Setting a Moral Vision for Academe: Bridging the “Is—Ought” Divide in International Education

Les Goodchild, Professor, Santa Clara University

The Meaning of Ethics

Generally, ethics or morality has been concerned with the beliefs about right or wrong human conduct. In other words, ethicists have attempted to explore various ideas about how to define and determine which actions or decisions are right or wrong.

The Meaning of Ethics

The origins of such study began with the Greeks who understood ethics to be the study of the general pattern or way of life. They perceived good behavior as that which promoted harmonious life within the city, that is, the welfare of the community (MacIntyre, 1966). In this sense, ethics were derived from society's expectations of appropriate behavior.

The Meaning of Ethics

Ethics involves the use of reason to support or justify particular decisions or actions as being good or right as opposed to being bad or wrong.

Traditionally, philosophers have explored ethical matters by:

� discussing the meaning of ethical terms (e.g., good or right) as metaethics,

� analyzing the beliefs and attitudes of persons or groups as descriptive ethics, or by

� arguing which actions ought to be considered good or right as normative moral discourse.

Academic Ethics as an Applied Ethic

An applied ethic is an attempt to bring ethical theory to bear on real problems in various

settings, such as, medicine, law, business, or

—in our case—

international education

Academic ethics addresses the moral problems which arise in the academy by suggesting

various principles to promote what is good and right in resolving these difficulties.

Resolving Dilemmas

Applying ethical theory to such conditions requires practitioners who wish to move from disagreement to agreement among conflicting parties.

In this sense, administrators and faculty confront difficult situations where conflicting ideas of rightness or wrongness, entitlements or rights, and justice or liberty hamper easy resolution of the difficulty at hand.

Theory and Method

Classical ethical theories offer two major perspectives to help us resolve dilemmas:

� Kant's universal moral rules (deontology)—“a duty to keep one’s promises”

� Bentham's measuring the consequencesof action (consequentialism)—”what is the great good for the greatestnumber of people?”

These theories provide useful principles in determining a moral justified outcome.

Moreover, such an ethical decision requires an explicit method of justification. Employing ethical principles and a method of justification represent the core of applied ethics.

Ethical Stress Points

The need for an ethic can be particularly acute when colleges, universities, and other educational groups are faced with economic difficulties.

Questions may arise about some of these concerns:� transparency of study abroad policies,� full disclosure of partnership agreements, � truthfulness in marketing, � advising students on study abroad programs,� relationships with host societies,� allowing for free and fair competition,� avoiding conflicts of interest, and� prohibiting gifts, gratuities, and othercompensation.

Our First Impulse –Is to Use the Law as a Guide

When confronted with complex problems and difficulties, we look to the law to determine what our response should be. Yet, the law often does provide a complete answer.

Legal Ethics and Academic Ethics

In many of these issues, administrators or faculty members often use the law as the standard for

determining policy and action, if it applies.

However, such recourse confuses the role of the law with ethics. The law provides a mandate

which the community has sanctioned as conforming to its norms or customs. It provides only a minimal standard for determining what is right or wrong in a particular situation, since the

law has developed in response to societal pressure.

The Role of Law

On the other hand, law should not replace ethics as norm for moral judgments. Those who advocate such an approach are perceived as legalistic ethicists.

While the law commands respect, to use law only to define one's ethical obligations equates law with morality. There are problems with this approach.

Limits to Legal Considerations

� First, "where the law is silent, anything goes" is a mentality often taken when the questions of cost win over concerns for human good and welfare.

� Second, law of its very nature is not so much a matter of reason as it is a product of communal will. Law is a product of the courts and the legislature rather than a weighing of rational arguments for correct behavior which considers entitlements and human relationships.

� Third, using the law as bases for ethical judgment assumes concepts of fairness or justice may be equated with law (Stevens, 1979, pp. 118-222). Such moral legalism falls far short of promoting universalizable principles which insure the betterment for all.

Limits to Legal Considerations

Decisions and actions derived from the law are often confined to the letter of the law.

This limitation underscores how ethics goes beyond the law. Ethics is not confined to prescriptive mandates, but may consider all aspects of a particular moral dilemma. Ethical judgments, based on rational principles, focus on the good for others. These characteristics point to the professional orientation of applied ethics.

Responsible persons acting in professional capacities must act ethically: �They must be guided by their clients' interests rather than their own; and

�They need to pursue their occupational activities according to certainuniversal norms, rules, and principles.

These needs should be the driving force in developing a comprehensive ethic among our partners and our students.

Academic Ethics Sources

Four basic sources for ethical principles enable us to make ethical decisions within universities, colleges, and other

educational organizations.

� First, academic ethics has relied on professional codes from associations to promote ethical behavior within academe.

� The second source of ethical theories which have historically been the strongest in moral reasoning are: (a) the classical ethical theories of virtue, deontology, and consequentialism and (b) contemporary ethical theories of rights and justice.

� A third source of ethical principles comesfrom psychological studies of moral reasoning(e.g., Kohlberg’s conventional morality).

� A fourth source of ethical principles comes

from religious ethical theories.

The Forum on Education Abroad’s

Code of Ethics

1. Truthfulness and Transparency

2. Responsibility to Students

3. Relationships with Host Societies

4. Observance of Law and Good Practice

5. Conflicts of Interest

6. Gifts, Gratuities, Discounts, Rebates and Compensation

Conflicts of Interest Guideline

All potential conflicts of interest involving education abroad should be reviewed by an appropriate third party to determine whether such conflicts exist, and if so, whether they may or may not be cured. A potential conflict of interest exists when the financial or no-financial interests of an institution or organization (or an employee of either) may be seen as competing with the interests of the student. Those conflicts that cannot be waived or appropriately managed after full disclosure to all concerned parties must be eliminated.

Seven Rules for AvoidingConflicts of Interest

Ann Franke and Meyer Eisenberg in their article in the Chronicle of Higher Education (October 12, 2007) recommend:

1. Don’t use the excuse “Everybody was doing it.”

2. Don’t rely on “But we used the money for good purposes.”

3. Find out what arrangements your administrators have made.

4. Don’t wait for government regulators to show up.

5. Canvass potential problems.

6. Collect and evaluate existing policies.

7. Avoid piecemeal solutions.

Bringing the Method Together

Here is a suggested 6 step method for making ethical decisions among international educators:

1. Carefully analyze the proposed resolution to a problem—the case.

2. Review the legal aspects of the problem.

3. Explore the Forum’s Code of Ethics guidelines.

4. Does the proposed resolution to the problem violate

any principles or rules?—the deontological question.

5. What are the consequences of proposed resolution?

—does it result in the greatest good for the

greatest number of people—the

consequentialist question.

6. Finally and most importantly will the proposed

resolution violate the major principle of all

ethical decision making—“Do No Harm”?

Setting a Moral Vision for Academe: Bridging the “Is—Ought” Divide

Developing a method for making ethical decisions in international education

that do not violate the law and

promote the greatest good for our students.

This is the bridge that provides a way from where we are today to what ought to be

done tomorrow.