ETHICS CODE

Members of the Wharton community are expected to uphold the highest ethical standards. The MBA student body has articulated the following guidelines, approved by vote in the Spring of 1989 with expected amendment by faculty in Fall 2005. Once amended, it will be effective immediately.

Preamble

The mission of the Wharton School Graduate Division Code of Ethics ("Code") is to promote the growth of ethically responsible business managers at the Graduate Division of the Wharton School ("Wharton") through adherence to the highest standards of academic integrity and overall ethical conduct, to develop a sense of individual responsibility on the part of each member of the Wharton community to participate actively in maintaining such standards, to foster an environment of honor and trust within the Wharton community, and to engender respect for the ethical standards of the Wharton graduate. Fulfilling this mission is a collective responsibility of the members of the Wharton community. Striving for adherence to high standards of ethics will enhance the quality of the Wharton experience, will enrich the image of Wharton and strengthen the equity associated with the Wharton degree, and will reinforce the societal norms of moral responsibility.

While representing himself or herself as a member of the Wharton community, the Wharton student will maintain the highest standards of honesty and integrity. The student will strive for these standards in his or her representations, academic pursuits, and respect for the property and individual rights of others; will uphold the specific principles described in the Code; and will actively support the Code. Standing in the Wharton community will be subject to adherence to these basic principles of ethics.

The Code will be administered and maintained by a Wharton Graduate Division Ethics Committee ("Ethics Committee"), comprised of students chosen to represent their colleagues. Administration of the Code is subject to review by the Director and the Faculty of Wharton according to the procedures indicated below.

   

I. Specific Standards

A. Representations

The Wharton student is expected to represent himself or herself honestly in all oral or written statements. The student will not knowingly misrepresent any material fact to other students, faculty, staff, prospective employer, or anyone else while representing himself or herself as a member of the Wharton community, especially through, but not limited to:

1. Lying to prospective employers, either directly through oral or written statements or indirectly through misrepresentation of background in resume;

2. Misrepresenting any material fact on a Wharton application, financial aid form, or other official document; or

3. Lying to a fellow student, a faculty member, or an administrator in order to gain preferential treatment.

B. Academic Pursuits

The Wharton student is expected to represent his or her academic product honestly and fairly. The student will not knowingly use any dishonest method to gain an unfair advantage over other students in academic pursuits, especially through, but not limited to:

1. Giving or receiving any unauthorized aid on an assignment or exam, including working in groups on any assignment that has been designated as individual by the professor;

2. Misrepresenting the originality of one's work (plagiarism), particularly through failing to footnote the contributions of another, except as permitted by the instructor;

3. Continuing to write after time has been called on an exam; or

4. Submitting substantially the same work for credit in more than one class, except with prior approval of the instructor.

C. Property

The Wharton student is expected to respect the materials, data, and property of other members of the Wharton community. The student will not misuse or misappropriate the materials, data, or other property of another, especially through, but not limited to:

1. Accessing, removing, or destroying any information, materials, or other property from another student's or student organization's premises, locker, computer files or mail folder without prior permission;

2. Accessing or removing without prior permission, or hiding or destroying any corporate records, files, job postings, or academic materials from the library, the career planning office, or any other administrative office;

3. Divulging proprietary or confidentially provided information obtained for class assignments; or

4. Utilizing for commercial gain any material provided to Wharton specifically and restrictively for educational purposes without prior permission of the provider.

D. Individual Rights

The Wharton student is expected to respect the individual rights of others. Specifically, Wharton students will observe the University of Pennsylvania policies against harassment and discrimination. Any complaint of a violation of these policies brought to the attention of the Ethics Committee will be referred to the appropriate body of original jurisdiction within the University.

   

II. Standing in the Community

A student who accepts and adheres to the standards discussed above will remain in good ethical standing within the Wharton community. If a student fails to adhere to the Code, the student may be sanctioned only with respect to his or her relationship with the Graduate Division of the Wharton School. Any sanction will be enacted upon the recommendation of the Ethics Committee at the discretion and action of the Director of the Wharton Graduate Division.

Any sanction must bear a reasonable relationship to the severity of the breach involved. Appropriate sanctions are: Letter of Reprimand, Probation, Suspension, and Expulsion; in addition, the Ethics Committee may also recommend grade modification or exclusion from specified extracurricular activities.

If the final determination in a hearing under the Code is in favor of the accused, no record of the complaint nor of the related hearing will be made in the official file of the student as maintained by the Wharton Graduate Division. Any sanction applied by the Director will be included in the offending student's official file, along with an explanation of the complaint and the findings.

   

III. Administration of the Code

A. Composition of the Ethics Committee

The Ethics Committee will be comprised of eight Wharton students, plus one student to serve as Code Advocate, elected in January of the Spring semester to serve for one calendar year. Nominations for these positions will be accepted from the first-year class in the form of a statement of intent. In the event that more than eighteen applications are received, the sitting Ethics Committee will designate eighteen candidates on the basis of the submitted statements of intent. Those nine students who receive the most votes in a vote open to all Wharton students will constitute the new Ethics Committee. The Ethics Committee will select an appropriate number of representatives of the matriculating first-year class during their first semester. These representatives will assist the Ethics Committee in fulfilling its responsibilities, except that the first-year representatives will not sit for hearings.

B. Responsibilities of the Ethics Committee

The Ethics Committee will be responsible for hearing complaints under the Code. Five members of the Ethics Committee will sit for a hearing, with the Code Advocate serving to investigate the complaint and present any evidence. Hearings will be conducted according to procedures maintained by the Ethics Committee and available to all students upon request.

The Ethics Committee is also responsible for promulgating the standards specified in the Code, for encouraging responsible conduct by Wharton students, for acting as liaison to the Wharton Faculty and Administration on matters related to the Code, and for developing any necessary modifications of the Code. Any changes to the Code must be approved by a majority of those voting in a special referendum open to all Wharton MBA students.

C. Complaints

Any member of the Wharton community wishing to complain of a breach of the Code may contact, either orally or in writing,

1. Any member of the Ethics Committee,

2. The WGA Vice-President for Academic Affairs, or

3. The Director of the Wharton School's Graduate Division.

In addition, the first-year representatives to the Ethics Committee are available for discussing provisions of the Code and explaining options available under the Code. All contacts will be held in confidence according to the procedures of the Ethics Committee.

D. Appeals

Any student sanctioned under the Code by the Director at the recommendation of the Ethic Committee may appeal to the Wharton Academic Standards Committee. A request for the hearing of an appeal must be made to the Chairman of the Academic Standards Committee within seven days of the Director's decision; if the Academic Standards Committee refuses to hear the appeal, then the decision of the Director will stand. The Academic Standards Committee will conduct all hearings according to its own procedures.

All students matriculating in the Graduate Division must comply with the standards set forth in the MBA Code of Ethics and the Policies on Conduct of the University of Pennsylvania.

Cases involving issues related to academic integrity and educational pursuits of MBA students, where the incident relates to the activity of the Graduate Division, are to be resolved pursuant to the provisions of the MBA Code of Ethics.

Other cases involving issues related to conduct are to be resolved pursuant to the published "University Policies and Procedures." (see page 9 - Handbook on University Policies and Procedures.) If the MBA Ethics Committee feels a case is beyond its jurisdiction, it will refer the matter to the University Office of Student Conduct. Procedures used in cases related to conduct are set forth in the Charter of the University Student Judicial System, copies of which are available at the MBA Program Office in 300 JMHH.