## 1 Introduction
### Moral Judgment Development and Higher Education  
The unique role that higher education plays in moral reasoning development is underscored by the findings of longitudinal studies [5]. For example, [PERSON]. [5] conducted a longitudinal study measuring moral reasoning in participants during their senior of high school and then two, four and six years thereafter. The results indicated greater gains in moral reasoning for participants with three or more years of college experience compared to those with two or less years. Nevertheless, [PERSON]. [10] note that although research supports the advancement of moral judgment during the college years, it is interesting how little is known about the specific mechanisms responsible for this growth. A significant body of research has accumulated, however, pointing to relationships between moral reasoning development and various school-related factors [11; 12; 13; 14; 15; 16; 17; 18; 10; 11; 12; 13; 14; 15; 17; 18]. Two factors that researchers have explicitly linked to moral judgment development are the institution type and the geographical region of institution. **Institution type. ** Institution type is a commonly studied school-related factor in investigations of moral reasoning. Based on a large and comprehensive meta-analysis, [PERSON]. [1] concluded that liberal arts institutions were the only type reliably demonstrating a large effect size concerning undergraduates' moral reasoning. Corroborating [1]'s findings, Ref. [13] observed higher moral reasoning scores in first-year liberal arts students compared to their regional or community college counterparts; the moral reasoning of first-year students at research institutions was also significantly higher than that of first-year regional or community college students. [PERSON] suggested that students who attend liberal arts and research institutions could have higher moral reasoning from the outset and thus choose colleges that they feel express a commitment to holistic education. Additionally, Ref. [11] observed significant gains in moral reasoning for freshmen and seniors attending a state university and a Christian liberal arts university, however, not for those attending a Bible university. Regarding Bible university students, Ref. [11] suggest that although Evangelical students may be capable of more advanced moral reasoning, \"they deliberately set aside their own notions of fairness and endorse lower stage level DIT items out of conformity to their religious beliefs\" (p. 275). **Region. ** Institutions' geographical region also relates to students' moral judgment development [12; 19]. Ref. [12] found that an institution's region relates to the average moral judgment development at that institution. Moreover, individual moral reasoning scores fluctuate based on region, as well as the institution's political climate. There are other factors that have yet to be explicitly linked to moral judgment development; however, literature suggests such relationships nonetheless. These factors include institutions' racial composition and student-faculty ratio, as well as the institutions' emphasis on moral and ethical issues in its mission and value statements and its curriculum. **Racial composition. ** According to [1], characteristics of the collegiate environment, such as diverse peer groups, are particularly illuminating in understanding moral judgment development. Moreover, Ref. [1] highlight the relatively higher importance of the unique social climate typically associated with the college years compared to academic involvement. Similarly, Ref. [10] note the significance of low-density friendship networks, or networks comprising multiple independent friend groups. Low-density networks are associated with moral judgment development presumably because being surrounded by different types of friends provides exposure to different ideas and viewpoints. Interestingly, Ref. [16] found that students who experienced more negative interactions with diverse peers reported less advanced moral reasoning development.