- Principle 1: Content Competence A university teacher maintains a high level of subject matter knowledge and ensures that course content is current, accurate, representative, and appropriate to the position of the course within the student's program of studies.
- Principle 2: Pedagogical Competence A pedagogically competent teacher communicates the objectives of the course to students, is aware of alternative instructional methods or strategies, and selects methods of instruction that, according to research evidence (including personal or self-reflective research), are effective in helping students to achieve the course objectives.
- Principle 3: Dealing with Sensitive Topics Topics that students are likely to find sensitive or discomforting are dealt with in an open, honest, and positive way.
- Principle 4: Student Development The overriding responsibility of the teacher is to contribute to the intellectual development of the student, at least in the context of the teacher's own area of expertise, and to avoid actions such as exploitation and discrimination that detract from student development.
- Principle 5: Dual Relationships with Students To avoid conflict of interest, a teacher does not enter into dual-role relationships with students that are likely to detract from student development or lead to actual or perceived favoritism on the part of the teacher.
- Principle 6: Confidentiality Student grades, attendance records, and private communications are treated as confidential materials and are released only with student consent, for legitimate academic purposes, or if there are reasonable grounds for believing that releasing such information will be beneficial to the student or will prevent harm to others.
- Principle 7: Respect for Colleagues A university teacher respects the dignity of her or his colleagues and works cooperatively with colleagues in the interest of fostering student development.
- Principle 8: Valid Assessment of Students Given the importance of assessment of student performance in university teaching and in students' lives and careers, instructors are responsible for taking adequate steps to ensure that assessment of students is valid, open, fair, and congruent with course objectives.
- Principle 9: Respect for Institution In the interests of student development, a university teacher is aware of and respects the educational goals, policies, and standards of the institution in which he or she teaches. (Murray, et. al.).
As Kathleen McGrory writes, "a basic premise of this volume is that the quality of faculty moral decision making can be improved by increased self-awareness and sensitivity to the rights of students, and by doing some `homework'" (106). In order to broaden the audience of the message, perhaps we need (as Linc. Fisch suggests) to find creative ways to confront the ethics of teaching as a faculty development issue.
Nancy Warner Barrineau
UNC at Pembroke
