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April 6, 2011
Boston, MA
Session Proposal Deadline: July 31, 2010
The Forum on Education Abroad announces a call for session proposals for the Standards of Good Practice Institute, “Ethics and Integrity in Education Abroad,” to be held at the Park Plaza Hotel, Boston, April 6, 2011 in conjunction with the 7th Annual Forum Conference.
The topic of Ethics is both timely and significant in this time of increasing legal and societal scrutiny of all aspects of higher education. In the education abroad field, the Forum has played a critical role in promoting and shaping ethical practices. The Forum’s Code of Ethics has had a significant impact on the education abroad field since its publication in 2007. The Forum’s 2009 State of the Field Survey revealed that over 70% of members have adopted or refer to and substantially follow the guidelines of the Code.
This Standards Institute is dedicated to identifying and understanding education abroad ethical issues, and assisting participants to improve their institutional and organizational strategies for ethical operations within education abroad. Plenary and concurrent sessions, through a wide variety of practical, hands-on activities, will involve participants in analyzing everyday ethical dilemmas in areas such as student advising, marketing, relationships between institutions and program providers, and reciprocity with international partners. Institute participants will receive the debut copy of the 2nd edition of the Code of Ethics for Education Abroad.
The goals of the Institute are to:
- Deepen knowledge and understanding of the Standard 9 of the Standards of Good Practice for Education Abroad and the Forum’s Code of Ethics for Education Abroad;
- Identify and develop skills to better utilize the Code by analyzing both its letter and spirit;
- Explore approaches to and share examples of ethical best practices in education abroad;
- Evaluate and enhance the ethical operations of participants’ education abroad programs for the benefit of all involved with or impacted by them.
Institute participants will be expected to have more than a basic knowledge of the topics involved, and proposals should not be geared to entry-level concerns. While some sessions will be led by invited experts both from within and from outside the education abroad field, most sessions will be chosen through a competitive selection process. Sessions should emphasize positive examples of best practices, and should use the discretion not to resort to demeaning or personal opinion of less ethical operations. Proposals that incorporate real life case studies and/or actual ethical dilemmas that have arisen, and that will actively involve participants, are particularly welcome.
Questions of interest to the Institute include:
Examples of “Best Practices” relevant to:
- Successfully applying the Standard and Code of Ethics to program structure, pricing, and marketing;
- Beneficially managing the Standard and Code of Ethics potential impact on foreign partners;
- Referencing the Standard and Code as a tool to resist inappropriate pressure or requests from internal and external sources;
- How to pursue best practices that impose financial burdens: site visits and due diligence in tough financial times;
- Successfully dealing with potential conflicts of interest including, but not limited to properly dealing with gifts, rebates, consulting fees, etc…, as well as service on advisory boards;
- Using the Code of Ethics as a persuasive internal resource and reference for faculty, staff, students, and senior administrators.
Additional topics of interest include:
- Difficulties of adherence to or departures from the Standard and Code of Ethics;
- The Standard and Code of Ethics value as a baseline in institutional and programmatic “self evaluation;”
- The Standard and Code of Ethics’ interaction with and relationship to other applicable ethical guidance such as specific professional codes, state ethical codes, internal institutional honor and ethics’ codes; etc.;
- Where the Law Ends: How the Standard and Code of Ethics inform (or alter) existing legal responsibilities;
- The Standard and Code of Ethic’ potential impact on the relationship between educational institutions and third party program providers;
- The impact of the Standard and Code of Ethics on perceived responsibilities to and programmatic impact on the destination culture, environment, work force, and society;
- If I could change the Standard and Code of Ethics, I’d . . . ;
- Ethical responsibilities other than those of the institution and its employees. For example, what should be expected of student conduct in the area of ethics?
The preceding suggestions are not intended to be exhaustive. All program proposals are welcome.
Session Format
The majority of sessions are expected to follow the Forum’s distinctive roundtable format; however, the Institute Planning Committee will consider session proposals that utilize other formats, including panel presentations. Successful proposals will describe in detail how the proposed session will broaden and deepen participants’ knowledge and understanding of the Standard 9 of the Standards of Good Practice and Forum Code of Ethics and hone their skills in implementing it.
How to Submit a Proposal
Download a Standards Institute session proposal form here. (Click here for a PDF version.) Proposals should be submitted via email to forumeaconference@dickinson.edu.
Deadline:
July 31, 2010.
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