THE UNIVERSITY has issued fresh ethics guidelines on academic staff, covering workload, conduct, and outside employment and consultancies under a document titled “Institutional Standards of Professional Ethics” (ISPE).
Effective this academic year, the 14-article document details expectations on professional competence, responsible use of University facilities, and adherence to Catholic and Dominican values in teaching, research, and service.
Article 9, titled “Ethics on Outside Employment and External Engagements,” lays down stricter rules on full-time faculty, requiring them to prioritize University duties and avoid conflicts of interest.
Faculty members are required to declare outside work and secure approval for external engagements.
It states that “a full-time or regular academic staff commits to sole employment in the University from the time of her/his initial appointment.”
“S/he does not have teaching assignments or any other remunerative occupation requiring regular hours of work outside of the University unless with the proper endorsement of the academic unit head and approval of executive authorities,” it says.
Consultancy and government work are permitted only if these do not interfere with University duties or use institutional resources.
Regular faculty permitted to teach outside the University will be limited to a 21-unit workload, while those who accept permanent jobs elsewhere must forfeit their regular status.
Assoc. Prof. Rene Tadle, president of the Arts and Letters Faculty Association and head of the ONE UST coalition of University labor unions, said parts of the code “need to be clarified.”
“There are provisions that need to be clarified or appear to be even in conflict with some [collective bargaining agreement] provisions,” he told the Varsitarian.
The updated code unifies existing policies and rules on employment and conduct that previously varied across academic units.
Faculty members were oriented on the ISPE in August, at the opening of Academic Year 2025-2026.
