Combating Unethical Behavior in Tertiary Education Jamil Salmi International Conference on Fighting Corruption and Promoting Good Governance Astana, September 2009

4 outline of the presentation what types of unethical behaviors? why and how do they impact tertiary education? how to combat fraud and corruption?

definitions fraud: “intentional perversion of truth in order to induce another to part with something of value or to surrender a legal right” –academic fraud: improper behavior to gain an unfair advantage (admission, grades, exams, degree) corruption: “abuse of public or private office to gain personal advantage”, “impairment of integrity, virtue, or moral principle” –financial realm “unethical behavior” used to refer broadly to all forms of improper and/or illegal actions in tertiary education

the “what”: an inventory categories based on educational and institutional processes “protagonists” identified examples provided from around the world summary matrix on p. 33 of the report

sources of information –news reports popular press tertiary education publications, e.g. The Chronicle of Higher Education –Boston College Higher Education Corruption Monitor –direct communications

exclusions criminal behavior by students and staff outside the context of institutions and their roles negligence and failure to adequately perform one’s duties violations of academic freedom

the “what”: an inventory admission process teaching and learning false credentials quality assurance research academic staff career financial management

corruption in the admission process examination fraud bribery favoritism undue influence discrimination protagonists are students and their families, faculty, administrators, government officials, and outside agents

dishonesty in the academic process cheating plagiarism students, faculty, and outside agents

awarding of false credentials bribery and undue influence in grading and degree conferral fake / unearned degrees from legitimate institutions from “degree mills” students, faculty, administrators, and outside agents

informal payments for education

undermining of quality assurance measures misrepresentation providing false data bribery accreditation “mills” institution administrators, government officials, and representatives of accrediting bodies

research misconduct failure to follow standards falsification of results conflicts of interest plagiarism / theft of ideas or work primary protagonists are faculty

corruption in faculty and staff career management bribery undue influence use of false credentials discrimination harassment faculty, institution administrators, government officials, and outside parties

financial fraud and mismanagement profiteering theft embezzlement financial mismanagement student loan fraud institutional administrators, government officials, and outside parties

18 outline of the presentation what types of unethical behaviors? why and how do they impact tertiary education?

why does corruption happen? economic dimensions high levels of corruption in tertiary education often mirror high levels of corruption in countries overall low teacher and administrator salaries supply out of sync with demand

why does corruption happen? political dimensions lack of oversight and accountability managerial capacity political tolerance

negative impact contrary to basic purpose of education –ethical values –academic merit –loss of trust in system and outputs teachers (role models) students (code of conduct) institutions (reputation) misuse of limited resources

23 outline of the presentation what types of unethical behaviors? why and how do they impact tertiary education? how to combat fraud and corruption?

what can be done? four types of interventions: –preventative measures –measures for detecting and monitoring –punitive measures –multiple purpose measures

preventive measures –legislation and other government policies –institutional policies and governance arrangements diversified, independent Board strong leadership honor code –standardized / automated procedures

corruption in Kyrgyz universities

detecting and monitoring –computer programs and other IT instruments –tip lines and other reporting venues –surveys –audits

punitive measures –protests and violence –legal action –career / status sanctions –academic / professional sanctions

multi-purpose measures –accreditation systems –education / awareness raising –publicity

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31 Fighting Corruption Upgrade your knowledge – Make your universities more ethical Ian Whitman

32 the integrity imperative social justice (moral dimension) trust in the meritocratic process proper use of public resources potential loss of talent

33 the way forward more documentation and closer monitoring (surveys, reporting mechanisms) more systematic assessment of which policies and instruments work

34 Everybody is equal. But some are more equal than others. George Orwell