The Association of American Colleges and Universities recently released a report claiming students and faculty members at colleges and universities across the nation would like to see a stronger focus on social and personal responsibility within their schools.
Debra Humphreys, AACU communication vice president for communications and public affairs, said the AACU conducted a campus climate survey of students, faculty and academic administrators about whether issues such as "striving for excellence, academic and personal integrity; developing competence in ethical and moral reasoning; and taking seriously the perspective of others" are, and should be, an emphasis at their school. The University was not included in the survey.
A majority of those surveyed strongly agreed that such issues should be a major focus of attention, Humphreys said, whereas "far fewer" agreed that they actually were a major focus, and only 40 percent of students agreed that the issue of striving for success was emphasized strongly.
Humphreys noted that some universities were trying to take this information and "use it as a point of departure to have dialogues," noting that honor codes -- such as the one at the University -- are "exactly the [type of] thing a number of these schools are trying to develop."
The philosophy of student self-governance is one way in which the University promotes personal responsibility, Interim Dean of Students Allen Groves said.
"UJC and Honor are student-run institutions that educate on and ultimately adjudicate issues of accountability," Groves said. "Student Council operates under a similar philosophy in its promotion of community concerns and its distribution [of] $600,000 in funds."
Third-year Engineering student James Liao said he believes the University places a strong focus on personal and social responsibility, especially with its support of a University chapter of DreamCorps, a non-profit program to help those living in rural China in which Liao is involved.
"Whenever we approach faculty about issues we care about, we always get tremendous support at the faculty and department level," Liao said. "I think the University embraces social responsibility."
Despite this, third-year College student Erin Fox said she does not think University students are as responsible as they could be.
"I don't know how far it goes into forcing people to take care of themselves," Fox said, adding that if one were to observe the party scene at the University, "you can see evidence of a lack of responsibility."
Groves explained that the University continues to focus on personal and social responsibility through the work of the Commission on the Future of the University with peer advising, summer internships and the development of a "Jefferson track" to allow undergraduate students to learn about citizenship and citizen leadership skills.
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