|
Legal
and Ethical Issues
In order to be
a qualified student affairs professional, it is
necessary to understand the legal foundations that
influence the student affairs profession and services to
students. Federal, state, and constitutional issues and
laws have an impact on higher education and the way that
student affairs professionals can interact with
students. It is also important for students affairs
professionals to understand contractual relationships
and liability concerns.
Accountability/Judicial Meetings
with Students
Legal Issues in Higher Education
Conference
Sexual Harassment Training at APU
Essays for Legal and Ethical
Issues Course
Accountability/Judicial
Meetings with Students:
Accountability/Judicial
meetings are something that I also addressed in the
competency on counseling and personal development of
students. I want to talk about judicial meetings in the
legal and ethical section of my capstone because I
believe that this aspect of my work with students
encompasses both the counseling and legal and ethical
competencies.
From a legal and ethical
perspective, I hold students accountable for their
behaviors and decisions during judicial meetings.
Students are held to certain standards when they agree
to attend an institution. At both Cal Poly Pomona,
Foundation Housing Service and Azusa Pacific University,
I have had the chance to meet with students who have not
followed behavioral expectations. In these meetings, I
help students understand why their behaviors violate
school policy. I also explain the reasoning behind
policies. I want to make sure the students I meet with
truly understand why they are held to specific
standards.
As part of the accountability
process, I have gained valuable experience in writing
letters to students asking for a meeting, following up
with them after a meeting, and creating sanctions they
must fulfill because of their violation of policy. By
writing letters, I have come to see the importance of
keeping records of all meetings and conversations had
with students. It is crucial that a paper-trail be up
to date. This gives me protection if a student was to
ever question a decision that I made in the judicial
process.
Below are links to various
accountability procedures and information that I have used in my time as an RD at Cal Poly Pomona,
Foundation Housing Service and Azusa Pacific University.
Judicial Procedures - Cal Poly Pomona, Foundation
Housing Service
APU Accountability Model
APU
Student Standards of Conduct
APU
Residence Life Policies
Legal Issues in Higher
Education Conference:
In October 2004, I had the
chance to attend the Legal Issues in Higher Education
conference in Burlington, VT. During this
conference, I had the chance to attend seminars on
access and equal opportunity in higher education since
the Michigan cases, diversity in higher education,
eating disorders, how universities are winning court
cases, alternative approaches to student misconduct,
crime reporting on campus, trends in sexual harassment,
distressed and distressing students: mental health
issues on campus, getting parents on board, and academic
dishonesty. As a conference attendee, I was given
a resource manual including case studies, examples
of various policies, session
outlines, and bibliographies.
This
conference was a great opportunity for me to learn about
legal issues surrounding the field of higher education.
I was challenged to think about my job as a Residence
Director in the context of legal concerns of students,
parents, and institutions. There were two seminars that
were particularly helpful to me: working with distressed
and distressing students and dealing with parents of the
millennial generation. These sessions gave me tangible
ideas that I can apply to my job. For more information
about what I learned at this conference, please see my
action
plan.
University of
Vermont Conference Site
Sexual Harassment Training
at APU:
As a staff member at APU, I
attended a training seminar on sexual harassment. This
seminar included the following: the definition of
harassment and sexual harassment, what harassment
includes, who is held responsible if sexual harassment
occurs, a supervisor's role in reporting sexual
harassment, who can claim sexual harassment, and
confidentiality issues. I also learned how to report
sexual harassment at APU and how APU addresses these
issues. This training helped bring awareness about how
sexual harassment may affect me while I work at APU. It
was useful in that I gained a better legal understanding
of liability issues as well as knowledge of who to talk
with regarding instances of sexual harassment.
Certificate of Sexual Harassment Training
APU Sexual Harassment Workshop information
Essays for Legal and Ethical
Issues Course:
As part of the requirement for
my Legal and Ethical Issues in Higher Education course,
I wrote several essays on various legal topics. These
essays helped further my understanding of legal issues
directly affecting the field of Student Affairs. In
order to research for these essays, I had the
opportunity to investigate recent court cases, school
policies, and other resources discussing legal issues in
higher education. I wrote on the following topics:
contract theory, alcohol on college campuses, student
handbooks, crisis planning, the first amendment, Title
IX, computer use policies, and mental health issues.
Essays:
Back to Top |
