Ethical codes in autonomous public universities in México: progress, pending issues and proposals

Abstract

During the 21st century, the conditions were created for Mexican higher education institutions to begin a trend towards the issuance of ethical codes, particularly in the autonomous public universities that have the largest number of enrollments and teaching staff in the country. It is important to note that in 2002, the Autonomous University of Zacatecas was the first of its kind to do so at the national level. However, more than two decades after formal ethical codification in the Autonomous Public Universities of Mexico, weaknesses and inconsistencies in the organizational climate and in the perception of social trust are present. Thus, this article, after explaining the main factors of the emerging ethical regulations in the autonomous public universities of Mexico, outlines a proposal to optimize its implementation with a view to exploiting its full transformative potential as an educational management tool, based on the evidence of improved levels of academic integrity and governance presented in North American and European university institutions that have ethical codes and good practices derived from them.