CPI Professionalism, Ethics & Continuing Education 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under FERPA, which of the following individuals may access a student's education records without the student's consent?
- The student's employer requesting a transcript
- A school official with a legitimate educational interest (Correct answer)
- A curious faculty member in a different department
- A parent of a student who is over 18 and enrolled full-time
Correct answer: A school official with a legitimate educational interest
FERPA permits access to education records without student consent for school officials who have a legitimate educational interest in the information.
Question 2: Which scenario best illustrates an instructor maintaining appropriate professional boundaries?
- Accepting expensive gifts from students in exchange for positive recommendations
- Maintaining consistent office hour policies and communicating through institutional email (Correct answer)
- Sharing personal social media passwords with students to foster connection
- Discussing other students' grades with a student seeking advice
Correct answer: Maintaining consistent office hour policies and communicating through institutional email
Using institutional communication channels and consistent policies maintains professional boundaries that protect both students and instructors.
Question 3: An instructor notices signs that a student may be experiencing a mental health crisis. The most appropriate first step is to:
- Diagnose the student and recommend specific treatments
- Refer the student to campus counseling or support services (Correct answer)
- Lower the student's academic expectations for the remainder of the semester
- Discuss the student's situation openly with the class to raise awareness
Correct answer: Refer the student to campus counseling or support services
Instructors are not mental health professionals and should refer students to qualified campus support services rather than attempting to provide clinical assistance.
Question 4: Continuing education requirements for CPI certification are designed primarily to:
- Increase institutional revenue through recertification fees
- Ensure instructors remain current with evolving pedagogy, technology, and field knowledge (Correct answer)
- Reduce the number of certified instructors in saturated markets
- Fulfill union contract obligations
Correct answer: Ensure instructors remain current with evolving pedagogy, technology, and field knowledge
Continuing education requirements ensure that certified instructors continuously update their pedagogical skills and content knowledge as both evolve.
Question 5: Which action demonstrates an instructor's commitment to equity and inclusion in the classroom?
- Treating all students identically regardless of documented accommodations
- Designing assessments that provide multiple means of demonstrating mastery (Correct answer)
- Avoiding topics that might make any student uncomfortable
- Grouping students by perceived ability level for all activities
Correct answer: Designing assessments that provide multiple means of demonstrating mastery
Offering multiple means of demonstrating mastery aligns with Universal Design for Learning principles and supports equitable access for all learners.
Question 6: An instructor publishes research findings that contradict a major funder's preferred conclusions. This situation most directly tests:
- The instructor's writing ability
- Academic integrity and freedom from conflicts of interest (Correct answer)
- The funder's legal authority over publications
- The instructor's employment contract terms
Correct answer: Academic integrity and freedom from conflicts of interest
Publishing honest findings despite funder pressure is a direct test of academic integrity and the principle that research conclusions must not be compromised by financial relationships.
Question 7: Which of the following is the most ethical response when an instructor realizes a published exam question was factually incorrect?
- Ignore the error to avoid undermining confidence in the exam
- Acknowledge the error, accept all defensible answers, and adjust scoring accordingly (Correct answer)
- Penalize students who selected the 'wrong' answer based on flawed reasoning
- Blame the textbook publisher and take no corrective action
Correct answer: Acknowledge the error, accept all defensible answers, and adjust scoring accordingly
Acknowledging errors and adjusting scoring fairly demonstrates accountability and protects students from being penalized for an instructor's mistake.
CPI Professionalism, Ethics & Continuing Education 3
Under FERPA, which of the following individuals may access a student's education records without the student's consent?