Code of Ethics

The MSU College of Education (COE) Code of Ethics describes in general terms acceptable practices in the areas of teaching, research/scholarship, service, and collegiality. Every faculty member in COE is expected to follow the guidelines contained herein.

Approved by Faculty Advisory Council 11/8/2017

Download the MSU College of Education Code of Ethics

Teaching

Academic freedom and intellectual ownership of curricula are rights afforded each individual at every academic rank. All curricular materials and intellectual property belonging to others that are included in course material shall be used only after permission is granted, and proper credit and citation will be given to authors / owners of all materials. Student contact hours will be met in accordance with University policy regardless of modality. Proper protocols will be followed in accordance with University policies pertaining to all sections of course syllabi. Student evaluations of courses and/or other input regarding instruction will be fairly considered by faculty and used for continuous improvement without retaliation.

Research/Scholarship

The following position from Yale University shall be followed:

“Authorship of a scientific or scholarly paper should be limited to those individuals who have contributed in a meaningful and substantive way to its intellectual content. All authors are responsible for fairly evaluating their roles in the project as well as the roles of their co-authors to ensure that authorship is attributed according to these standards in all publications for which they will be listed as an author.”

Review the Yale University Authorship Policy

MSU COE faculty shall adhere to the ethics of authorship in accordance with the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Specifically, to be considered an author of a professional publication the following criteria must be met:

  1. Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work.
  2. Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content.
  3. Final approval of the version to be published.
  4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Review Defining the Role of Authors and Contributors

These guidelines also apply to presentations made to professional organizations. However, if an author is unable to participate in the actual presentation, this fact shall be noted in any and all reports of same, and an indication of the amount of contribution shall be made.
Service. Faculty shall adhere to the following when listing activities on vitae, annual reports, in Digital Measures, and in other formats:

  1. Provide accurate accounts of the amount of time spent on an activity or providing service to a committee.
  2. Not report service on a committee that did not meet during the time frame included in the report.
  3. Not report service on a committee if no attendance occurred.

Collegiality

Faculty shall show respect to others in all situations. Being a member of a program, department, college, university, and the Academy requires faculty to interact with students, administrators, colleagues, and lay persons in a variety of social and professional settings. Regardless of the circumstance, faculty shall conduct themselves as professional adults who do not engage in demeaning dialogue or hurtful actions against others.

Resources

Welfare, L. E., & Sackett, C. R. (2011). The Authorship Determination Process in Student- Faculty Collaborative. Journal of Counseling & Development, 89(4), 479-487.