Ethics code of I.Gogebashvili Telavi State University

1. Preamble

The university activity is based on the following principles:
High degree; intellectual freedom; equality; transparency in the activity; justice and conscientiousness; impartiality; accountability.

High degree
The university purpose is the guarantee of high degree in learning, teaching, academic research as well as in the spheres of administration activities of the university.

Intellectual freedom

Intellectual freedom represents as one of the main value of the university. The university purpose is to accomplice person concerned in realization of academic purpose, privately, researching, learning and teaching process.

Equality

All members of the university are equal in the realization of their activities. The university esteems the equality of the staff and students according their race, skin color, gender, language, religion, politics, belief, national or social origin, materials status and other circumstances.
Every member of the university has the equal right to use the university possibilities for their professional development.
Every member of the university is obliged to respect and defend others' right and different ideology.

Transparency

The made decisions in the activities of the university is public.

Justice and conscientiousness

The principle of justice means the respect and legal aptitude to the person. The justice principle is the base of the standards and procedures existing in the university toward the students, academic and administrational staff.
The university activity must be based on the conscientiousness and it would be expressed in the realization of the own right and responsibility.

Responsibility and accountability

The accountability represents the important value of any university activity. Under the higher educational law and university statute academic, administrational staff other representative groups of university must take the accountability in the university activities.

Impartiality

The university staff must be impartial in their activities. Academic staff must act according to the justice and objective principles during the assessment of the students. The grades given by them must be only academic but not personal.

II. The meaning of the ethics code

Ethics code:

  • Describes the university ethical principles and standards.
  • Establishes the behavior standards of administrational, academic staff and students according the value, law and regulate rules of the university.
  • Offers the directing principles to the students, administration and academic staff to solution of the possible ethical dilemma.
  • Must be used together with the other received documents of the university.
  • Its aim is to give those directing principles by means of which they will act according to the ethical standards.

    III. The using of the ethical code

  • To execute the standards of the ethical code is the duty of every employee by the university.
  • Every university student is obliged to act according to the university ethical standards.
  • In case of abolishing the standards of the ethical code collaborators and students are obliged to apply to the suitable structure, as the ignorance of non-ethical actions is dangerous for the university value and successful activities.

    IV. Principles and standards of ethics

    Academic, administrational staff and other personnel:

  • During the realization of their activities are directing according to the ethical norms.
  • Their activities should be honest and conscientious. They must higher the qualification and professionalism systematically.
  • During the relationship with other colleague their actions should be based on the ethical norms, they should avoid conflict situations. The self critic must be constructive every time.
  • They should be defend the confidential information connected with the university activities.
  • They should keep themselves out of the insulting expressions toward the university.
  • They should avoid involving in non-university activities, not suitable for the university.
  • They should obliged to respect the students, defend the students academic freedom and accomplice their professionalism.
  • They should give the full information (expect the confidential one) about the university activity, about the learning and research.
  • They must not decline the colleague's professionalism in front of the students, as well as to abolish insulting information about the colleague from the side of the student.
  • They should evaluate the colleagues' works. They should be directed by the full and objective defense of professional and ethical norms. They shouldn't let the subjective features in the evaluation of the colleague activities. They must get the suitable measure to forbid the resembling acts.
  • They should defend the ethical norms during the scientific work, don't realize the plagiarism. In this case they should get the suitable measure to forbid the resembling actions.
  • They should avoid undesirable relationships with the students which may make the danger the objective and justice evaluation by the lecturer and the student becomes the instrument of personal conflict or professional disagreement in colleagues.
  • Academic and administrational staff are equal in the frames of their competence. It's inadmissible to use the academic staff for private interests and administrational staff in contrary. The relationships between them must be professional and ethical. The anonymous letters, groundless and proved advertisements, comments about the colleagues' work and private life are unacceptable.
  • They should prepare for their lectures on high level and they should try to increase the students motivation, use their own possibilities and potential.
  • They should guarantee the exact starting and finishing the lectures and must not miss the lectures if there is not the serious reasons.
  • The working and receiving hours must be put up for the students. If there is the necessary case academic staff should guarantee the students' meeting after the receiving hours.
  • They should work on their lecture thematic course, structure and periodically refresh it according to the change in the suitable sphere.
  • They constantly should improve the methods of directing the lecture course.
  • Academic staff is obliged to direct the learning process according to the adopted curriculums of the university.
  • Administrational and academic staff should not discriminate the employees and students according to their gender, race, religion, ethical family merits, age and other same circumstances.
  • They should actively help the colleague in the professional development.
  • They have no right to discuss any colleague critics from the side of the students. In such situation they should call the students to the direct object of critic or to the faculty dean.
  • They are obliged to take active part in the university life.
  • They should be subordinate the resolution rules and procedures and the corresponding legislation.
  • They have no right to take the presents, sum or other benefit for the private purpose from colleagues, students and other person concerned.
  • They must not insult or anonymously make blame the colleagues. In case of complaint they should appeal to the faculty or the ethical committee.

    Students:

  • The students are obliged to study, make the research, defend the ethical and behavior norms.
  • Students should defense the legislation in force university statute, ethical code and other regulator rules.
  • Student should not appeal to the violence and insult. They should respect the other students, academic and administrational staff and other employees.
  • The students are obliged to warn the university material values.
  • Students have no right to suggest the present or other service to the university academic and administrational staff.
  • Students have no right to rewrite, appropriate or use any subsidiary material during the examination(book, summary, calculator, talking with one another and other) except the case, when there is the special permission from lector about the using the subsidiary material.
  • Students are obliged to defend the university surrounding, yard, building from the garbage.
  • Students have no right to use the confidential information or the material before the examination.
  • Students have no right to use other person's work as his work ( course work, project, report and other).
  • Students have no right to use any author's expression or quotation without mentioning in the course of work.
  • Students are obliged to attend every lecture-seminars.
  • Students have no right to pass an examination instead of others or ask the others to do the same.
  • Students should not falsify the university data(e.g. received grades) use or destroy the documents.
  • Students have no right to prevent from other students by hiding, stealing or destroying the recourses in the learning and research process.
  • Students have no right to assist other students in non ethical action.
  • In case of research students have no right to invent or falsify the facts and date.
  • Students must not spread the insulting information about the academic or administrational staff and other students.
  • In case of arising the ethical problem student must appeal to the faculty or to the university ethical committee.

    V. Ethical Committee

  • Ethical committee represents the guarantee in solution of controversy in the ethical issues in the university.
  • Ethical committee is formed in representative form by the following principle:
  • Faculty ethics committee: one representative of faculty administration and one academic person on every specialty and one student.
  • University ethics committee: one representative of university administration and one academic person on every faculty and one student.

    Note:

    1. Representatives in the university ethical committee are sent by the faculty ethical committee.
    2. The student may not be the member of the student self government.
  • On their first meeting ethical committee chooses the chairman and secretary.
  • Ethics committee gathers together according to the necessity.
  • Advertisement (complaint) is written on the name of the ethical committee.
  • The registration of the coming advertisements and other documentation takes place by the committee secretary of the ethical committee.
  • Committee has the authority to begin work, if the number of committee members are 2/3. The question will be settled if there is a support from 50% +1 account members of the committee.
  • In case of complaint the committee will study the facts under its competence from the advertisement in 5 days, then discuss at the meeting, and its duty is to make the reply in 10 days.
  • Ethical committee will work out the annual account and send to the university governmental bodies. ( faculty-to faculty board, university-to the representative board). The following things should be expressed in the account:

  • The results of research to control the university employees in the ethical problems.
  • About the percentage index of professor-teachers, administrational staff and students, who are known about the university ethical politics and have given the ethical code copies.
  • The number of meetings and other arrangements with the professor-teachers, administration staff and students to discuss the ethical problems.
  • The percentage index of those professor-teachers administration representatives, who passed the trainings in the ethical issues.
  • About the existence of the important machines(not line and so on) to guarantee the implementation of the ethical code.
  • The quantity of appeals and number of calls from the hot line.
  • The number of annual appeals and number of used discipline or arrangements.
  • The number of discussed problems in the court from the university on the ground of ethical issue and problem.

  • To fulfill the ethical code ethical committee takes the consultation and discusses all sentences from the both sides. As there is no all possible ethical problems, overlook-refreshment of the code will take place at least once in three years.
  • Committee makes the trainings in the ethical issues to increase the standards of ethical behavior in the university.