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Ethics Statement for Monash University

Background

An internal review of the University professional conduct policies was completed in late 2006. The results and recommendations from the review were presented to the University Integrity Committee in March 2007 and the Senior Management Forum in April 2007. Professor Richard Larkins, Vice-Chancellor and Chair of the Senior Management Forum requested that the Human Resources Division take a lead role in developing an ethics statement with which all professional conduct policies would have to be aligned.

Progress to Date

To assist the HR Division in developing the ethics statement, the University has engaged Rose Bryant-Smith from Worklogic Consulting. Rose has reviewed the codes of ethics and ethical principles in foundational documents of selected Australian and overseas universities.

In addition, expressions of interest were sought via senior management professional conduct information sessions and the Monash News (21 May 2008) for staff and students to participate in the ethics focus groups during June and July. Staff who attended these focus groups were asked to discuss the following: what is a code of ethics; values vs principles; and which values are core to Monash University.

In addition, an Expert Advisory Group (EAG), consisting of staff who are experts in the area of ethics has been established. This group meets bi-monthly to provide guidance for the development of the Monash University Ethics Statement. The EAG comprises senior academics who are experts in ethics in their respective fields and interested stakeholders including:

  • Professor James Walter, Faculty of Arts
  • Professor Jenny Hocking, Faculty of Arts
  • Professor Mark Peel, Faculty of Arts
  • Associate Professor Robert Nelson, Faculty of Art and Design
  • Dr Jan Schapper, Faculty of Business and Economics
  • Dr Michelle Greenwood, Faculty of Business and Economics
  • Associate Professor Julie Fisher, Faculty of Information Technology
  • Associate Professor Adrian Evans, Faculty of Law
  • Professor Paul Komesaroff, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences
  • Dr Gordon Walker, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences
  • Ms Crystal Chatterton, Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (International)
  • Dr Simon Barrett, Research Office
  • Associate Professor David Taylor, Victorian College of Pharmacy
  • Dr Janette Simmonds, Faculty of Education.

The EAG met for the first time on 18 June 2008. At this meeting the members were provided with an overview of the ethics statement project, including the timeframe and consultation phases and the role of the focus groups.

In early August Rose Bryant-Smith developed a working draft of the ethics statement based on the inputs of the focus groups. Rose noted in her feedback to the project team that participants had demonstrated a genuine desire for the ethics statement to be a true reflection of the values to which the Monash community aspires. They were committed to seeing the statement published and implemented in such a way that it becomes a statement of the ethical character of all the people, goals, decision and actions that make up Monash University.

On 29 August the University’s Integrity Committee provided feedback on the progress and proposed next steps of the Ethics Statement project.

Next Steps

  • The project team will review the feedback from both the EAG and the University Integrity Committee and action accordingly.
  • Focus group participants will be provided with the opportunity to comment on the penultimate version of the Ethics Statement before it is submitted for endorsement and approval.
  • It is envisaged that the final version of the Ethics Statement will be sent to the Integrity Committee, Vice-Chancellor’s Group, Strategy and Resources Committee and Academic Board in 2009.

Regular updates will be posted on this HR News site detailing the progress of this project. It is anticipated that the ethics statement will be implemented in early 2009.