Post secondary studies are provided to students on the
basis that they agree to the Code of Conduct and policy of the university that
they enter into. A Code of Conduct in a
university has clauses which prevent individuals from conducting themselves in
unduly manners. This means that for the
duration of their post secondary studies, students must adhere to the Code of
Conduct. There are many clauses in these
Codes of Conduct of which include: being respectful and courteous, not engaging
in plagiarism, not engaging in sexual abuse amongst others. What is important here is that students have
rights and responsibilities. For example
at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, the only polytechnic university in Canada,
the students are provided with a campus that promotes, “studying and working in
an environment that is civil, safe and respectful of your rights, well-being
and dignity” (KPU 2023). As mentioned,
at KPU the students rights are as follows:
“safety and security, freedom of expression, due process, privacy, be
informed, policies and procedures and clubs and committees” (KPU 2023). On the other hand, the responsibilities
include, “values, following policies and procedures, rules, equity and
diversity, inclusiveness, accountability, obligations, communication, stay in
contact, health and safety and coursework” (KPU 2023). This theory is going to focus on the
responsibility of course work. At KPU
students are “responsible for becoming familiar with course outlines, content,
evaluation methods, timelines and methodology” (KPU 2023). Students must adhere to the plagiarism and
cheating rules of the university for academic integrity as this maintains the
universities repute. There have been
occasions long after graduation whereby alumni have been reprimanded by some universities they went to and thus taking away their credentials as the
consequence. One such example is Joseph
Mengele’s. This individual conducted
very controversial experiments in Auschwitz.
He was an esteemed graduate at the University of Frankfurt in 1938. His thesis earned him the prestige of cum laude doctorate of Medicine. This individual got his
degrees revoked and redacted by his university in the 1960’s (Goethe
Universitat 2023). They ruled in favour
of Herman Langbein a survivor of the atrocity in Auschwitz who pushed for
Joseph Mengeles as a war criminal.
Charges were not going to be laid on Joseph until Langbein found his
registered address so that the court can continue to prosecute him (Goethe
Universitat 2023). What is important
here is that academic misconduct is not taken lightly even in the domestic
environment. People advocating for
integrity, dignity, respect and accountability such as established educational
institutions like Kwantlen Polytechnic University and other universities
maintain the academic standards within their community. Post- secondary education is provided to
Canadians under the provincial government for example, in Surrey where the
aforesaid university is situated they must adhere to the University Act. The aforesaid legislation has the following
clauses:
2. Each
university has in its own right and name the power to grant degrees established
in accordance with this Act;
46.1 A
university has the power and capacity of a natural person of full capacity;
47. (1) In this section, "university"
means a university named in section 3 (1).
(2) A
university must, so far as and to the full extent that its resources from time
to time permit, do all of the following:
(a) establish and maintain colleges,
schools, institutes, faculties, departments, chairs and courses of instruction;
(b) provide instruction in all
branches of knowledge;
(c) establish facilities for the
pursuit of original research in all branches of knowledge;
(d) establish fellowships, scholarships, exhibitions,
bursaries, prizes, rewards and pecuniary and other aids to facilitate or
encourage proficiency in the subjects taught in the university and original
research in all branches of knowledge;
(e) provide a program of continuing education in all
academic and cultural fields throughout British Columbia;
(f) generally, promote and carry on the work of a
university in all its branches, through the cooperative effort of the board,
senate and other constituent parts of the university.
In this legislation the university is structured with
a Board of Directors, Senate, Faculty and Registrar. These bodies within the university
bureaucracy all deliver the process of providing education to undergraduate and
graduate hopefuls;
48. (1) The minister must not interfere in the
exercise of powers conferred on a university, its board, senate and other
constituent bodies by this Act
respecting any of the following:
(a)the formulation and adoption of
academic policies and standards;
(b)the establishment of standards for
admission and graduation;
(c)the selection and appointment of staff;
49. (1)At the
request of the minister, a university must provide the minister with reports
and any other information that the minister considers necessary to carry out
the minister's responsibilities in relation to universities;
And;
68. An action, prosecution or other proceeding does not lie and must not be instituted against a university, the board, the senate or the members of the board or the senate, or any officer or employee of a university, in respect of any act or omission of a student arising out of an association or activity organized, managed or controlled, in whole or in part, by students of a university or of an affiliated college.
The statutory and acctual and context interpretation of the above
legislation is below.
The university has the authority to issue degrees under Section 92 of the Constitution of Canada. The university like a corporation is designated as a person with full capacity. A university in plain English means that it must maintain other educational institutions such as colleges, faculties etc. It must provide a branch of knowledge and the faculties must conduct ongoing research. Universities in British Columbia provide programs of continuing education under Board of Directors, Senate, Faculty and the Registrar. The university must also report to the Minister so that the Minister can conduct his duty. And, lastly, universities in the province of British Columbia assume no liability for the actions of their students. Regardless, with concern of the above university, University of Frankfurt as a precedent, it is likely that still yet, universities in this province can redact a degree from their alumni through civil litigation.
With the all this mentioned, it becomes important to note that degree categories have a baseline. For example the faculty of Political Science in Kwantlen Polytechnic University the four year degree description is as follows:
Political Science studies power in all its forms. Since power is in a sense everywhere – from the workplace to the family, from communications media to the classroom, and beyond – practically everything can be grist for political analysis. Most often, however, political scientists focus upon power as exercised by governments and states, and in the international arena, between governments and states - as well as non-governmental organizations, businesses, social movements, and armed groups - that seek to influence all of these. Thus, Political Science explores domestic and international influences that shape the lives of citizens through government, democracy. laws, public policy, media, bureaucracy, civil society and economics (Kwantlen Polytechnic University 2023).
This means that the base program has the courses that are mandatory and further, the student must take electives. This results in transferable skills being honed and generated through the polytechnic process within that university. The theory here is that the base program and the electives taken by the student serve as a unique identifier by which the student can work, be it for themselves or another company. The base program serves as a control and the electives taken are the variable. What this means is that any work produced by the student serves as a lock and key via their transcript. Courses taken in an undergraduate degree serve as a root by which the students works and excels. He or she excels by continuously using the course material. Course material such as exams and assignments are kept for a certain period. And the transcript provide the basis by which a student works and how he or she functions and how he or she creates works. This results in expertise.
WORK CITED
Goethe
Universitat. (2023). Josef Mengele. Germany.
Retrieved from: https://www.uni-frankfurt.de/68268693/Josef_Mengele
Government of
British Columbia. (2023). University Act. British Columbia. Retrieved from: https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/00_96468_01#section46.1
Kwantlen
Polytechnic University. (2023). Office of Student Rights and
Responsibilities. British Columbia. Retrieved from: https://www.kpu.ca/student-rights-responsibilities
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