Our university reached another milestone in achieving the strategic goal of becoming a responsible and sustainable university when the renewed BBS Code of Ethics came into effect in September 2018. Our Code of Ethics summarises the principles of behaviour accepted by our students, faculty, teachers, researchers, and staff in our community, with the goal of providing guidance and supporting collaboration in our daily lives. We innovated in the approach and process of the drafting of the Code, as it has been developed with the involvement of a wide cross-section of our BBS Citizens.
Below we present you with:
- why we created our Code of Ethics
- what the Code of Ethics actually is
- what the Ethics Committee does
- where you can find out more about us
- what has happened since the adoption of the Code of Ethics
Background
BBS’ vision is to become the leading applied sciences business university in the Central European region in the coming years. The key to achieving our strategic goals and our future success is a strong organizational culture characterised by a cohesive community and relationships based on trust and co-operation, the foundation of which is ethical behaviour. In the spirit of this, our Code of Ethics, which was originally established in 2004, was renewed in 2018 along with the rules of procedure of the Ethics Committee. The documents were adopted by the University Senate on June 29th, 2018, and came into effect on September 1st, 2018.
About the Ethics Committee
If you feel that someone has acted unethically toward you or toward someone else, or you run into an ethical dilemma, feel free to contact the Ethics Committee!
The role of the Ethics Committee is to provide answers to ethical issues that arise, to help resolve ethical dilemmas, to decide on ethical reviews, or whether there has been a breach of the Code of Ethics. The Committee will also propose consequences and preventive measures. It is also very important for the Committee to communicate continuously and transparently, as the aim is to be able to talk openly about ethical dilemmas and issues in our community and to defend ourselves and the rights of others. The Committee consists of a chairman and three members, all representing different departments. The gender ratio is equal among the members. The members of the Ethics Committee are appointed by the Rector of the University with the consent of the Chancellor, for a 3-year term, while the student representative is appointed for one year.
Members of the Ethics Committee:
Dr habil. Krisztina Szegedi (chairman)
Dr Gábor Pázsitka
Dr Kinga Takács
Dávid László Radó
Dorina Körtvési is the administrator of the Ethics Committee.
Rules of Procedure of the Ethics Committee
The Rules of Procedure of the BBS Ethics Committee contain the principles and rules for the operation of the Ethics Committee and for answering ethical questions and investigating ethical cases. It supplements other BBS regulations. These procedures help us to understand exactly what to do if we experience unethical behaviour, how the ethical process is conducted, or what rules apply to the person reporting the infraction or to the person being reported. The Code of Ethics is a simple and straightforward document that can be found in the attached document library.
Annual Report
Transparency, the development of an ethical organizational culture and the prevention of future ethical problems are important to us, which is why every year, always anonymously, we publish our report on the lessons of the past, summarizing what has happened in the preceding year. The main task of the first year was to draw attention to the Code of Ethics and its principles, in as many places and forms as possible. Among other things, we produced a short video, played a game with the students in the freshman camp, discussed our common values in a quiz, and cooked together and took photos together at the BBS Day. We did all this to encourage everyone to learn about the Code of Ethics. We have also prepared all of our materials in English to make them available to our international students. In the first year, 9 inquiries were received by the Ethics Committee in the form of questions or reports.
Ethical Resolutions
In response to experience and dilemmas that may arise, the Ethics Committee can formulate a general position on the topics that have become the most focused in a given period, since the goal is to be able to talk openly about ethical dilemmas and issues in our community and to protect our rights and those of others. The cases handled in the first year highlighted the need for a more detailed description of ethical expectations regarding communication and publishing activities in order for them to be interpreted uniformly by all BBS citizens. Accordingly, the Committee has prepared The BBS community communication and publication principles resolution.
Code of Ethics FAQ
The foundation of our university's success is a strong organisational culture that supports ETHICAL BEHAVIOR towards each other and toward our external stakeholders. Our Code of Ethics summarises the principles and standards of conduct accepted in our community by our students, faculty, researchers, and staff. The contents apply equally to all university citizens of BBS. We behave in accordance with the Code of Ethics in our relationships with each other, the maintainer, our suppliers, other partners, competitors and local communities, and we expect a reciprocal code of conduct from them.
- It serves as a reference point in our daily lives.
- It provides moral support and guidance.
- It supports our co-operation.
- It inspires the achievement of our strategic goals.
- It helps us in becoming a responsible University.
- It strengthens the reputation of our University.
Above all, read and study the Code of Ethics!
As university citizens, we must pay attention to one other and set an example. Setting an ethical example is particularly important for leaders. That applies to the leaders of departments, advocacy groups and professional leaders, as well as the heads of student community organizations.
If you feel someone has behaved unethically, try to clarify things with the person involved, first. If that is not possible or if that fails, please contact the head of the relevant department (e.g. Student Services Department, University Student Union, Department, or Faculty) or the Ethics Committee.
If an ethical issue arises, you can contact the Ethics Committee at etika@uni-bge.hu.
In the case of questions or reporting an incident, please choose one of the following options below:
- at the e-mail address: etika@uni-bge.hu
- by post to the address of the Chairman of the Ethics Committee
- in person to the Chairman of the Ethics Committee or to any of the members
- when unethical behaviour is detected, whether it is about us or about others, it is important to report it because we can help, and can protect ourselves or others (e.g. harassment, discrimination, injustice),
- strengthens our community,
- prevents more serious legal offenses,
- avoids serious financial or reputational consequences, and
- we can prevent similar unethical behaviour in the future