Recent research and practice reveal that there are two skills in the moral realm that higher education is not adequately addressing with students. The skills involve the ability to identify moral dilemmas and the ability to understand and delineate conflicts between competing moral practices, traditions, and identities while exploring life's…

Most college faculty care about the characters of their students, especially when it comes to questions of honesty. But can students today be trusted not to cheat when completing papers and exams, and not to do so for the right reasons? In section one of this article, the author reviews some of the leading research on cheating behavior, and in…

Honor codes have become increasingly popular at institutions of higher education as a means of reducing violations of academic integrity such as cheating and other academically dishonest acts. Previous research on honor code effectiveness has been limited to correlational research designs that preclude the examination of cause-and-effect…

The purpose of this article is to advance an understanding of how diversity experiences can potentially foster moral development among college students. An overview of the research linking diversity experiences to moral development is discussed, followed by a presentation of a conceptual framework that demonstrates the nuances and challenges in…

As student affairs professionals, we are expected to meet students where they are developmentally and challenge and support them as they learn, develop, and grow into productive citizens. Since our institutions, and society as a whole, are becoming increasingly diverse, it is imperative that we acknowledge the numerous ways cultural background…

What is loyalty and why is it problematic in athletics? The author discusses the ethical lapses that can occur when a powerful social value, "loyalty," trumps individuals' ability to make moral decisions. She argues that education about morality should be a necessary part of sport education and explains how moral education programs can make a…

In order to understand the character and moral lives of college students today, it is necessary to set an examination within a larger framework of the macrosocial and cultural forces that have developed emerging adulthood as a relatively new and important phase of the American life course. Also helpful are identifying some of the key…

Colleges and universities are places where students are immersed in course work and planned activities outside the classroom, where habits based on values and character can be formed. Whether working with students to achieve learning outcomes specifically related to academic courses or helping them work through the consequences of a conduct issue,…

Helping students understand and cultivate moral and spiritual friends is perhaps one of the most important gifts a college or university can give a student. Having meaningful relationships contributes significant energy to students' inner lives--their values, moral commitments, and self-understandings. The topic of friendship, and all that it…

The purpose of this article is to discuss a coach's perspective of the good that sport should do. The author argues that the relationships developed through the coaching experience are powerful, formative, and exceptional. She discusses the important moral values of sharing and caring and how these are important in the moral development of the…

The conversation about essential learning outcomes of college has never been more active or important. Although much of the attention on learning outcomes is narrowly focused on cognitive outcomes, especially critical thinking, the need to educate students for personal and social responsibility has never been clearer. In this article the author…

This article describes a set of lessons learned from a national project on education for personal and social responsibility that can be adopted across a variety of specific institutional contexts and missions.