Ashesi wins 2009 Africa Award (Tertiary institutions) for best practices in education

In December, Ashesi University College was awarded the 2009 Africa Award (Tertiary Institutions) for best practices in education by Exam Ethics International. Exam Ethics international is a not-for-profit, non-partisan, social responsibility organization, dedicated to the cause of promoting best practices in education, examination ethics, campus safety and better performance of students in public examinations.

Ashesi University was the first University in Ghana to adopt an examination honor code. The code was voted into force by students in January 2008 and requires students to report any academic misconduct without a proctor. The adoption of the Examination Honour Code marks a significant step in the history of Ashesi University. The code is intended to build a high-trust community, to put students in charge of their ethical posture and the reputation of their alma mater, and by so doing, to take a significant step in Ashesi’s mission to educate a new generation of ethical leaders in Africa. Academic Honour codes are common among top universities in the United States, such as Swarthmore, Harvard, Dartmouth, Yale and Brown.

At an awards ceremony held at the Alisa Hotel, North Ridge, Dr. Patrick Awuah, President and Founder of Ashesi University, stated, “we at Ashesi are committed to turning out ethical leaders of industry and government. We encourage our students to be nothing but excellent and to demand it of their friends. Adopting the honour code has led to a healthy discussion among students about ethical practice and is helping them practice acting on the values that are at the core of Ashesi’s mission ”.

Exam Ethics International was founded in 1996 in Nigeria and has offices in Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Students Elect Melvin Akaba and Sandra Osei-Poku to Head Student Council

The Ashesi Student Council (ASC) and Judicial and Electoral Committee (JEC) elections are over and Ashesi’s student body has welcomed a new set of leaders. Kudos to Melvin Akaba and Sandra Osei-Poku for winning the ASC elections, and to Albert Asiamah and Andria Abraham for winning the JEC elections.

In retrospect, the competition was healthy and professional. It is hard to forget that student mailboxes were inundated with a myriad of campaign messages and class times were interrupted in order to give the at-the-time prospective candidates the opportunity to communicate to prospective voters. For a few short weeks, campaign posters were pasted onto nearly every edifice that was Ashesi’s property.

The climax of it all was the presidential debate, where candidates were pitted against one another, but also against the sharp questions and opinions that came from the audience. Both students and faculty listened and then fired back queries which kept the candidates thoroughly on their toes throughout the entire evening. Eventually, the charisma of Melvin and cool-headedness of Sandra proved to be the clinchers, allowing the two of them to claim victory.

Though only one team took the presidency, the well thought out policies on which the candidates campaigned — such as Phoebe’s “Know Ghana” drive and Afua’s “Buddy System” — displayed the creativity, compassion and intellect of all the candidates who contested. In that regard, it was more than a mere victory for the winning pair; it was a victory for the values of leadership, citizenship and scholarship displayed by all who took part.