Citation
(2001), "Ethical badge of honour "key to attracting students", Education + Training, Vol. 43 No. 8/9. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2001.00443hab.006
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2001, MCB UP Limited
Ethical badge of honour "key to attracting students"
Ethical badge of honour "key to attracting students"
A college is championing its ethical principles as a key way to attracting students, funding and business partners. Guildford College for Further and Higher Education has been awarded GoodCorporation's badge of honour in corporate social responsibility following a rigorous audit of its activities. Lynne Sedgmore, principal, agreed to take part in the pilot in order to differentiate the college from its competitors. "We recognize the benefits to Guildford of becoming the first GoodCorporation in the education sector", she said. "The all-encompassing nature of the GoodCorporation charter is an excellent way for us to demonstrate and champion our ethical principles. This is key to attracting students, funding and business partners."
The verification was a valuable review of existing policies and procedures. As a public body, the college is already subject to a number of audits of its activities, and its preparation for the GoodCorporation verification was very thorough. "It really helps to have such good up-front preparation by the client", said Dr Keith Jones, from Intertek, which carried out the verification. "It made it easy for the verifier to get to the heart of the key issues that needed to be addressed".
GoodCorporation commended Guildford for a range of its staff policies, including its staff-development and appraisal policies, its consultation processes and its equal-opportunities policy. The verification encouraged the college to update aspects of its environmental policies and to ensure that staff were made aware of the college's health and safety procedures. In the spirit of the GoodCorporation charter, the college is keen to spread its ethical business practices among its partners. These include the Learning and Skills Council, corporate partners, suppliers and other educational establishments.