LIVING VALUES IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

PROSPECTUS

Why are values increasingly important for universities?

1. Universities today face tremendous complexity and uncertainty. This is due to the
increasingly varied expectations of internal and more numerous and diverse external
stakeholders, the changing dynamics of national and international politics, increased
competition for students and funding, challenges arising from internationalisation,
and the rapid evolution of technology and communication.

2. These challenges affect universities across the globe, regardless of their traditions,
cultures, styles of operating, and missions. They impact both traditional collegial
models in which academics are most influential as well as universities that are more
centrally led.

3. Values have been at the heart of universities since their formation and remain an
essential tool in dealing with these challenges, offering universities guidance for their
conduct and decision-making. Whether it is the traditional and more fundamental
values of autonomy and academic freedom, social responsibility toward their
community, or other values specific to institutional missions, values are crucial to
helping universities understand and identify themselves and communicate that
identity and mission to stakeholders.

4. To create and maintain public trust in universities amid today’s complexity and
uncertainty, universities need to define their values explicitly, clearly communicate
them to staff, students, and stakeholders, and demonstrate that their values inform
practice and decision-making.

Why should universities engage in the Living Values project?

5. The objective of the Living Values project is to help higher education institutions
identify, adopt and live by values that enable them to successfully fulfil their mission
and engage with their community.

6. Reviewing and articulating values with the input of stakeholders will increase
community engagement and create more trust between the institution and its staff,
students, and stakeholders.

7. The Living Values guidelines will help universities and higher education institutions
ensure that:

 the values they espouse reflect the institution’s mission and community;
 staff, students, and stakeholders have been effectively engaged in defining
those values; and

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  all members of the institution are able to articulate and effectively live by
these defined values.

Why was the Living Values project launched?

8. Based on discussions at international workshops and general agreement that mere

statements on values are insufficient, the Magna Charta Observatory (MCO) created
the Living Values project; a set of guidelines and resources to help universities
define and live their values. These resources provide a detailed framework to help
institutions to examine current positions and practices, identify or confirm what is
unique about them, and modify their activities or processes as needed. The Living
Values project exists to help institutions decide how to distinguish themselves and
achieve their mission more fully in accordance with their values.

Who developed the Living Values project?

9. With the support of eight higher educational professionals with extensive leadership
experience, ten universities in nine countries piloted the Living Values project. They
are named (see the list of universities here and acknowledgments here). Engaging
this diverse group has ensured that the findings reflect a broad spectrum of
situations; each institution has a different mission and participants have extensive
experience in higher education. This has resulted in helpful, practical guidelines and
evidence that enables other universities to review, rethink, and revise their values as
well as understand how effectively they are being lived and if that manifestation may
be improved. Guidelines for universities can be seen at this link and a range of web-
based tools and reports from the pilot universities can be accessed here. These are
designed to offer examples and exercises universities can use to examine their
current situation as well as evidence that these methods can be effective. (Further
support is available from the MCO. See contacts for details.)

Which values are included?

10. There is no universally agreed canon of values; however, universities that have
signed the Magna Charta Universitatum (as well as those that have not) may wish to
include the fundamental values evident at the MCO’s inception some 30 years ago.
These are academic freedom, institutional autonomy, and the concomitant
responsibility to society. Their importance at the global level of higher education has
been widely confirmed.

11. Other values underpinning institutional missions often develop over time and may
include:

 integrity and fairness;

 equity;
 creativity, innovativeness, and excellence;
 social responsibility and community service;
 diversity, pluralism, and inclusiveness, and
 health, well-being, and a caring community.

12. In selecting values institutions are advised to be quite clear about the conceptual
and practical differences between high-level (as distinct from operational) values

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 and how they may manifest in mission, politics, behaviours, processes, and
structures. Adopting a small number of values is recommended; fewer values tend
to be more memorable and thus more effective.

13. The values identified by universities that piloted the guidance can be found in their
reports, accessible here.

What are the benefits of reviewing institutional values and how they are lived?

14. Benefits, as well as the inevitable challenges inherent in this process, will depend on
the starting point and particular circumstances of each university. Ultimately and
ideally, a Living Values exercise enables a university to enhance its performance in
teaching, learning, and research and strengthen its sense of community. In addition,
the exercise helps to demonstrate to the outside world why the university makes
certain decisions and which values it hopes to instil in its graduates.

15. More specifically, benefits identified from the pilot sites and other experience
include:

 an evaluation of current and desired values, the extent to which they are relevant
and are put into practice, and how they might enhance what the university does
and how it does it;
 identifying where there might be a gap between the values espoused and their
actual implementation and how they might be more effectively and beneficially
implemented;
 an externally facilitated opportunity to reflect on institutional culture and ethos as
exemplified by its value system;
 an opportunity to build and strengthen the academic community and its
engagement within the university as a whole, leading to an enhanced
appreciation of an institution’s values and mission (if done well, this should
stimulate innovation and commitment, leading to improved performance in
teaching, research, and service to the community);
 an opportunity to engage with external stakeholders, communicate the values
and mission, and strengthen engagement;
 identification and removal of barriers to the realisation of an institution’s values;
 a closer alignment of individual and institutional values;
 enhanced social engagement and building of trust, internally with staff and
students and externally with stakeholders.

The changes and benefits reported by the pilot universities can be found here.

What factors can make a Living Values project successful?

16. Several factors crucial to success are fully articulated in the guidelines. Key among
them are:

 the engagement of relevant stakeholders, internal and external, and their

agreement on the need for, design, and execution of the initiative, which creates
clear and legitimised ownership and commitment;
 leadership from the top of the university and buy-in of leaders at various levels;
 a bottom-up process, including a clear and agreed upon framework and two-way
honest and frank communication between those leading and those contributing;
 a well-managed process with a competent leader;
 a limited number of critical values;

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  a robust but achievable timescale;
 a well-informed process supported by accurate and relevant data;
 a goal of achieving maximum impact, with the understanding that developing
and living values is a continuous, iterative, and interactive process.

How long will the process take?

17. The time needed to achieve results depends on several factors, including size,
culture, structure, and complexity of the institution. Secure and sustainable
outcomes will not be achieved if universities rush the process. A sufficient period of
time should be allowed to enable full involvement of various stakeholders and one or
more iterations between different levels and sections of the university and relevant
stakeholders.

18. Key stages of the process and its implementation are described in the guidelines.

19. The pilot project was undertaken over an academic year. For most pilot universities
it is still work in progress, but key milestones and appreciated benefits have been
achieved en route (see here).

How can my university engage with the Living Values project?

20. The guidelines and web-based toolkit resulting from the Living Values pilot project
and elsewhere are freely available on the MCO website. Each university is unique
and ideally autonomous and therefore must evaluate the guidance in the context of
its specific situation and proceed in a way that best fits its structure and culture and
is most likely to deliver sustainable impact. There are many ways of undertaking a
review of values. Details of how the pilot universities undertook their reviews can be
found here.

21. More detailed guidance on designing and implementing the process can be found
here.

22. If your university plans to apply to sign the MCU or has already signed it and wants
to know how well it is living the values in practice, it may find the guidelines helpful in
assessing how successfully your institution has developed and implemented values
described in it and what actions enhance their achievement. (The process for
applying to sign the MCU is set out on the MCO website)

How can the MCO help my university use the guidance?

23. Through developing and piloting the Living Values guidance, the MCO has gained
deeper insight into various ways universities can use values to strengthen their
academic community and develop and achieve their mission. It has engaged a
group of experienced people to work directly and on an individual basis with the pilot
institutions. The resources and experience gained during the pilot are freely
available to any interested institution.

24. The MCO plans to continue deepening its knowledge of values and understanding
their impact at institutions worldwide by:

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 a. researching and identifying how values can have tangible impact for
universities;
b. enhancing the MCO’s intelligence base and therefore its advising capacity;
c. enhancing the quality and range of its services to signatories;
d. disseminating publications, including case studies of good practice, at
conferences and workshops;
e. further developing the tools and guidelines in light of insights gained from
using them;
f. enabling its experienced Ambassadors to be advisers and consultants in
institutional value development; and
g. improving understanding of situational variables.

25. The MCO plans to follow up this pilot project by organising specific dissemination
workshops on the findings, possibly hosted by pilot institutions; sharing its findings at
other higher education sector events; inviting universities to share their experiences
through its website; and making available its Ambassadors and other experienced
practitioners to assist universities wishing to use the Living Values guidance. More
details can be found here.

26. Furthermore, in light of its commitment to review the relevance and currency of the
MCU and develop a version more fitting for a global cohort of signatories in the 21st
century, the MCO will be linking the findings from the Living Values project to the
review process.

How to contact the MCO

The MCO can be reached on magnacharta@unibo.it It welcomes contact from any

institution interested in or currently using the Living Values guidance and tools;
details of their experience or specific use of resources will continue to inform the
MCO’s work and assistance of other universities.