Ethics Code

The infringements of the ETHICS CODE/CÓDIGO ÉTICO can be divided in two subgroups.

1) Harassment and Discrimination and 2) Violation of Academic and Community standards.

If the violation of the Code of Ethics involves Harassment and Discrimination, there is a specific procedure that needs to be followed. Please read the document which can be found in the download section to understand the steps that should be taken.
For any other infringements, the below described procedure should be applied.

Detection of a potential infringement

When a student, teacher or staff member witnesses or detects a potential violation of the Code of Ethics, they have an obligation to report it to Program Management.

Program Management will examine the issue, make an initial evaluation of the alleged infraction and determine whether the allegation falls within the scope of the Code of Ethics.

Depending on this initial evaluation, the Program Director may:

Refer the matter to the Ethics Committee.
If the infraction is easily categorized and there are precedents for the corresponding sanction, Program Management may apply the agreed sanction, although this does not prevent them from establishing communication with the student to discuss their behavior and communicate the institution’s disapproval of said behavior.

If the student does not agree with the Program Director’s decision to apply the corresponding sanctions rather than referring the case to the Ethics Committee, they may appeal to their Program’s Corresponding Vice Dean. The Vice Dean will decide whether the case should be referred to the Ethics Committee. If the Vice Dean deems it applicable, he will request the Committee to be convened; if not applicable, he will respond to the student (with an appropriate argument) to indicate that there is no possibility of appeal. The decision of the Vice Dean is final. In order to appeal to the Vice Dean, the student will have to complete the form that requests the Ethics Committee be convened (the “Ethics Committee Request Form”).

Categorization and sanctions

Once it has been agreed that the allegation falls within the scope of the Code of Ethics, the Program Management can use the reference table (see “Sanctions Table”) to verify if the infraction can be categorized and what the corresponding sanctions are.

Categorized Infractions

If the infraction falls within one of the agreed categories, Program Management, together with the teacher of the relevant subject, will notify the student of the agreed action.

In case of repeated violation, Program Management will have to convene the Ethics Committee.

How to convene the ethics committee

If Program Management assesses that there is sufficient reason, an allegation is of sufficient severity, or if it is a repeated violation, they will refer the case in writing to the Ethics Committee.

In this letter, Program Management will have to outline the facts in the most detailed way possible, including the articles of the Ethical Code that have allegedly been breached. The letter must be addressed to Carl Kock (carl.kock@ie.edu). Once the allegation has been received, the Chairman of the Committee must:

Convene a meeting to analyze and deliberate on the case.
Inform the student – in writing – of the charges against them.

The student will have the opportunity to respond in writing, within a reasonable time frame (determined by the President), so that they can argue their case if they wish.

The communication can be exchanged via e-mail. Together with the written document, the student may request the verbal presentation of their case before the Committee.

The student’s written response must be made available to all members of the Ethics Committee before deliberation. The Committee, in its independent capacity, may collect additional information it considers pertinent, including the statement of any witness/es whose contribution may be relevant.

Composition of the ethics committee

The Ethics Committee is composed of professors and students who meet only upon request to evaluate ethical conduct issues and examine specific cases of potential violation of the Code of Ethics.

The Committee is composed of a president and (i) an adequate number of professors that the Senate Dean has selected to be members of the Committee (ii) an adequate number of students (ethics representatives, if they exist.)

When possible, students and professors will be chosen from among those who participate in the program as professors or students. However, when student representation is unfeasible (because they are located in different countries around the world) or when it involves a personal conflict for the student participating in the Committee (because the number of students in a program is relatively low) the Committee may either request the participation of a former student of the same program or a student representative from another program. There is a quorum to form the Committee when at least two professors and two student representatives are available.

The resolutions of the Committee are adopted by simple majority of the votes of the attendees, including the Chairman of the Committee. When the Ethics Committee meets, it only discusses the issues that fall within the scope of the Code that apply to the specific case.

Resolution of the ethics committee

Once the deliberation of the case is finished, the Ethics Committee decides if there has been a violation of the rules set forth in the Code and recommends a sanction.

The Chairman of the Committee must write up the minutes of the meeting/s and circulate them amongst the members of the Committee who attended for comments, if any.

Once the minutes are approved, Program Management will be notified. Minutes will also be sent to the Registrar’s Office, together with the supporting documents used.

The Vice-Dean shall notify the student of the decisions and recommendations of the Committee, including the mentions included in the minutes of any aggravating or mitigating circumstances taken into account by the Committee in its deliberation.

The deliberations of the Committee must be kept strictly confidential. The decisions and recommendations may be communicated to the IE Community by the Dean or the Vice-Deans of the respective programs, if deemed appropriate.