As higher education administrators with 26 years (Juan) and 18 years (Francisco) of experience in student affairs, we have encountered numerous situations in which colleagues have demonstrated both exemplary and troubling practices related to ethics and integrity within our profession.
Ethics are the principles that guide our work; integrity is doing the right thing.
As busy as we are in student affairs roles, we cannot lose sight of the importance of ethics and integrity in guiding our work, particularly as leaders, when our teams, colleagues, and students look to us for direction and example.
A Breach of Professional Ethical Trust
There are times when student affairs colleagues could have demonstrated stronger ethical decision-making. One example of a student affairs professional demonstrating a lack of ethics and integrity occurred several years ago while I (Juan) served as an assistant vice president (AVP) and dean of students, as well as adjunct faculty in the higher education graduate program at my previous institution. My peer AVP had been asked on short notice to teach the introduction to student affairs administration course. Because I taught the course the previous year, she asked to review my syllabus, assuring me that she “Certainly won’t copy it, just needed something to generate ideas.” I shared the syllabus in good faith.
A few weeks later, a student from her class contacted me to participate in an interview assignment. Recognizing the assignment, I asked the student to share the course syllabus for context. To my surprise, the syllabus was my own. My peer AVP had removed my name, inserted her information, and presented the syllabus as her original work. Had the student not contacted me, I would never have discovered the situation.
When I presented her with both versions of the syllabus, she admitted that, due to the short notice, she had not taken the time to create her own syllabus. She apologized, became visibly emotional and cried, and acknowledged that she had violated my trust and would work to rebuild it. In that moment, it became clear that our professional relationship would never be the same; my trust had been compromised, and her deliberate actions demonstrated an egregious lapse in ethics and integrity.
As leaders in higher education, we must continually remember that ethics and integrity are central to everything we do: the colleagues we work alongside, the teams we supervise, and, most importantly, the students we serve.
Owning Mistakes in Recruitment
In contrast, the following recent experience illustrates how integrity can guide our response when mistakes occur. This fall, my team hosted our largest primary Panhellenic recruitment in 12 years, with 929 women registering to participate. As an office, we have a GPA requirement for all recruitment processes across our councils: CPH, IFC, PHA, and NPHC. Students are encouraged to check their grades before they register, and we verify each GPA as registrations are submitted.
During this cycle, a student who was eligible at the time of registration later had a GPA update posted to her record before recruitment began. As is our standard practice, we conducted one final GPA review. However, we missed this specific student, and as a result we did not share the corrected GPA information with the chapters. We became aware of the issue when a mother contacted our office to ask why her daughter had not been invited back to certain chapters.
After reviewing the situation, we identified the oversight on our end. I (Francisco) contacted the mother directly, explained the error, and outlined the steps we took to address the situation and provide the correct information to chapters moving forward. I also explained that chapters make membership decisions based on many factors and that it would not be accurate to assume that GPA alone determined any individual invitation. Even with this context, the mother was understandably upset. From her perspective, the mistake may have influenced her daughter’s recruitment experience, and as a parent she wanted answers.
In that moment, it would have been easy to blame the software or suggest that the issue was due to a process glitch. Instead, I chose to take responsibility. Acting with integrity meant acknowledging that we missed something, being transparent about what happened, and committing to do better. Leadership in higher education often requires facing uncomfortable conversations, especially when the error is our own. For me, the priority was to be honest, accountable, and solutions oriented, even when the outcome could not be changed.
This situation reminded me that integrity is not about being perfect; it is about how we respond when something goes wrong. In higher education, our decisions directly influence students and families who are placing their trust in us. Owning our mistakes, communicating honestly, and remaining accountable are not just professional expectations. They are ethical commitments that shape the credibility of our work and the culture we build within our teams.
Together, these experiences highlight that ethics and integrity in higher education are not abstract concepts, but daily practices that shape our relationships, decisions, and institutional culture. In one case, a breach of ethical trust served as a reminder that shortcuts and misrepresentation can permanently damage professional credibility. In the other, openly acknowledging an error, taking responsibility, and communicating transparently helped preserve trust even in a difficult situation. As leaders, we do not simply talk about ethics and integrity; we model them in how we treat colleagues, how we handle our mistakes, and how we honor the trust students and families place in us.