CPI Professionalism, Ethics & Continuing Education 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A student shares confidential personal information with an instructor during office hours. The instructor should:
- Share it with other faculty to provide better support
- Keep it confidential unless there is a safety concern or legal requirement to disclose (Correct answer)
- Document it in the student's academic record
- Inform the student's parents or guardians immediately
Correct answer: Keep it confidential unless there is a safety concern or legal requirement to disclose
Instructors must maintain student confidentiality in accordance with FERPA and professional ethics, disclosing only when legally required or safety is at risk.
Question 2: Which of the following best describes the concept of 'academic freedom' in postsecondary education?
- Instructors may teach any topic without institutional oversight
- Instructors have the right to pursue scholarly inquiry and teach their subject without undue interference (Correct answer)
- Students have the right to challenge any grade without consequence
- Institutions cannot set curriculum standards or requirements
Correct answer: Instructors have the right to pursue scholarly inquiry and teach their subject without undue interference
Academic freedom protects instructors' rights to pursue knowledge and teach their subject matter without undue political or administrative interference.
Question 3: An instructor discovers that a colleague is consistently providing answers to students during exams. The most appropriate ethical response is to:
- Confront the colleague publicly in front of students
- Report the behavior to the appropriate institutional authority (Correct answer)
- Ignore it since it is not the instructor's responsibility
- Warn students not to take that instructor's class
Correct answer: Report the behavior to the appropriate institutional authority
Professional ethics require reporting academic integrity violations through proper institutional channels rather than ignoring or publicly confronting the issue.
Question 4: Which professional development activity would most directly improve an instructor's classroom assessment practices?
- Attending a conference on campus landscaping
- Completing a workshop on rubric design and formative assessment strategies (Correct answer)
- Earning a certification in an unrelated technical field
- Reading novels outside one's discipline
Correct answer: Completing a workshop on rubric design and formative assessment strategies
Workshops focused on rubric design and formative assessment directly build skills that instructors apply when evaluating student learning.
Question 5: A CPI-certified instructor's primary obligation when grading student work is to:
- Ensure most students receive passing grades to maintain enrollment
- Apply consistent, objective criteria aligned with stated learning outcomes (Correct answer)
- Grade based on student effort rather than demonstrated mastery
- Curve all scores so the class average is 75%
Correct answer: Apply consistent, objective criteria aligned with stated learning outcomes
Ethical grading requires applying consistent, transparent criteria tied to learning outcomes rather than arbitrary adjustments.
Question 6: What is the primary purpose of a professional code of ethics for postsecondary instructors?
- To limit instructors' freedom of expression
- To provide guidelines that protect students, colleagues, and the integrity of the profession (Correct answer)
- To increase institutional liability protection
- To standardize salaries across institutions
Correct answer: To provide guidelines that protect students, colleagues, and the integrity of the profession
A professional code of ethics establishes shared standards that safeguard students, maintain collegial trust, and uphold the integrity of postsecondary education.
Question 7: When an instructor has a financial interest in a textbook they require for their course, the ethical obligation is to:
- Require the textbook without disclosure since it is the best resource
- Disclose the conflict of interest to students and the institution and consider alternatives (Correct answer)
- Donate all royalties to charity and proceed without disclosure
- Let students decide individually whether to purchase the textbook
Correct answer: Disclose the conflict of interest to students and the institution and consider alternatives
Transparent disclosure of financial conflicts of interest is required by professional ethics, and instructors should explore whether alternative resources are equally appropriate.
CPI Professionalism, Ethics & Continuing Education 2
A student shares confidential personal information with an instructor during office hours.
The instructor should: