Professional Integrity in Higher Education: A Study of Administrative Staff Ethics in Student Affairs

This study examined administrative staff perceptions of professional ethics in a student affairs division at one university. Indepth interviews were conducted with 12 staff members (six assistant/associate vice presidents and six directors) and analyzed using the constant comparative method. Participants described three dimensions of professional ethicality: regulatory, situated, and collective. Discussion focuses on the inadequacy of personal or professional values alone to guide complex ethical reasoning in higher education, as well as the need for creating and sustaining ethical environments in student affairs through ethical modeling and relational leadership.