Accountability

Case Study for Use to Teach Ethics of the Coronavirus

Ethics and the Coronavirus I am the author of a textbook on Accounting Ethics (see below). I prepared the case below for accounting instructors to teach students about the ethical issues surrounding the spread of the coronavirus. For additional information, including suggested answers to the questions, contact me at: [email protected].... Read more →


The Ethics of Paying a Salary to College Student-Athletes

Is Trading on the Names and Likeness a Good Thing? According to a recent survey of 2,501 college students by platform College Pulse, a majority of students support initiatives to pay college athletes and overwhelmingly support allowing student-athletes to profit off their name and image. Here are the results: 38%... Read more →


Should We Be Concerned That Colleges and Universities are Leasing Facilities?

Unintended Consequences of Public-Private P3 Relationships Recently it was reported that colleges and universities are leasing their campus facilities. Dartmouth University was mentioned as one that is looking for off-campus help building a new heating system and running it. In so doing, Dartmouth joins a growing list of academic institutions... Read more →


The Cancel Culture on College Campuses

Is Free Speech in Jeopardy? What does it mean to “cancel” someone? No, it’s not to cancel a transaction you did online. Today it means to diminish someone’s significance as an influencer by personal boycott, public shaming, or simply shunning them. We call it the “cancel culture,” or” call-out culture.”... Read more →


Ethical Implications of Cheating

How Can We Explain the Scope of Cheating in College? A recent survey published by The International Center for Academic Integrity reports alarming results with respect to cheating by students. More than 70,000 students, both graduates and undergraduates, took part in the study that reported 95 percent of the surveyed... Read more →


What's the Best Way to Teach Ethics?

Advantages of the PLUS Model It’s time for ethics educators to think outside the box. Traditional ethical decision-making models based solely on philosophical reasoning methods may miss the mark because students simply provide the answer they think teachers want to hear by applying one or more of these methods. They... Read more →


What Should We Do About Student Debt?

Fairness, Personal Responsibility and Moral Hazard Issues This blog was first posted on my Ethics Sage website. I’ve made a few improvements since then. Should student debt be forgiven? If so, how much should be wiped clean? This is a big issue for Democratic Presidential candidates and the country. Bernie... Read more →


Professors: Beware of Relationships With Students

Avoiding Conflicts of Interest in the Grading Process One of the most difficult decisions for college professors is whether to engage in a personal relationship with a student. The relationship might start innocently. Perhaps the student goes to office hours frequently. The professor might devote more time than is customary... Read more →


Should a Professor Use Their Own Book For a College Course?

Evaluating Conflicts of Interest Am I guilty of having a conflict of interest in using my own Accounting Ethics textbook for that course? I’ve thought about this a lot in the past and agonized over the answer. Before I share my beliefs, let’s get certain things clear. The choice of... Read more →


What's the Best Way to Grade College Students?

Is it Time to Institute 'Ungrading'? I just read about professors who seem to believe going gradeless in college classes is a good idea. There seems to be serious consideration in some corners to change the traditional way of evaluating the work of college students. Quite frankly, this scares me.... Read more →