf
Campus climate survey
Part of the Core Commitments initiative
Developed to assess perceptions about the opportunities for
learning and engagement with issues of personal and social
responsibility across an institution.
Three types of questions about the five dimensions, tailored for each of the four
constituent groups:
■ Attitudinal items: the degree to which they agree with a statement about the
institution (choosing from Strongly Agree, Agree Somewhat, Disagree Somewhat,
Strongly Disagree, No Basis for Judgment)
■ Behavioral items: the degree to which they experience a particular
phenomenon at the institution (choosing from Frequently, Occasionally, Never)
■ Open-ended items: participants provide text related to experiences, programs,
and practices at the institution that help students to develop personal and social
responsibility
Developing a Moral Compass. Online p. 39 at
https://www.aacu.org/core_commitments/documents/MoralCompassReport.pdf
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PSRI Survey for February-March 2014
◦ Building on previous survey of 2007
“Examining the Culture of Academic Integrity: A Study of
Risk Factors”
http://journals.naspa.org/jcc/vol11/iss1/6/
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Involves Institutional Research, Student Affairs,
Academic Honor Council, ECOS, Academic
Affairs, and interested faculty
Online Administer of the PSRI
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Dates of survey
◦ Beginning February 26
◦ Ending March 16
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Online administration
◦ Handled completely by RISE at Iowa State
◦ Link for survey send to all participants in multiple emails
◦ Previous data files with names and emails of EC
participants sent to Iowa
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Takes approx. 20 minutes to complete survey
All data gathering and analysis done by RISE with
report issued to the college
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ECOS
IR &A
Stud. Affairs
HD Fac Dev
Acad. Affairs
Ctr. Spir. Life
AHC
Stud. Life
-
$500
500
500 (Annarelli)
500
500 (Harrison)
500
100
200
Multicultural Life $100, and International Stud. Life $100
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July 2014 – Receive Full PSRI Results Report from
RISE at Iowa State U.
Fall 2014 - Review findings by campus leaders and
representatives from across campus
◦ Identify strengths and areas needing improvement
◦ Revisiting learning and developmental outcomes in current
academic and student life programs and services
◦ Set new goals and subgoals for future enhancement in all
areas
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Spring 2015 – Launch new initiatives on campus
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Intentional Collaboration between faculty and
Student Affairs
Integration of academic and developmental
experiences and learning
Connecting students’ lives with students’ learning
in the classroom and academic area
Development and use of combined assessment of
learning tools on campus
Keeling, R. (Ed). (January 2004). Learning reconsidered: a campus-wide focus on the
Student experience. The National Association of Student Personnel Administrators and
The American College Personnel Association. Retrieved from
http://www.myacpa.org/pub/documents/learningreconsidered.pdf
Noticing the gap in ethical behaviors between academic
and non-academic dimensions of campus life
ACADEMIC LIFE
vs.
Honor Code
Honor Pledge
Academic Honor Council
Actual Academic Honesty
vs.
STUDENT LIFE
Shared Commitment
Signed Commitment
Community Standards Bd.
Actual Student Civility and Respect
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Creating a culture of integrity at an institution of
higher education:
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Is rooted in the culture of the institution
Is a long-term, organic process – unpredictable at times
Requires ongoing data-gathering and assessment
Involves many stakeholders of whom some are in conflict
or have very different perceptions
Must involve students at every stage
Requires collaboration between academic and student life
professionals
Takes faculty buy in
Includes negotiation among ethical, legal, and institutional
needs
• Is an ongoing process
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Communicate, Communicate, Communicate
Involve all sectors of the campus community
Keep faculty informed and involved
Appreciate that key players are the Dean of
Faculty, Dean of Students, and Student Leaders
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Future plans?
Other models?
Best practices?
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AAC&U (Association of American Colleges and Universities). (2007). College
learning for the New Global Century: A Report from the National Leadership
Council for Liberal Education and America’s Promise. Washington, DC:
AAC&U. Accessed at
http://www.aacu.org/leap/documents/GlobalCentury_final.pdf


AAC&U (Association of American Colleges and Universities). (2012). Core
Commitments: Educating Students for Personal and Social Responsibility.
Retrieved from http://www.aacu.org/core_commitments/


College Learning for the New Global Century. A Report from the National
Leadership Council for Liberal Education & America’s Promise, (2007).
Washington, D.C.: Association of American Colleges and Universities.
Retrieved from
http://www.aacu.org/advocacy/leap/documents/GlobalCentury_final.pdf


Dey & Associates (Center for the Study of Higher and Post Secondary
Education at the Univeristy of Michigan School of Education). (2008). Should
colleges focus more on social responsibility? AAC&U. Retrieved at
http://www.aacu.org/core_commitments/documents/PSRII_Findings_April200
8.pdf


Keeling, R. (Ed). (January 2004). Learning
reconsidered: a campus-wide focus on the Student
experience. The National Association of Student
Personnel Administrators and The American College
Personnel Association. Retrieved from
http://www.myacpa.org/pub/documents/learningrecon
sidered.pdf

Keller, P. A. (2011). Integrating Ethics Education
Across the Education System, pp. 169-182. In T.B.
Gallant (Ed.). Creating the Ethical Academy. New
York: Routledge.

Kiss, E. (Spring 2003). Business Ethics & Why Culture
Matters. The Kenan Institute for Ethics Connection.
Durham, NC: Duke University.

McDonald, W.M. et al. (2002). Conclusion: Final
Reflections and Suggestions for Creating Campus
Community. -pp. 169-178. Creating Campus
Community In Search of Ernest Boyer’s Legacy.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Weeks, K.M. (2011). In search of civility. New York:
Morgan James Pub.
For further information contact
Claire Stiles
stilesca@eckerd.edu
Or
727-864-8454
Eckerd is one of the youngest colleges in the country to be
awarded a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.
 Eckerd consistently ranks high by numerous publications for the
high proportion of students studying abroad.
 For the 2011-2012 school year, Eckerd students gave over 83,000
hours of service locally and globally. 19 spring break service
projects took students all over the world.
 Eckerd College appears in the Princeton Review’s Guide to Green
Colleges. Eckerd is also one of the 128 schools listed who has a
LEED certified building on campus.
 Eckerd students have received 46 Hollings Scholarships from the
NOAA, more than any other school in the country.
 A fleet of over 150 yellow community bikes helps Eckerd students
get around the 188-acre campus and stay green.
 There are over 300 pets living on Eckerd’s pet-friendly campus.
 Eckerd produces more Peace Corps volunteers than any other
small college in the Southeastern U.S.
http://www.ctcl.org/colleges/eckerd#character
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