Student Center for the Public Trust

Certification Program Overview:

Research published in the Harvard Business Review suggests that young professionals are unprepared to handle the ethical dilemmas they will face in their careers, because of the prevalence and impact of ethical dilemmas for young professionals, the justification of unethical acts, a lack of “deep” mentoring, and the effect of market forces.

The Ethical Leadership Certification Program is an online tool that helps college students identify ethical issues, learn how to respond to ethical dilemmas and enhance their ethical decision-making abilities.

Group Registration:

Professors who enroll their classes will receive weekly reports showing the progress of each student. We recommend assigning one module to be completed each week for six-week completion or one module every two weeks for 12-week completion. In 2016, we are also providing professors with class discussion questions to help spark interactive dialogue about ethical decision-making.

The cost is $39.99 per student, and professors can choose one of the following three payment options:

• Students self-pay
• School pays via invoice
• Students self pay half/School pays half via invoice

For questions, please email [email protected].

Certification Program Structure:

This online training program includes six modules, which each contain four or five sections. Students must pass the quiz, at the end of each section, with a score of 80% or higher to advance to the next section. After completing all six modules, students will earn their certification in ethical leadership. The six modules cover the following topics:

• Overview of Ethical Leadership
• Ethical Decision Making
• Organizational Support of Ethical Leadership
• Role of Leadership in Managing and Preventing Conflicts and Ethical Risks
• Role of Communication in Ethical Leadership
• Implementing Ethical Leadership

Content Development:

The program’s content was developed by leading ethics professors from across the country, led by Drs. O.C. and Linda Ferrell and an expert advisory panel.

Funding for the development of the project was provided through the Daniels Fund.