Ethical Code

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv

Institute of International Relations

Realizing the value of higher education for Ukraine’s modernization in a socio-political field and pursuing the high objective of raising the national elite on the ideals of honesty, decency, intellectual freedom, responsibility and pursuit of self-development and self-improvement,

Taking into account respect for universal values, the pursuit of providing the maximum opportunities for professional self-realization, realizing that members of the academic community are bearers of high culture and moral values,

Considering the commitment to educational space idea participants of which strive for the truth, exchange of knowledge, introduction of innovations, maintenance of relations high culture and high reputation of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Institute of International Relations (hereinafter Institute of International Relations, IIR) in an educational and professional environment,

Fulfilling the high and important mission of the main scientific and methodological centre for training specialists of the national diplomatic corps able to represent, and protect sometimes the interests of the people of Ukraine in the international arena in an effective, patriotic, dedicated and professional way,

Striving to develop its own tradition of training highly qualified specialists in international relations for asserting Ukraine as an advanced democratic state,

Demonstrating the commitment to the principles of democratic regulation, equality and social justice, self-organization and continuous educational process development and improvement,

Taking into account the highly competitive environment and specificity of tasks the future graduates of the Institute are to face,

Following the Constitution of Ukraine, the Higher Education Act of Ukraine, the Education Act of Ukraine, the Great Charter of European Universities, the Bucharest Declaration on Ethical Values in European Region, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv Constitution (hereinafter KNU), the KNU Ethical Code,

The Academic Council of the Institute of International Relations, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, has approved the present Ethical Code.

 

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Institute of International Relations, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv Ethical Code (in the future Code) is the integration of principles and rules of conduct which all the members of the academic community must follow during an educational and scientific process, and of the response mechanisms to violations of these rules. The main objective of the Code is not punishment but prevention of ethical misconduct through motivating, clarifying, informing and encouraging. The Code is also aimed at building a high academic culture, intellectual freedom and autonomy, joint and several cultures and responsibility of all the academic community members. In the present Code academic community means people pursuing studies, pedagogical, scientific-pedagogical and scientific employees, and administration of IIR.

The basic principles of ethical behaviour in the Institute's educational space are based on academic integrity defined in the Education Act of Ukraine, article 42.

Academic integrity is a set of ethical principles and rules determined by the law that all the participants of the educational process must follow while studying, teaching or performing scientific (creative) activities with the purpose of securing the credibility of the learning outcomes and/or scientific (creative) achievements. These principles are as follows:

  • Responsibility;
  • Credibility;
  • Non-prejudice;
  • Respect for a person, its honour and dignity;
  • Respect for a variety of opinions;
  • Integrity;
  • Clarity;
  • Equality and non-discrimination;
  • Justice;
  • Tolerance;
  • Honesty.


All members of the Institute's academic community are obliged:

  • To adhere to the requirements of the legislation of Ukraine and of the internal regulations of the Institute and KNU, not to commit offences and not to encourage other individuals to commit them; to follow the legislation rules on copyright and related rights;
  • To respect honour, dignity and security of person regardless of race, colour, political, religious or other beliefs, sex, age, ethnic, national or social origin, nationality, birth or property status, place of residence, language or other features;
  • To adhere to the moral norms, principles and rules of academic integrity, to respect other academic community members’ opinions and positions, to promote the prevention and eradication of various kinds of violations within the educational process;
  • To promote the preservation and aggrandizement of the Institute's prominent traditions, to honour and to study the past of the Institute, the creative achievements of its outstanding scientists, pedagogues, and graduates, to promote the development of the Institute's positive reputation;
  • Not to impart in mass media and social networks false or unchecked information about the Institute, members of the academic community and information harmful to the Institute's reputation; to avoid giving public comments on the academic community members’ private life or personal qualities;
  • To support the atmosphere of credibility, responsibility, mutual respect and mutual assistance in the institution's academic environment;
  • To avoid using profanity, to prefer wearing official style clothes in the Institute;
  • To increase the Institute's prestige through their own achievements in studying, tuition, science, sport, amateur art, etc.


People pursuing studies are obliged:

  • To fulfil their obligations to pursuing higher education in good faith, to be present in the classes in the Institute at a time determined in a schedule, except in cases when the absence is justified by objective reasons (illness, participants in scientific and practical events, scholarship program) which are to be confirmed and formalized in the prescribed manner;
  • To avoid any kinds of violations of ethical norms determined by the present provision during the educational process;
  • To dedicate time to professional self-development and improving knowledge;
  • To follow the universal culture of behaviour, to be polite, civil, and benevolent;
  • To follow the language culture, and communication style, in particular, not to use dirty words and expressions;
  • To prefer wearing official style clothes in the Institute, to be neat;
  • To respect other individuals’ rights and freedoms, to be tolerant of religious, political, philosophical and attitudinal thoughts of other people not contrary to the constitutional principles and values;
  • To respect various ethnic, national, religious and social groups’ customs and traditions;
  • To refrain from any forms of the public expression of aggression, discrimination on the basis of any kind
  • To refrain from any forms of sexual abuse;
  • To preserve the property, to keep cleanliness in the premises of the Institute, to respect the work of maintenance staff;
  • To refrain from producing, consuming and distributing any narcotic drugs;
  • To control their behaviour, and expression of emotions without letting personal sympathies or antipathies or mood affect professional relations; to be equally polite and civil with other individuals without any regard to their professional or social status;
  • To refrain from and oppose corruption;
  • Not to smoke on the premises and in the territory of the Institute;
  • In case of holding mass events on the premises of the Institute, refrain from any acts or statements which may be harmful to the Institute's image and reputation;
  • Not to conduct political agitation and commercial activities in the territory of the Institute;
  • To switch off the sounds of electronic devices during classes, mass cultural and other events.
     

Pedagogical, scientific-pedagogical and scientific employees are obliged:

  • To respect the honour and dignity of people pursuing studies, to avoid any expressions of discrimination;
  • To have a responsible approach to their duties, to fulfil all undertaken obligations in time and in good faith, to provide tuition on a high scientific and theoretical level in accordance with higher education standards;
  • To clarify assessment methods openly and transparently, to evaluate the learning outcomes objectively in accordance with the procedure outlined in curricula of academic discipline;
  • To improve their professionalism and to develop themselves constantly, to use the latest scientific-pedagogical methods, information and communication technologies and sources of information in the educational process;
  • To communicate to students scientific and methodological recommendations on the academic discipline, individual works and other forms of intellectual performance control in time;
  • To provide all people pursuing studies with equal opportunities to participate3 in the educational process during the discussion, group work, and writing tasks;
  • To be present in the workplace in accordance with the educational process schedule and to keep to the timing of classes;
  • To avoid any forms of pressure on people pursuing studies with the purpose of getting material or intangible benefits;
  • To prevent the appearance of a conflict of interests in their activity when it may affect the objectivity or impartiality of making decisions;
  • To refrain from any forms of sexual abuse.


The Institute administration is obliged:

  • To fulfil its obligations of providing the high-level educational process in good faith, to encourage other academic community members by its example to fulfil their obligations;
  • To avoid discrimination of any academic community members due to race, colour, political, religious or other beliefs, sex, age, ethnic, national or social origin, nationality, birth or property status, place of residence, language or other features; to refrain from favouring, in particular, using family or professional connections, some academic community members over the others.


KINDS AND FORMS OF ETHICAL NORMS VIOLATIONS

  • Academic plagiarism is the publication (partial or complete) of scientific (creative) outcomes, achieved by other people, as outcomes of their own research (creativity) and/or reproduction of other authors’ published texts (works of art made public) without specifying authorship;
  • Falsification and fabrication of scientific work outcomes is the fabrication (or deliberate modification) of the data and facts which are used in the educational process or scientific research, meaning that those data and facts were not received by means of scientific research with the use of an appropriate methodology;
  • Academic fraud is cheating, purchasing of science papers, attribution of another individual’s outcomes of the scientific research and presentation or publication of it, under one’s own name or in collaboration; referring to or putting into a literature list the sources of information which were not used  while writing a science paper; delivering a written paper which was written and defended before within the framework of another academic discipline;
  • The use of supplementary technical devices (phones, tablets, computers, micro-headphones, etc.) with the purpose of getting higher grades while carrying out tasks within the framework of academic monitoring form;
  • Purchase or any other use of another person’s scientific work outcomes, as well as selling or passing over one’s own scientific research outcomes with the purpose of its use by another subject of the educational process;
  • Assistance to and promotion of another person in performing the act of academic misdemeanour or passing academic monitoring form instead of another person;
  • Corruption is offering or getting unlawful benefit/ material remuneration or services with the purpose of receiving unlawful advantage in the educational process;
  • Exerting pressure on academic community members in any form, beyond the framework of the educational process with the purpose of receiving better indicators of the knowledge assessment;
  • Discrimination due to race, colour, political, religious or other beliefs, sex, age, ethnic, national or social origin, nationality, birth or property status, place of residence, language or other features, or diminishing honour and dignity of any academic community member;
  • Improper fulfilment of one’s official obligations, their inconsistency with ethical principles and provisions of the national law in educational and scientific fields, with KNU and IIR internal regulations and also with higher education standards;
  • Abuse of authority, use of family connections, lobbying the interests of specific academic community representatives to the detriment of others with the purpose of getting some advantages by the former;
  • Prejudiced or non-transparent assessment in the educational process.


LIABILITY FOR VIOLATIONS AND MECHANISMS FOR THE LIABILITY APPLICATION

Ethical principles and norms, set forth in the Code, are communicated to all academic community members by the use of awareness-raising measures. All academic community members shall adhere to the Ethical Code in good faith. Ignorance of its provisions does not exempt a person from this responsibility.

People pursuing studies and pedagogical, scientific-pedagogical and scientific employees of the Institute may be brought to academic liability, as stipulated in the Education Act of Ukraine, article 42, for violating ethical conduct rules. They may be brought to academic liability by special laws, legal and regulatory instruments and/or KNU internal regulations with the following liability options:

  • Re-examination of knowledge (test, exam, credit, etc.);
  • Defence, by a person pursuing studies, of the written paper, which a tutor considers being another person’s intellectual product purchased, or received in another way, with the purpose of proving authorship of the person pursuing studies;
  • Unsatisfactory grade resulting from a final form of academic performance control;
  • Another execution of a relevant educational curriculum unit;
  • Deprivation of academic scholarship;
  • Expelling from the Institute;
  • Reprimand;
  • Deprivation of the right to hold a post; non-renewal of an employee’s appointment;
  • Material or financial compensation for the damage caused.


Along with the Code approval, the Institute Ethical Commission (hereinafter Commission) aimed at considering the above-mentioned kinds and forms of ethical norms violations, is being established. The Commission is guided by the Code provisions in its work.

The Commission's powers include investigation, confirmation or refutation of the fact of violation of ethical norms, set forth in the Code, committed by an academic community member, and bringing a motion to the Institute administration on the liability form a perpetrator shall be brought to.

The Commission shall consist of all academic community members’ representatives, with 1 representative of the administration, 3 representatives of scientific and academic staff, 1 representative of the trade-union bureau, one representative of the Student Council, and 1 representative of the Institute Scientific Association of Students and Post-graduate students. The Commission composition shall be approved by the Institute Academic Council.

The Commission sessions shall be held as required, being considered empowered in case of participation of at least five Commission members. Decisions shall be approved by a simple majority vote.

 

CONCLUDING PROVISIONS

The Ethical Code and amendments to it shall be approved by the Institute Academic Council.

The above-mentioned principles of ethical conduct are universally acceptable to all the Institute's academic community members and are acknowledged and shared by them as fundamental principles in the educational process. The Code shall be made public on the Institute's official website.

All the academic community members shall be familiarized with the Ethical Code.

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