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 →

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 →

The Role of the First Amendment Free speech on college campuses has been under attack during the past several years. The alleged offenses seem to have declined this past academic year. Does that mean limitations on free speech on college campuses is no longer of concern? The answer is ‘yes’... Read more →

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 →

Do College Students Really Care? The problem with teaching ethics to college students is they may not care. Some of my students ask me: Why should I care about being ethical now…when it seems people can get ahead in life by taking the easy way, which is not always the... Read more →

U.S. News Data is Skewed Towards the Richest Institutions Do you look at college rankings to decide which college to attend or where to send your kid? Stop it! It’s a waste of time and the information is not reliable. That’s the opinion of Valerie Strauss, education reporter for the... Read more →

What Ever Happened to the Fundamental Value of Academic Integrity? Having taught at the college level for over 30 years, I thought I had seen it all but along comes hoax scholarship – papers written by academics solely to get publications without regard to the accuracy of statements/facts in these... Read more →

“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” (Aristotle) There are many good expressions to use in teaching ethics to college students. I find students remember important points by using expressions; writing them on the board; and discussing them every day so it is etched in... Read more →

The Case for Ethical Pluralism Most ethics education at the university level encompasses discussions about moral right and wrong; good and bad decisions; motivations for actions; consequences; and our duties to others. There’s nothing wrong with these approaches and philosophical reasoning methods play an important role in ethics education. However,... Read more →

How and Why to Discuss Ethics in the Classroom How should we think and talk about moral issues with our youngsters: pre-teens, teenagers, and young adults? The first way to discuss these issues is from the perspective of The Golden Rule, a long-standing moral compass for societies. This ancient Greek... Read more →