News@MQ

Major Project Update

Help shape Macquarie’s ethics framework

Should academics be allowed to keep royalties from book sales to Macquarie students? Should bullying and harassment by staff incur serious penalties? And should environmental sustainability be given priority in all new developments on the campus?

Following the successful completion of stage one of Macquarie’s Ethics Framework Project, staff and students are now being asked to contribute to the second stage of the project by answering questions like those posed above.

The process can be completed anonymously and will help translate the University’s values into concrete policy for the organisation.

Many staff and students have already provided their input as part of the first stage by participating in interviews or focus groups with the St James Ethics Centre.

The next stage involves visiting the Values Exchange website where participants can express their views on the following issues:

  • Academic freedom
  • Bullying
  • Conflicts of interest
  • Staff-student or staff-staff relationships
  • Sale of staff-authored textbooks to students
  • Treatment of students
  • Sustainability


Macquarie’s Ethics Framework Project is a collaborative effort by the project committee and St James Ethics Centre and involves three main stages.

Stage one, which is now complete, saw the development of an Ethics Statement outlining the core ethical principles and values to which the University community will adhere.

Stage two will involve conducting a University-wide organisational character and culture analysis in order to assess the extent to which University policies and practices are consistent, or in conflict, with the Ethics Statement.

And, finally, stage three will result in an implementation plan to ensure that the University’s policies and practices are consistent with the Ethics Statement.

For further information on the entire project click here or contact Kylie Colvin or Lena Hazzouri on (02) 9850 7440.

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