News Archive

In recent weeks, administrators from Western Australian universities have met to begin discussions on how to help address an issue facing our students - along with many other young people in the community: the problem of alcohol abuse and binge drinking.

The way in which universities deal with community-wide issues such as binge drinking poses many challenges - for us as educators, administrators, students and colleagues. And it brings into sharper focus the concept of ‘duty of care' in a complex institution such as a university.

While expecting high standards from our students and staff - which includes the responsibility to look after themselves and others - the University and its entities, such as the Student Guild, have an institutional ‘duty of care' to those who work and study here.

The wider community - and particularly parents, partners and family of those who work and study here - have a reasonable expectation that the activities their family members may engage in on campus or through any university-related entity, does not expose them to harm or illegal behaviour.

The University is a complex organisation comprising diverse groups that have different relationships to one another.

It is essential in such a community that all members recognise and respect not only their own rights and responsibilities, but also the rights and responsibilities of other members of the community and those of the University itself.

I would encourage all students and staff to consider the University's Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct which is readily available on the University website.

These codes are part of a package centred around key principles of equity and justice, respect for people, and personal and professional responsibility. They espouse these responsibilities as the basis on which individuals become members of a community and accept their social responsibilities to behave with integrity.

In particular, the Code of Ethics is a statement of the ethical principles, values and behaviours expected of staff and students flowing from the University's Strategic Plan which states: The University fosters the values of openness, honesty, tolerance, fairness and responsibility in social and moral, as well as academic, matters .

Beyond these more formal mechanisms of codes and complaint processes, both as individuals and collectively as an institution, we have a personal duty of care to colleagues - both students and staff - in providing a safe and supportive environment.

Given that our campus community - of around 24,000 students and 3,500 staff - is equivalent to the size of a substantial town, we tend to reflect all the issues of the wider community around us.

And just as with that wider community, the great majority of UWA staff and students are highly responsible in their day-to-day relationships with those around them.

Paul Johnson

Vice-Chancellor