Collegiate Ethics Case Competition
Presented by the Center for Leadership Ethics
23rd Annual Collegiate Ethics Case Competition (CECC)
October 16-17, 2025
Leadership Ethics
The Collegiate Ethics Case Competition (CECC) brings students together from around the world, challenging their moral reasoning in thought-provoking team competition. Faced with a real-world business ethics case, students analyze the case and present to a panel of judges.
What is a Ethics Case Competition?
During this two-day competition, student teams from 20 colleges and universities will come together to collaboratively analyze, present, and respond to a thought-provoking business ethics case. This case is carefully crafted to mirror the ethical dilemmas professionals may encounter in their future careers, making it a valuable learning experience for all participants.
The 23rd Annual Undergraduate Collegiate Ethics Case Competition will be held in-person at McClelland Hall in Tucson, Arizona. The schedule is Thursday night round one and all day Friday round two and final round. There is generally an additional excursion planned for Saturday.
The annual Collegiate Ethics Case Competition CECC serves as a platform for students to engage in rigorous ethical analysis within a competitive setting. Participants are presented with complex, real-world business ethics cases that require them to apply moral reasoning, ethical theories, and practical considerations to navigate ethical dilemmas effectively.
Teams are tasked with thoroughly analyzing the case, identifying key ethical issues, considering various stakeholders' perspectives, and proposing well-reasoned solutions or courses of action. Presentations are often expected to be comprehensive, coherent, and persuasive, as they are delivered to a panel of judges who assess teams' understanding of ethical principles, their ability to apply them to practical situations, and the clarity and persuasiveness of their arguments.
The competition not only tests participants' understanding of ethical theories and frameworks but also their ability to communicate effectively, work collaboratively within a team, and think critically under pressure.
Details:
- Regular price registration has been reduced to $500
- Registration closes September 1, 2025 at 11:59 p.m.
- Cash awards for the top 3 places
Purchasing a ticket buys entry for one advisor and two student participants.
- Monday, September 29, 2025 – Participating teams receive the ethics case and instructions for the optional Stephanie Chance “Bright Line” Award essay
- Monday, October 13, 2025, 10:00 a.m. – Deadline to submit the executive summary (required), PowerPoint/Prezi (required), and Bright Line essay (optional)
- Thursday, October 16, 2025 – ROUND I, 6:00 p.m.
- Friday, October 17, 2025 – ROUND II, 9:00 a.m.
- Friday, October 17, 2025 – FINAL ROUND, 2:00 p.m.
Friday, October 17, 2025 – Winners Announced, Closing Reception, 4:00 p.m.
Please note: there will be no Saturday excursion this year.
⇥ Are you interested in being a judge? Judges needed Thursday 4 - 8 PM, Friday 8AM-Noon.
Register as a volunteer judge ⇒ Click here
| Discount Link for Hotel We are happy to share the discount registration link for the preferred hotel. It is walking distance, and we will work on getting a shuttle or cart for those who need it. Please let us know your needs. Book your group rate for UA Center for Leadership Ethics - Collegiate Ethics Case Competition Tucson Marriott University Park for 174.00 USD per night - Last Day to Book : Thursday, September 25, 2025 |
Payment Link The payment link is available once you register. The rate has been reduced by $100 to accommodate fewer cash awards this year. Increased Cash Amounts: We have increased the prize amounts for the top teams. The total amounts to be shared between the two competitors on each team:
As you can imagine, the management of cash awards has become more challenging, and these adjustments help us maintain a rewarding and sustainable experience for all participants. |
Individual Participant Registration Be ready to include information about each participant including t-shirt size, emergency phone number and food allergies. The form will be send along with the payment link. |
Thursday Evening Check-in will begin at 3:30 PM Welcome Dinner The welcome dinner will take place on Thursday, October 16, 2025 from 4:00-5:45 p.m. and will take place in the Estes Atrium at the Eller College of Management. Judges Training 5:00 PM - 5:45 PM Teams will be divided into five brackets with 4-5 teams per bracket. A series of pre-determined questions will be posed by the panel of judges. This Q&A portion will last ten minutes.
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Friday Morning Round Two Round two will take place on the morning of Friday, October 17, 2025. Judges Training 8:00 - 9:00 AM Each team will be asked to give a 20-minute presentation followed by time for 5 minutes of clarifying questions from the judges.
12:00 p.m. - Lunch in the Estes Atrium | ||||||||||||||
Friday Afternoon 12:00 p.m. - Lunch in the Estes Atrium 1:00 p.m. - Forwarding teams announced in Berger Auditorium Final Round The final round will take place on Friday, October 17, 2025. For the final round, finalists' presentations are not to exceed ten minutes and will be followed by up to five minutes of questions from the entire panel of judges. The final round will be livestreamed via YouTube.
3:30-5:00 p.m. - Closing Reception |
Criteria
Judges will utilize the following criteria in evaluating teams throughout the competition:
- Delivery
- Depth of analysis
- Persuasiveness
- Creativity
- Recommendations that are both ethical and practical in a business context
- Responses to questions
Judges
· The Eller College of Management is honored to host a wide variety of professionals from the business, government and nonprofit sectors to serve as judges for the Collegiate Ethics Case Competition.
· This year more than 40 professionals will serve as judges. In all of their diverse fields, each is dedicated to promoting personal and professional ethics.
Judges are needed
- Thursday evening (Interview Round) 4PM - 7:30 PM, dinner provided
- Friday morning (Presentation Round) 7:45 AM - 1:00PM, breakfast/lunch provided
Interested? Reach out ContactCLE@eller.arizona.edu or fill out the form here.
Thank you to our sponsors!
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Are you interested in being a judge? Register now! Click here.
Thank you to all the competitors. For the 22nd year, student teams from 25 colleges and universities came together to collaboratively analyze, present, and respond to a thought-provoking business ethics case. This case is carefully crafted to mirror the ethical dilemmas professionals may encounter in their future careers, making it a valuable learning experience for all participants.
2024 topic: Lab-Grown Meat
Congratulations!
- 1st Place University of Calgary: Ayushi Choudhary and Yalena Sermeno (Advisor Robert Schulz)
- 2nd Place Boston College: Sophia Salamy and Aradhya Garg (Advisor Josephine Xiong)
- 3rd Place University of Vermont: Otto Berckmueller and Alexander Rubin (Advisor Joanne Pencak)
- 4th Place University of Alberta: Ebun Olaolu-Oyeyemi and Harjot Aulakh (Advisor Douglas Peterson)
- 5th Place Pima Community College: Caiden Bratland and Ethan Tees (Advisor Javier Sergio Pedroza)
- North Region: University of Florida - Dhruvi Patel and Natalia Lopez (Advisor Brian Ray)
- Central Region: Indiana University - Quinn Slattery and Ansh Chawla (Advisor Shawna Eikenberry)
- East Region: University of Iowa - Lucas Manley and Maria Rodrigues Leite (Advisor Meredith Ringel-Ensley)
- West Region: Shippensburg University - Jonathan Miller and Roderick Porter Jr. (Advisor Yancy Edwards)
- South Region: Concordia University - Sophie Beaudet and James Pluscaukas (Advisor Fatima Malik)