Abstract
The public benefits of higher education have long been recognized. Higher education contributes to the public consensus; it transmits knowledge and attitudes toward the role of the citizen, and it may model good behavior in the face of controversy and sometimes intellectual acrimony. Great universities perform these functions very well. This is among the reasons why attention has been paid to the characteristics of world-class universities (Academe—Bulletin of the AAUP 90(1): 20–23, 2004; Salmi, J. (2009). The challenge of establishing world-class universities. Washington, DC: The World Bank.; Heyneman, S. P., & Lee, J. (2013). World-class universities: the sector requirements. In J. C. Shin., & B. M. Kehm (Eds.), Institutionalization of world-class university in global competition. New York: Springer.), as well as to the threats to university quality in the form of corruption in higher education. Attention has focused on the definition of corruption, the degree to which corruption occurs, and its economic impact (International Journal of Educational Policy, Research and Practice 3(4):73–97, 2002/3; Heyneman, S. P. (2010). The concern with corruption in higher education. In T. B. Gallant (Ed.), Creating the ethical academy: A systems approach to understanding misconduct and empowering change in higher education. New York: Routledge; International Higher Education 62:8–9, 2011; Comparative Education Review 51(2):1–25, 2008).
This chapter combines these lines of scholarship and explores the degree to which world-class universities exhibit ethical qualities. The study defines “ethics” in the management of a university. This includes mission statements which mention ethical issues, transparency in governance and fiscal affairs, codes of conduct for faculty, administrators, and students, procedures for adjudication of infractions, and other elements. It then proposes a rating for the ethical infrastructure elements. Universities have been divided into two groups. First are universities listed on The Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) international ranking. Second is a random sample of universities in countries which use English, Korean, Japanese, Georgian Chinese, and Russian languages as the medium of instruction.
The chapter poses four questions. First, how common is it for internationally ranked universities to exhibit ethical characteristics on their websites? The answer is unambiguous: 98 % of the world-class universities have established an ethical infrastructure of some kind. Second, which areas of the world are more likely to have universities that exhibit a depth of ethical infrastructure elements on their websites? In terms of countries, the most comprehensive ethics infrastructure can be found in Britain, the USA, and Japan. Lastly, what is the relationship between the level of international ranking and the depth of ethical ingredients? The strength of the relationship is weak, suggesting that the depth of ethnical infrastructure is not an important determinant of ranking. However, given the fact that virtually all ranked THES universities, across 40 counties, mentioned ethical infrastructure elements suggests that having an ethical infrastructure is an important ingredient associated with other elements in a university’s reputation.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Two-year institutions and those with no undergraduate degree programs were eliminated. All accredited institutions were included, public, private, and for-profit.
References
Altbach, P. G. (2004). The costs and benefits of world-class universities. Academe—Bulletin of the AAUP, 90(1), 20–23.
Heyneman, S. P. (2000). From the party/state to multi-ethnic democracy: Education and social cohesion in the Europe and Central Asian region. Education Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 21(4), 173–191.
Heyneman, S. P. (2002/3). Defining the influence of education on social cohesion. International Journal of Educational Policy, Research and Practice, 3(4), 73–97.
Heyneman, S. P. (2007a). Three universities in Georgia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan: The struggle against corruption and for social cohesion. UNESCO Prospects, 3(September), 305–318.
Heyneman, S. P. (2007b). Higher education and social cohesion: A comparative perspective. In P. G. Altbach & P. M. Peterson (Eds.), Higher education in the new century: Global challenges and innovative ideas. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers in conjunction with UNESCO (with Richard Kraince, Nancy Lesko, and Michael Bastedo).
Heyneman, S. P. (2010). The concern with corruption in higher education. In T. B. Gallant (Ed.), Creating the ethical academy: A systems approach to understanding misconduct and empowering change. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Heyneman, S. P. (2011). The corruption of ethics in higher education. International Higher Education, 62, 8–9.
Heyneman, S. P. (2013). Higher education institutions: Why they matter and why corruption puts them at risk. 2013 global corruption report: Education transparency international. New York: Routledge (forthcoming).
Heyneman, S. P., & Lee, J. (2013). World-class universities: The sector requirements. In J. C. Shin & B. Kehm (Eds.), Institutionalization of world-class university in global competition. New York: Springer.
Heyneman, S. P., Anderson, K. A., & Nuraliyeva, N. (2008). The cost of corruption in higher education. Comparative Education Review, 51(2), 1–25.
Salmi, J. (2009). The challenge of establishing world-class universities. Washington, DC: The World Bank.
Silova, I., Johnson, M. S., & Heyneman, S. P. (2007). Education and the crisis of social cohesion in Azerbaijan and Central Asia. Comparative Education Review, 51(2), 159–180.
Task Force on Higher Education and Society. (2000). Higher education in developing countries: Peril and promise. Washington, DC: The World Bank.
Transparency International. (2011). Corruption Perceptions index—2011. http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2011/results/. Retrieved 6 Oct 2011.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Heyneman, S.P. (2014). The University as Public Goods: Ethical Underpinnings. In: Shin, J., Teichler, U. (eds) The Future of the Post-Massified University at the Crossroads. Knowledge Studies in Higher Education, vol 1. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01523-1_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01523-1_13
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-01522-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-01523-1
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)