The Penn State Values, a statement of core values for the University, was developed over a four year process. The Values represent our core ethical aspirations for all our daily activities and actions as students, faculty, staff, and volunteers at Penn State. Click on the link above for more information and access to resources for promoting the Values.

The Office of Ethics and Compliance also leads several ethical cultural initiatives for the University, including the Values and Culture Survey, updated and revised policies, educational programming, and the University Ethical Culture Plan.

A follow up to the 2013 Penn State Values & Culture Survey will be launched in October 2017 to gauge our progress, evaluate the programs we implemented, and identify areas for further development. All Penn State students, faculty, staff, technical service employees, administrators, postdoctoral scholars, and fellows will be invited to take the survey, with results planned for release in spring 2018.

The Penn State Ethical Decision-Making Model was developed to assist faculty, staff, and students in making difficult decisions. It is designed to encourage us to pause and think about the implications and consequences for decisions that we make on a daily basis. The model is based on the Penn State Values and was developed by the University Ethics Committee in conjunction with the Rock Ethics Institute. For more information, please see the January 2016 article published in Penn State Today.