Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct Reference Number 5.07

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1 1 of 5 Purpose: The Faculty/Staff members are responsible for promoting a healthy climate for learning and professional growth and for asserting the leadership and support essential to enhancing the College s programs and services. All employees share the common goals of maintaining high standards and supporting the core values and mission of the College. This policy is designed to ensure Tusculum College does not suffer adversely because of actions of our employees both at work and outside of work and to ensure Tusculum College maintains its excellent reputation in the community. Applies to: All Employees Policy: Tusculum follows a participatory model of governance in which numerous decisions are made following consultation with Faculty, Staff and Students. Employee behavior that represents dedication to service, openness to disagreement, truth and candor in communication, acceptance of human error in the quest for excellence, tolerance for variations of style, compassion as an essential quality and reconciliation as an honorable process are all integral to this College. Areas of Ethical and Professional Behavior covered by this policy include, but are not limited to the following: A. Employment at Tusculum should entail the understanding and support of the legal bases for the College and support for all documents and policies governing this institution. B. An employee should perform their professional responsibilities fairly and impartially. C. No employee should engage in conduct that is dishonest or fraudulent nor should they accept duties, obligations, gifts or favors of monetary value in excess of $25.00 or engage in private business or professional activities that conflict with the interest and policies of Tusculum. D. No employee should be giving or offering, soliciting, or receiving compensation to illegally influence the action of the public, public officials or employees. E. An employee should clearly distinguish personal opinions from statements reflecting the College s positions and policies while in public.

2 2 of 5 Policy continued: F. An employee should maintain the confidentiality of written and oral confidential reports or records of the College and such information should only be shared when required by law or with persons of proper authority. G. An employee should be sensitive to the social norms and moral expectations of the community and work with awareness that the public implicitly identifies the College employee with the institution itself. H. An employee when interacting with students should recognize them as persons who possess dignity and the potential for self-direction. I. An employee should treat other employees with dignity and impartiality and use neither coercion nor preferential treatment in decision-making. He/she should seek professional advice from other employees when such counsel can improve decision-making. J. An employee should promote and enrich the College s learning environment in response to the academic needs of students and of society-at-large. K. An employee should protect academic freedom and the general right of employees to discuss controversial ideas. The Standards of Conduct covered by this policy, but not limited to the following: L. No employee will be allowed to infringe in anyway upon the rights of another. M. No employee should use the College s resources or office supplies for personal use or in the pursuit of personal gain. N. An employee s personal business should not interfere with commitments and obligations to the college. O. An employee who belongs to outside professional organizations should ensure that association with the organization, its conduct or membership does not negatively impact the institution or negatively impact on the individual s ability to perform the duties of the employee s job. P. No employee should represent himself/herself as official spokesperson for the College unless authorized. Q. No employee should willfully or negligently damage or destroy any College records or property without authorization. R. An employee should cooperate fully in investigations of loss, injury or policy violation or the potential thereof. S. No employee should communicate any type of threat towards an employee, student or visitor, or make a threat that involves the College s property or facilities.

3 3 of 5 Policy continued: T. No employee should have possession of College property or remove College property from campus unless properly authorized or a requirement of the job. U. No employee should commit College resources above $500 without a completed purchase order and proper authorization in advance of the commitment. Tusculum has notified all vendors that a Tusculum College purchase that exceeds $500 must be accompanied by either an approved purchase order or purchase order number. If such purchases are not accompanied by either a purchase order or number, the vendor should reject the purchase. V. No employee should falsify any documentation or knowingly communicate false information. W. An employee should follow all posted safety rules and regulation. X. No employee should commit a crime on College property or while representing Tusculum College within the community or profession. Y. An employee should use his/her identification card as authorized and not permit other persons to use it. Management Responsibility: Management and supervisors should remain alert to situations and conditions providing the potential for unethical or otherwise unprofessional conduct and report it immediately to the Vice President or Director of Personnel Services (see Form 1.00 Complaint Resolution). Managers are also responsible for communicating this and all policies to their employees. Complaint Procedure: If any employee believes that unethical or unprofessional conduct has occurred and in violation of this policy, the employee should immediately report the incident to the Director of Personnel Services or the Vice President of his/her department (see Form 1.00 Complaint Resolution). Students: Students should report any unethical or unprofessional conduct to the Vice President of Student Affairs or the Provost. The student will be asked to provide a statement in writing (see Form 1.00 Complaint Resolution) outlining the facts supporting the complaint. There will be no retaliation against any Student who files a good faith complaint.

4 4 of 5 Complaint Procedure continued: Staff: Employees are required to report any unethical or unprofessional conduct to either their Supervisor or the Director of Personnel Services. If an employee witnesses any unethical or unprofessional conduct, the employee is to report this to his/her Vice President or the Director of Personnel Services. The employee will be asked to provide a statement in writing outlining the facts supporting the complaint (see Form 1.00 Complaint Resolution) to the Director of Personnel Services or someone designated by the College President. All complaints by Staff employees or involving Staff employees will be investigated promptly, impartially, and as discreetly as possible by the Director of Personnel Services or someone designated by the College President. Faculty: All Faculty members are required to report any unethical or unprofessional conduct to the Faculty Affairs Committee, Provost or Director of Personnel Services. If a Faculty member witnesses any unethical or unprofessional conduct, the faculty member is to report this to the Faculty Affairs Committee, Provost or the Director of Personnel Services. Within three (3) business days the Chair of the Faculty Affairs Committee will appoint a member (Investigator) to work in conjunction with the Director of Personnel Services. The employee will be asked to provide a statement in writing outlining the facts supporting the complaint (see Form 1.00 Complaint Resolution) to the Faculty Affairs Committee. A reminder that the privacy, discretion and confidentiality must be maintained as possible by all involved in the complaint, investigation, notes thereof and any action taken. All complaints by Faculty or involving Faculty will be investigated promptly, impartially, and as discreetly as possible by an appointed member of the Faculty Affairs Committee (Investigator) and the Director of Personnel Services. Investigation will normally be conducted within four (4) working days and presented to the Faculty Affairs Committee and the Provost who will recommend an action to the President. If the investigation is not proceeding with diligence then the College President will require the Faculty Affairs Committee to designate another appropriate person to finalize the investigation and recommend what action is to be taken. Director of Personnel Service should receive copies of all information.

5 5 of 5 All employees: There will be no retaliation against any Faculty/Staff member who files a good faith complaint. If the investigation reveals that no unethical or unprofessional conduct has taken place, the parties involved will be so advised. If the investigation is unable to determine whether unethical or unprofessional conduct has occurred, the College may still elect to proceed with reasonable corrective action designed to prevent any further unethical or unprofessional conduct from occurring in the future. If the investigation reveals that unethical or unprofessional conduct probably has taken place, the College will take reasonable action designed to stop the unethical or unprofessional conduct and prevent it from occurring in the future. In addition, if any Faculty/Staff member is found to have committed unethical or unprofessional conduct and in violation of this policy, appropriate disciplinary action will be taken. This could range from a disciplinary warning up to and including termination. Any disciplinary action taken against an employee or a student will be completed in accordance with the process provided by the College for disciplinary action and documented on Form 1.00 Complaint Resolution. Any disciplinary action taken against a faculty member will be completed in accordance with the process provided by the College for disciplinary action as outlined in the Faculty Handbook.