Code of Conduct?

Contributor: Dayna Chu

Does your institution have a code of conduct that applies to your students regardless of whether they are on campus or off? Have you had any backlash (or shall I say, "feedback") on the code of conduct requirements?

A recent news headline caught my attention due to the application of a "code of conduct" expectation in public Universities...

"The dean of the University of Alberta’s School of Business says he will be investigating to see if any students who participated in rowdy drunken event at Chateau Lake Louise this weekend violated the school’s student code of conduct...

..."But I tell you, this is something I find appalling, and I will be talking to the students involved. I will continue to reinforce the point that when they are out there, they are our ambassadors and what they do reflects on us, and this reflects very badly on us -- whether it was a sanctioned event or not,” he said.

..."If he finds out any of the U of A business students who attended the event did anything to violated the school’s student code of conduct, they will face the consequences, Percy vowed. “As you can see, I am not happy.”

..."In future, I'm going to tell our students that this is not the sort of event we want them attending."

Dr. Vern Jones, the acting dean of the University of Calgary business school, said he will also look into what his students did at the weekend event. "We're very concerned about this.... It's something that reflects badly on the school and the university," he said.

"[But] we had no connection to it -- this was something that students did on their own."

University of Calgary officials moved quickly to condemn the behaviour.

"We're very upset," said Vern Jones, interim dean of the business school. "We certainly don't condone this kind of event. It reflects badly upon the university and the school."

RCMP estimate 230 students and alumni from U of C's Haskayne School of Business, UBC, University of Lethbridge, University of Alberta, University of Regina and the University of Northern British Columbia gathered for the event, which was not sanctioned by the institutions.

Event organizers in Calgary told the Herald it was a private function, paid for by students who attended.

"We were not there representing our school in any way, shape or form," said Kevin Collins, a 22-year-old business student from the U of C. "There was no team U of C. This was a private event, like a snowboard party."

So this makes me wonder if your institutions address this to any degree.

This situation provides you with an example to provide students and prospects of a "code of conduct" being a part of public institutions as well as private... though likely on a different scale of expectations!