“We all do better when we all do better,” according to Paul Wellstone, one of my college professors and a former U.S. senator. These are times of uncertainty, volatility, lack of standards in our leaders, and national strife—just to name a few. Having an internal ethical compass can only help college students, the campus community, and society as a whole.

Besides being beneficial for the people around us, living in alignment with our chosen values is good for our mental health in many ways. Acting with integrity gives us a sense of meaning and purpose, often found to be core aspects of both mental and physical health. Treating others well can release positive neurochemicals like serotonin, endorphins, and dopamine, which boost mood and lower stress, as well as foster authentic relationships, an essential part of well-being.

Offered here is an introductory list of ethical values for college student that borrows from commonly-held ethical systems from a variety of sources and professions. These are aspirational ideals, meant as ethical considerations students may take to enhance their own ethical code.

Integrity: Being committed to doing what’s right and staying consistent with your moral principles, even when no one is watching, is the core of integrity. It takes courage to choose what might be an unpopular or difficult position.

Honesty: Nearly every ethical code includes this. Honesty is telling the truth as we believe it to be, without trying to deceive or mislead others.

Care: The minimum requirement for care is to do no harm, but we can elevate that to acting to relieve the pain of others. Care also involves treating ourselves with the same physical, mental, and psychological compassion.

Respect: Both in person and online, respect is about valuing the inherent worth and dignity of others and treating them with basic human decency. This follows the near-universal principle of the Golden Rule (treating others how you would like to be treated) or the Platinum Rule (treating others how they would prefer to be treated).

Responsibility: A responsible person is reliable, keeps commitments, and understands that our actions affect more than just ourselves.

Accountability: Accountability starts by being willing to be held accountable for mistakes and being willing to fix them instead of blaming others.

Humility: Humility is recognizing that we still have a lot to learn, we might not always be right, and that we are willing and open to learning new things.

I believe that the overall wellness of college students—for whom it is developmentally appropriate to be in the process of building their identities—can benefit from having a road map that influences how they treat others and navigate ethical dilemmas in their personal and professional lives. It takes some practice to bring ethical reflection to decision-making, but the positive results can be transformational.