(Un)ethical problems and efforts to build competitive advantage in non-public higher education institutions

Abstract

Changes in Poland’s higher education occur by leaps rather than through an evolutionary process. This is caused mostly by the need for institutional transformation of nonpublic HE institutions and the departure from Humboldtian model in favour of a market-oriented model (entrepreneurial university). This transition generates numerous ethical dilemmas. On the one hand, universities are expected to undertake pro publico bono activities. On the other hand, they are forced to operate under tough market rules. The need to find new sources of funding, to collaborate with external partners (also from the business community), the idea of knowledge transfer, competitive struggle, the wearing-out of existing marketing tools exhaustion - all these elements generate new problems and ethical dilemmas, many of which cannot be assessed in a clear-cut way. Apart from codes of ethics developed at university level or national level, an ethical audit could prove to be an ideal solution. This kind of audit, performed by independent institutions or business centres, would assess ethical behaviour within the university, both internally and externally, considering the transparency of its community links. Publicised and widely commented ethical audit reports could become a competitive advantage tool for universities which adhere to codes of ethics.