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Over 70 Percent of CBA Students Sign Ethics Code

More than 70 percent of undergraduate students currently enrolled at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Business Administration have given their signature of support to the CBA ethics code. The student-written ethics code and belief statement were launched at the State Farm Ethics Day Lecture last year.
 
“The students wanted a way to signal recruiters and employers about their shared beliefs and strong support for ethical behavior. This high level of support given to a voluntary ethics code is unprecedented among business colleges,” says Janice Lawrence, who holds a professorship of business ethics and is director of the CBA Business Ethics Program.
 
The ethics code was researched and written by the ethics committee of the CBA Student Advisory Board This team of six undergraduate students, under Lawrence’s guidance, studied best practices of writing a code and surveyed both student classes and organizations to gather input on the values and culture of UNL business students.
 
Incoming ASUN internal vice president and previous ethics committee member Kaitlin Coziahr, a junior economics, finance and management major from Omaha, sees a unifying quality for students who sign their name to the pledge.

“It sets a standard to which we, as students, will hold one another,” said Coziahr. “It lets current and future students know what is expected and the beliefs we hold.”
 
CBA Dean Donde Plowman is proud of the students for making a stand.
 
“The values of integrity, honesty, professionalism, respect and compassion in the code are not only important to our academic community, but also to demonstrate to others how our students are dedicated to high ethical standards,” Plowman said.  
 
CBA students can sign their name on the online student ethics code, joining over 2,300 other student signatures, at http://cba.unl.edu/ethicscode.
 
Business ethics is emphasized in CBA with ethics integrated into approximately 90 percent of classes.
 
A new student ethics board was recently created to provide advice on ethical dilemmas that arise in daily student life. Students can email questions or place them in the Ethics Box, located on the main floor near the Daily Drip lounge area. The ethics board then meets to discuss the issues and advice is distributed in a monthly ethics e-newsletter called Beyond the Bottom Line.
Published: April 15, 2013