Graduate student and faculty perceptions of the ethical climate and its importance in the retention of students were investigated at a midwestern metropolitan university. The subjects included 159 graduate students and 52 faculty members from five major areas within the College of Education. The subjects' perceptions of the ethical climate were measured by the Ethical Climate Index (ECI). There were differences between student and faculty perceptions of the ethical climate for four of the five academic areas. Results of the study indicated that a positive ethical climate is perceived by faculty and students to be important in the retention of students within graduate academic programs. Administrators and faculty members should consider the ethical climate as an important factor in retaining graduate students within academic programs.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AndersonM. S., & LouisK. S. (1994). The graduate student experience and subscription to the norms of science. Research in Higher Education, 35(3), 273–299.
2.
BairdL. L. (1990). The melancholy of anatomy: The personal and professional development of graduate and professional school students. In SmartJ. C. (Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (Vol. VI, pp. 361–392). New York: Agathon Press.
3.
BargarR. R., & Mayo-ChamberlainJ. (1983). Advisor and advisee issues in doctoral education. Journal of Higher Education, 54(4), 407–432.
4.
BaumgartenE. (1982). Ethics in the academic profession: A Socratic view. Journal of Higher Education, 53(3), 282–295.
5.
BrownR. D. (1985). Creating an ethical community. In CanonH. J. & BrownR. D. (Eds.), New directions for student services: Applied ethics in student services (pp. 67–79). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
6.
BrownR. D., & KragerL. (1985). Ethical issues in graduate education: Faculty and student responsibilities. Journal of Higher Education, 56(4), 403–418.
7.
ChickeringA. W. (1967). Campus climate and development studies: Their implications for four year church related colleges. Washington, DC: Council for the Advancement of Small Colleges (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 025 782).
8.
ChurchillL. R. (1982). The teaching of ethics and moral values in teaching. Journal of Higher Education, 53(3), 296–306.
9.
DaltonJ. C.BarnettD. C., & HealyM. A. (1982). Ethical issues and values in student development: A survey of NASPA chief student personnel officers. NASPA Journal, 20(1), 14–21.
10.
DonatoD. J. (1969). A comparison of admission officer, faculty, and student perceptions of their college environment. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 031 237).
11.
HartnettR. T. (1976). Environments for advanced learning. In KatzJ. & HartnettR. T. (Eds.), Scholars in the making: The development of graduate and professional students (pp. 49–84). Cambridge, MA: Ballinger Publishing Company.
12.
HartnettR. T., & KatzJ. (1977). The education of graduate students. Journal of Higher Education, 48(6), 646–664.
13.
HazlerR. J., & CarneyJ. (1993). Student-faculty interactions: An underemphasized dimension of counselor education. Counselor Education and Supervision, 33, 80–88.
14.
KellyS., & SchweitzerJ. H. (1999). Mentoring within a graduate school setting. College Student Journal, 33(1), 130–149.
15.
KerrC. K. (1994). Troubled times for American higher education. New York: State University of New York Press.
16.
KipnisD. (1976). The powerholders. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
17.
KitchenerK. S. (1984). Intuition, critical evaluation and ethical principles: The foundation for ethical decisions in counseling psychology. The Counseling Psychologist, 12(3), 43–55.
18.
KitchenerK. S. (1985). Ethical principles and ethical decisions in student affairs. In CanonH. J. & BrownR. D. (Eds.), New directions for student services: Applied ethics in student services (pp. 17–29). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
19.
LipschutzS. S. (1993). Enhancing success in doctoral education: From policy to practice. New Directions for Institutional Research, 80, 69–80.
20.
LongS. (1976). Academic attachment: Predicting students' affective reactions to the university. Research in Higher Education, 5, 233–241.
21.
McBeeM. L. (1982). Moral development: From direction to dialogue. NASPA Journal, 20(1), 30–35.
22.
MeyerH. H. (1981). Making supervision humane and productive. In MeltzerH. & NordW. R. (Eds.), Making organizations humane and productive: A handbook for practitioners (pp. 119–134). New York: John Wiley and Sons.
23.
PaceC. R., & SternG. G. (1958). An approach to the measurement of psychological characteristics of college environments. Journal of Educational Psychology, 49(5), 269–277.
24.
ParkerC. E. (1997). Making retention work. Black Issues in Higher Education, 13(26), 120–128.
25.
SanfordN. (1976). Graduate education, then and now. In KatzJ. & HartnettR. T. (Eds.), Scholars in the making: The development of graduate and professional students (pp. 243–258). Cambridge, MA: Ballinger Publishing Company.
26.
SanfordN. (1980). A world we have lost. In ComstockC. (Ed.), Learning after college (pp. 71–85). Orinda, CA: Montaigne Inc.
27.
SchulteL. E.BrownR. D., & WiseS. L. (1991). The development and validation of the ethical climate index for graduate and professional school programs. Research in Higher Education, 32(4), 479–498.
28.
ThistlethwaiteD. L. (1959). College press and student achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 50(5), 183–191.
29.
ThistlethwaiteD. L. (1960). College press and changes in study plans of talented students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 51(4), 222–234.
30.
ThistlethwaiteD. L., & WheelerN. (1966). Effects of teacher and peer subcultures upon student aspirations. Journal of Educational Psychology, 57(1), 35–47.
31.
University of Alberta Senate. (1985). Task force on ethics: The Universitv of Alberta. Edmonton, Canada: University of Alberta. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 260 627).
32.
WeissR. F. (1965). Student and faculty perceptions of institutional press at Saint Louis University. Dissertation Abstracts, 26(1), 883.
