The AUW Ethical Review Committee (ERC) is a sub-committee of the Research and Ethics Committee. The ERC is responsible for ensuring that research conducted by members of the AUW community (faculty, staff, and students) is done in a manner that respects sound ethical principles that include respect for persons, beneficence, and justice. As a university whose mission includes creating leadership and providing academic excellence, we see the AUW ERC as central to ensuring a) academic excellence in research and education, and b) development of shared values and ethical practices in research. Moreover, recognizing that the AUW community of researchers comes from diverse backgrounds and will often conduct research in different contexts (political, cultural, socio-economic), the AUW ERC also considers cross-contextual issues in research ethics.
In developing the guiding principles, standards, and procedures, AUW ERC has drawn on certain existing standards of research in many academic institutions, as well as international documents on research ethics such as the Nuremberg Code, the Helsinki Declaration, and the Belmont Report.
Please see the Terms of Reference for the REC here.