Official St Augustine College Website | https://www.staugustine.ac.za

St Augustine Private Tertiary Institution of South Africa aspires to be a leading African institution of higher education in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition promoting ethical leadership, dignity of the human person and the common good.

Our mission is underpinned by the following values:

• human dignity (the freedom and dignity of the individual)
• solidarity (mutual connection, inclusiveness and obligation to each other)
• stewardship (responsibility and accountability for the common good)
• justice, including the preferential option for the poor
• critical realism
• creative, imaginative thinking

We aim to:

• educate students to be morally responsible leaders who think critically, act wisely and work skilfully to advance the common good. With its emphasis on the dignity of the human person and its conviction about the ethical value of solidarity, St Augustine can help South Africa develop a more just and equitable society that respects persons not only for what they can produce, but for who they are as persons who have their origins in God, the Creator of all.

We will fulfil our mission through:

• Rigorous Intellectual Enquiry which provides a theological, philosophical and ethical worldview that arises out of the Catholic intellectual tradition and a consideration for its implications for personal and communal life. Such enquiry includes challenging the prevailing rigid distinctions between fact and value so that we can train both intellectual and ethical leadership; challenging the tendency to separate public and private realms and to relegate serious moral issues to the academic sidelines; and encouraging interdisciplinary, integrative and evaluative thinking.
• Values-based Teaching where we offer a critically grounded, values-based education for the development and renewal of the southern region of Africa and for the whole continent of Africa. We seek so to teach in ways that students are challenged to engage in rigorous thinking and appreciative reflection, recognising the relationship that exists between faith and reason. Our Catholic Intellectual Tradition empowers us to be dedicated to the pursuit of truth. We seek to accompany students in their fields of study so that the knowledge they gain will empower them and lead them to the wisdom that is necessary for integrated and holistic living in society.
• Challenging Research where, aware of our responsibility to serve the broader society, we contribute to the resources of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition and Catholic social teaching in considering and engaging critically with such diverse realities as culture and religion, philosophy and politics, business and ethics, science and society within the African context.

Code of Ethics:

Ethical Leadership / Sound Governance:

St Augustine is committed to ethical leadership and sound governance. Our core ethical principles include:

Fairness
Transparency
Honesty
Non-discrimination
Accountability and responsibility
Respect for human dignity, human rights and social justice

The freedom, dignity and human rights of the individual should always be recognised and respected. In our multi-cultural society the cultural context of any issue should be considered and there should be no discrimination on the basis of colour, creed or race.

We value the whole, human person: physical, intellectual, moral and religious. To ensure this, means preserving the right of each person’s good name as well as preserving the integrity of each level of the person, e.g. avoiding physical harassment, preserving intellectual property, respecting the moral and religious choices of each and avoiding proselytising.

We support freedom of choice and the holistic development and growth of each person. Therefore, we believe that all forms of coercion, manipulation and disrespect must be avoided, while opportunities for students and staff development and growth must be encouraged, as far as the budget allows.