What Students Want
Compliance Corner – Issue 1.6
Last month, during the Weeks of Welcome (WOW) event, the Integrity and Compliance Office staged a table in front of Stokes House, the site of our offices on Franklin Street. We stirred gallons of sugary lemonade, set up an easel and markers and sprinkled the table with a smattering of candy. What we wanted to do was welcome the students back to campus and to explain our mission of fostering ethics and integrity within the VCU community. But we also wanted to hear from students what these things meant to them and how faculty and staff could demonstrate these values for them.
Our team stood ready as the first students approached. Some seemed skeptical at first, but many were happy to have the chance to weigh-in on these topics. I don’t know what any of us expected, but the students we spoke with made a lasting impression. They were thoughtful and kind. They were candid and caring. And they possessed a wisdom that reminded us they’ve learned much through living and observing and processing what they’ve seen.
The questions we posed to the students were simple: “What does ETHICS mean to you?” and “What does INTEGRITY mean to you?’
We offered two ways for students to respond; they could either write what ethics and integrity meant to them on our flip-pad, or they could tell us interview-style, while being filmed by a videographer.
Most of the students we encountered wanted to participate in one of the two ways, and some did both. While we plan to premiere some of the responses captured on camera in the annual Ethics and Compliance Training launching in October (stay tuned!), we wanted to share some of the written responses here.
What does ETHICS mean to you?
“Making informed choices about what is morally correct.”
“Ethics is what we base our individual moral decisions on and how we decide what is right and wrong, applied to different situations.
“Treating others with basic human respect and common decency.”
What does INTEGRITY mean to you?
“Doing what’s right when no one’s watching.”
“Maintaining ethical practices and just generally doing the right thing even when there would be no consequences.
“Holding yourself to a moral standard.”
Our students couldn’t have said it any better. They echo our Code of Conduct which states “We are committed to an environment of uncompromising integrity and ethical conduct. Our ethical standards are the foundation for our decisions and actions…Our actions are guided by these ethical principles even when confronted by personal, professional, social or economic pressures.”
What our students told us, through their written and spoken responses, was that ethics and integrity matter to them. They are the reason why we’re here, and they’re trusting us to act in an ethical way, and with integrity.
What they want – and deserve – is what all of us want; to attend school, or work, in a place that values doing the right thing. So for them, for ourselves, for the VCU community, let’s give the students what they want.
Read how one employee’s bad behavior was creating a toxic work environment in this month’s Compliance Case Study.