Standards of Professionalism

Section 3.V – Standards of Professionalism

Vance-Granville Community College employees must act at all times in a manner consistent with the highest standards of ethics and professionalism, carrying out their duties in a professional, ethical and collegial manner upholding the following expectations:

1. The College expects every employee to be courteous, respectful and helpful to students, the community, fellow faculty and staff at all times.
2. The College expects faculty to be sensitive to the coercive nature resulting from the power differences inherent in the teacher/student relationship and to be ethical in the use of this power. The College expects all employees to avoid inappropriate relationships with students.
3. The College expects supervisors to be sensitive to cultural differences, to create a harmonious learning environment, and to treat all students equitably and fairly.
4. The College expects employees to understand the special responsibilities of being a public employee and that they must never use their positions, the resources of the College, or the work of their students for private gain.
5. The College expects employees to conduct their professional and private lives in a manner that reflects positively on the College and to refrain from any conduct that would result in embarrassment or would lower the esteem of the College in the eyes of the public.
6. The College expects employees to be diligent in maintaining all required credentials and to assume ownership for keeping themselves current in their respective discipline
7. The College expects every class session to be a well-planned, well-conducted and effective learning experience for the student.
8. The College expects the faculty to be actively involved in professional associations on a local, state and national level and to contribute to the advancement of the respective disciplines.
9. The College expects the faculty to be intellectually honest and to respect the intellectual property of others. Specifically, the faculty are expected to obey all copyright laws and to accord appropriate recognition of all sources in class presentations, publications and other activities.
10. The college attempts to help students enhance their life academically, socially, politically, and economically. In that regard, employees are encouraged to act as role models for students and dress in a professional manner that also observes health and safety requirements for the workplace.

Since January 1, 2007, the NC State Government Ethics Act (N.C.G.S.Chapter138A) as regulated by the NC State Ethics Commission, was created to raise ethical awareness, clarify ethical guidelines, ensure that systems/programs/policies are in place, and to heighten accountability within the employing entity when making decisions to promote the public good. As public servants, personnel are prohibited from use of a public position in a manner that will result in financial benefit to the person, a member of the person’s family, or a business with which he/she is associated.

Article 4 of the NC State Ethics Act (Ethical Standards for Covered Persons) contains a gifts provision (N.C.G.S.138A-32). The approach is a general ban on gifts, with ten (10) enumerated exceptions. Specifically, public servants are prohibited from accepting gifts from persons doing or seeking to do business with their employing entity, persons engaging in activities that are regulated or controlled by the employing entity, or persons having a financial interest that may be substantially affected by the public servant’s official actions. Please see Article 4 for a full description.

The link for the Ethics Commission is ethics.nc.gov/ contains additional information.

(approved July 16, 2018)