Standard 11 for Campus Comment

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• Publié par: Mephor
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• Langue: English

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Standard Eleven - Integrity

Draft for Campus Comment ONLY, May 11, 2010

Standard Eleven

Integrity

The institution subscribes to and advocates high ethical standards in the management of its

affairs and in all of its dealings with students, faculty, staff, its governing board, external

agencies and organizations, and the general public. Through its policies and practices, the

institution endeavors to exemplify the values it articulates in its mission and related

statements.

Description

Bates has a culture of ongoing formal and informal reflection about living our values. This was

manifested particularly clearly in the President’s 2008

planning process

when the four planning

committees, which comprised more than forty faculty, staff, and students, chose spontaneously—

without direction or charge from the President or the Planning Steering Committee overseeing

the process—to structure their

final report

around a set of four overarching principles. Those

principles were crafted by the committees to serve as starting points or models for a final set of

principles which the groups recommended that the College develop and then adopt as a

community. It was envisioned that the principles would then guide the institution’s work, direct

its allocation of resources, and serve as a reference as it assesses its performance. Progress

toward that goal has continued with the work of the standard committee working on Standard 1,

Mission and Purposes, for this self-study. The decision to structure the planning report around a

first attempt to identify a set of institutional principles reflects both the belief broadly held at

Bates that the College is strongly guided by a set of core values, and that those values ought to be

more explicitly expressed.

Appraisal

To ascertain the extent to which Bates lives up to its intention to act responsibly and with

integrity in all aspects of its operations, we solicited examples from a wide variety of College

departments of policies and practices that speak to this issue. A representative selection of the

departmental responses forms much of the appraisal portion of this chapter of our self-study.

College-wide Policies

Bates College publishes clear statements of principles and policies pertinent to integrity.

A

Statement of Community Principles, which addresses broadly the notion that members of the

Bates community “expect one another to maintain the highest integrity in all of our academic,

social, and work-related undertakings,” appears in both the printed (on page 11) and

online

versions of its catalog, and in the Bates College

Employee Handbook

.

The Employee Handbook

also identifies other College policies that articulate the level of integrity expected by Staff and

Faculty when performing services for the College. Examples include, the

Diversity Statement

,

and statements regarding

Non-Disclosure and Confidentiality

, and

Conflicts of Interest

.

Faculty Policies

The

Bates Faculty Handbook

is available online and is brought to the attention of all Bates

faculty. It describes the faculty’s

organization and procedures

, including faculty appointment,

Standard Eleven - Integrity

Draft for Campus Comment ONLY, May 11, 2010

tenure, and promotion and governance;

benefits and support programs

; policies on

nondiscrimination; sexual harassment

; and

affirmative action

; expectations, procedures, and

responsibilities associated with

instruction

as well as the use of the College’s

information and

library services

.

It also describes in section 7.3 the College’s procedures for responding to

allegations of misconduct in scientific research.

In Article III, Section 5, it requires the

Committee on Personnel to adhere to the ideal of academic freedom as defined by the

1940

Statement of Principles on Academic Freedom and Tenure

with the 1970 "Interpretive

Comments" of the American Association of University Professors.

Research Ethics

The Bates College Institutional Review Board (IRB), consisting of six Bates faculty members

and a medical doctor from the local community, was established to approve research projects

involving the use of human participants. The

Bates IRB website

describes the purpose and role

of the IRB and provides instructions for determining whether the Board’s approval is necessary

for a particular project, and if so, how to go about seeking it. Similarly, the website for the

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee

explains Bates’ procedure for reviewing

classroom and research use of vertebrate animals.

Appraisals of Teaching

We have a longstanding practice of both student and faculty evaluations of teaching. Every

course offered by the College is evaluated at the end of the term by the students taking the

course. Statistical results of those evaluations are given to the instructor, the chair(s) of the

department(s) or program(s) offering the course, and the Dean of the Faculty’s office. Written

comments submitted by students are compiled and given only to the instructor. Tenure track

instructors are typically evaluated by their departmental or programmatic senior colleagues,

during their second year, fourth year, sixth year, and just prior to standing for promotion to full

professor. The chair of the instructor’s division also evaluates the instructor as part of the

procedures for tenure and promotion to full professor. The results of those evaluations are shared

with the Committee on Personnel.

Campus Climate

In 2006 Bates began work on the

Benjamin Mays Initiative

, honoring the

legacy of alumnus Benjamin E. Mays ’20. The initiative is a comprehensive, multi-year program

to build and sustain greater diversity at Bates. The aspirations and programs of the Mays

Initiative emerged most directly from the 2006

Campus Climate Project

and from the

acknowledgment that in spite of Bates’ legacy of leading the nation in providing an inclusive

educational environment by welcoming under-represented minorities of the 19

th

century –

women and African Americans—more recently the College had begun to trail our peers.

One of

the primary goals of the initiative is therefore to advance our commitment to diversity and to

ensure that all students at Bates thrive.

Dean of the Students Office

The Dean of the Students office candidly brings controversial issues to the community’s

attention in order to address the issue, seek a resolution, and heal the community.

For example,

following a flurry of hateful graffiti incidents on campus in the spring of 2006, the College

responded immediately by issuing statements to students, faculty, and staff describing the

incidents and convening the Hate Crime-Bias Incident Committee to develop a response:

A rally

Standard Eleven - Integrity

Draft for Campus Comment ONLY, May 11, 2010

was held featuring short speeches by the President, the Dean of Students, and student leaders to

denounce the incidents and show support for those targeted; writing boards were placed at a

number of high traffic locations on campus to invite college community members to express

their thoughts about these incidents; and an all-campus meeting was held to develop concrete

solutions for addressing the campus climate.

Subsequently, in response to suggestions made by

the campus community, a clear protocol for responding to reports of bias incidents was

established, posters explaining how and to whom to report bias incidents were displayed, and

educational programming and training around diversity and inclusion was increased. A Hate

Crime-Bias Incident Committee was established by the Dean of Students and is described on

page 53 of the

2009/2010 Student Handbook

. In addition, an online

Anonymous Reporting Form

includes as one of its pull down menu options “hate/bias activity.”

A number of steps have been taken to advance and support the College’s commitment to

diversity and inclusion in the area of student affairs. The Chaplain’s Office name was changed to

the Multifaith Chaplaincy to promote an explicitly multireligious orientation and program, we

seek to encourage a climate of genuine religious pluralism at Bates. In addition the Multifaith

Chaplaincy now reports to the Dean of Students rather than to the President in order to better

integrate the work of the Chaplain’s office with the campus and surrounding community, and to

foster opportunities for collaboration.

Support services for students with learning differences

have been centralized under the direction of an Associate Dean of Students, who works

individually with these students to review documentation, arrange for accommodations, and

develop strategies for academic success.

One response to persistent complaints from students from underrepresented groups that our

climate is not hospitable to them was the establishment of a “swing dean” system described more

fully in Chapter 6.

An Associate Dean in Admissions, and his/her counterpart in the Dean of

Students office, rotate their positions annually so that they are able to mentor and support

students from under-represented racial, ethnic, and socio-economic groups through the transition

to Bates and the critical first year.

Information and Library Services

The Information and Library Services (ILS)

Policies

page provides links to all the College’s ILS-

related policies. Pertinent examples include the

Computer Use Policy

,

Copyright Policy

,

Copyright Guidelines for Course Materials

,

Performance Rights Advisory

, and

Peer-to-Peer File

Sharing Advisory

. In addition to being available at the ILS website, most of these policies are

regularly distributed by email and, some, by hard copy to various appropriate constituencies.

As part of Bates’ effort to ensure academic honesty, Colby, Bates, and Bowdoin colleges jointly

host a

CBB Plagiarism Resource Site

as part of an instructional program conceived to discourage

student plagiarism.

Institutional Research and Assessment Support

The College has a robust institutional research office that guides Bates’ participation in national

data collecting activities and assists in the design of institution specific research projects. The

Bates College Office of Institutional Research was established in the fall of 1993. In the winter

Standard Eleven - Integrity

Draft for Campus Comment ONLY, May 11, 2010

of 1998, it became the Office of Institutional Planning and Analysis. In March, 2008, under new

leadership, the office was renamed

Institutional Research and Assessment Support

to respond to

the growing call for assessment. In the College organizational structure, the Office reports

directly to the President.

Communications and Media Relations

Bates’ internal and external communications are overseen by the department of Communications

and Media Relations (CMR).

Bates Magazine

(CMR’s flagship publication) undertook a major

readership

survey

, under the auspices and support of the Council for the Advancement and

Support of Education (CASE). A significant goal of the survey was to learn if readers "think [the

magazine] is a credible source of information about your institution." Sixty-eight percent believe

Bates Magazine is consistently/generally accurate and objective and only 2.8 percent of

respondents do not believe it credible at all. This compares favorably to the

Gallup Polls

finding

that "less than half of Americans (45 percent) say they have a great deal or fair amount of

confidence in the media to report the news fully, accurately, and fairly." One example of CMR’s

efforts to inform transparently on- and off-campus constituencies about the plans, doings,

disruptions, and progress of three major campus facilities projects is provided by its online

publication "

Campus Construction Updates

." Similarly, during the fall 2009 H1N1 outbreak on

campus, CMR worked with Bates authorities to ensure accurate and candid communications

about the issue both

internally

and with external audiences, including the

regional media

.

Bates College Security and Campus Safety

Bates College Security and Campus Safety teams with local agencies to ensure security and

safety preparedness

. They created a “neighborhood alliance” to work closely with Bates’

neighbors, as well as city law enforcement officials, to monitor and address security and safety

situations involving Bates students that arise during the course of an academic year.

Several

years ago, to enhance communication between College security and students—particularly in the

residence halls—liaison security officers were linked to student Residence Coordinators and

Junior Advisors. Bates Security has also developed a student run parking lottery through which

all students’ parking permits are awarded (except for those students with a documented medical

need).

All appeals are brought before a voluntary appeals committee composed of students,

faculty and staff.

Interactions with the community

The

Harward Center for Community Partnerships

plays a key role in the College’s efforts to

work productively with the Lewiston-Auburn community and beyond. Its mission is to integrate

civic engagement into the College’s educational work, undertaking programs that meet

community needs, promote active citizenship in a diverse democracy, and enhance the Bates

education. The College’s healthy and mutually beneficial relationship with the communities with

which it works is amply documented in the Harward Center’s year-end

Summary

.

To maintain high standards of integrity as students engage in community-based learning through

the Harward Center, students are asked to sign community-based learning agreements with their

Standard Eleven - Integrity

Draft for Campus Comment ONLY, May 11, 2010

community partner and faculty member.

Students and faculty members who conduct

community-based research projects follow the guidelines established by the College’s

Institutional Review Board (

IRB

). In addition, faculty, staff, and community advisors at the

Harward Center are currently in discussions about the advisability of forming a Community

Review Board charged with addressing issues related not to individuals involved in research

projects, as is the charge of the IRB, but to communities.

Tribal communities near the

University of Washington, for example, have formed Community Review Boards for this

purpose.

Projection

The

Campus Climate Project report

made many concrete recommendations intended to further

Bates’ goal of enhancing diversity.

Information and Library Services plans to address our lack of a practice or process to remove

outdated content from the Bates web site. It is expected that Communications and Media

Relations will be taking this on in a more systematic way in the near future.

?

Policies

Last

Updated

?

Academy honesty

September,

1999

Intellectual property rights

May, 2009

Conflict of interest

Privacy rights

August,

2002

Fairness for students

Fairness for faculty

Fairness for staff

Academic freedom

August,

1999

Other _Whistleblower's Protection

April, 2009

Other ___________________

Non-discrimination policies

Recruitment and admissions

Employment

September,

2000

Employment

http://www.bates.edu/x204072.x

ml

Human Resources Office

Board of Trustees Committee

on Audit and Legal Affairs

Office of Equity and

Dirversity Resources and the

Board of Trustees Committee

on Audit and Legal Affairs

Standard 11: Integrity

http://www.bates.edu/Prebuilt/do

s/student-

handbook/SH0910web.pdf

http://www.bates.edu/Prebuilt/3

Nondiscrimination%20and%20S

exual%20Harassment.pdf

http://abacus.bates.edu/acad/pu

bs/FacHB/organization3.html

Dean of Students Office

Board of Trustees Committee

on Audit and Legal Affairs

Human Resources Office and

Board of Trustees Committee

on Audit and Legal Affairs

http://www.bates.edu/FERPA-

Overview.xml

Office of the Vice-President

of Academic Affairs and

Dean of the Faculty

Responsible office or

committee

URL where policy is posted

http://www.bates.edu/Prebuilt/do

s/student-

handbook/SH0910web.pdf

http://www.bates.edu/x208397.x

ml

http://www.bates.edu/x117770.x

ml

http://abacus.bates.edu/catalog/

Recruitment and admissions

Board of Trustees Committee

on Audit and Legal Affairs

http://www.bates.edu/x117786.x

ml

April, 2009

February,

1999

Evaluation

Disciplinary action

Advancement

Other: Diversity Statement

Resolution of grievances

Students

Faculty

Staff

?

Other ___________________

Other

Last

Updated

4

5

http://www.bates.edu/x117765.x

ml

http://www.bates.edu/offices-

aao-policy.xml

Office of Equity and

Diversity Resources

1

2

3

Responsible office or

committee

Relevant URL or Publication

Employment - Affirmative Action

Policy; Office of Equity and Diversity

http://www.bates.edu/offices-

aao-non-discrim.xml

Employment - Non-Discrimination &

Sexual Harassment Grievance

Procedures; Office of Equity and

Diversity