Charles Sturt University new Graduate Certificate in Corruption and Integrity Management

Charles Sturt University

A new course developed by Charles Sturt University (CSU) is offering students from government and private industry an opportunity to tackle corruption in the workplace.

The Graduate Certificate in Corruption and Integrity Management is designed to assist companies and government departments minimize the damage to reputation, financial and resource costs and loss of public confidence that result from corruption.

Course director, Mr Mark Loves, said corruption was a feature of life in most societies and Australia was not immune.

“For a country thought to be corruption aware and proactively resistant, we have had our own share of significant corruption events over the past 30 years including scandals in the Queensland Government, NSW and WA Police, and various private and public companies,” he said.

“Integrity and corruption prevention matters, not just for moral or ethical reasons, but also for economics.

“Globally, corruption costs are said to be significant. The negative impacts of corruption are usually profound, including damage to reputation, loss of public confidence, financial losses, wasted resources, the costs of investigation and the effect on staff morale.”

Mr Loves said the major challenge in corruption prevention was to understand the dynamics and root causes so the most effective prevention techniques and strategies could be used.

“The better one understands the nature, influences and causes of corruption, the better placed that person is to prevent it,” he said.

The new course includes three core subjects which can be completed over two semesters, and are designed to provide students with a theoretical and practical foundation that instils in graduates best practice approaches to corruption prevention.

“Students can examine concepts of corruption and misconduct, focusing on institutional, political and individual factors associated with these behaviours,” Mr Loves said.

“Studies examine historical, national and international contexts, and theoretical perspectives towards understanding how and why corruption occurs, and what to do about it.

“The course looks at case studies, costs and consequence, approaches to integrity assurance and corruption prevention, post incident strategies and organisational resilience, trends in corruption investigation, and the emergence of anti-corruption bodies.”

The course is offered by distance education with interactive e-learning support including online tuition, feedback from tutors, online forums, online assignment submission and access to e-readings.