Ethical Issues in Admissions Policies

Ethical issues in admissions policies

Learning institutions must constantly be aware of ethical issues pertaining to their admissions policies. The United States Education Department created guidelines that are governed by scores on Standard Achievement Tests. There are cases when institutions have used affirmative action to protect students with scores that would not allow them access unless affirmative action was utilized. Many opposed this practice stating it was biased toward females and minorities. Administrators must be sensitive to these issues to avoid any ethical dilemmas.

Many of the administrators and professors at the universities have spent time as a teaching assistant during graduate school. Theses professors having been on both sided of the table, student and teacher, have the opportunity to offer suggestions and ideas to proactively address ethical issues pertaining to admissions policies. Sometimes the administrators place policy into effect causing ethical dilemma. Students and teachers must then be coached on how to handle theses situations. The possibility exists that these policies, which cause dilemma, are the result of past experiences of the policy makers. The administrators need to be sure they are not trying to solve an outdated problem. Another issue could be the time it takes to enact a new policy. By the time administrators put a policy into place the problem the issue it is addressing may no longer be an issue.

There is a benefit to adding diversity to an admissions policy. Learning institutions can add diversity to their student population by being creative with their admissions policies. The benefit to diversity in the student body is the exposure of different cultures and backgrounds to all students. This experience will teach students how to accept other cultures and in turn they will learn how to manage diverse business. The ability to manage diversity will ultimately lead to being able to better manage ethical issues and more importantly identify potential ethical issues and prevent them.

Administrators and leaders of learning institutions have many considerations when setting admissions policies. Public opinion, minorities, financial aid, alumni and high profile financial supporters are important components to the success of a University, in addition to the students and facility. The aforementioned all need to be considered when managing an admissions policy. There is more emphasis on the ethical issues of society in