Applying Ethic of Care to Student Conduct Sanctioning
It is often that a student affairs practitioner finds themselves at odds with the administrative aspects of their position and their innate desire to aid in a student’s development. This contention is often at play in the realm of student conduct, as the practitioner must enforce university policies while at the same try and create a place for learning and growth. There is a value in the developmental conversations a conduct officer has with students that violate policy. Sanctions that follow the conduct meeting can either continue that developmental conversation through further reflection on the part of the student. Often though, legalistic sanctions, such as fines and probation, fail to …show more content…
Reflection papers assigned to the student who violated a policy often ask the student to think inwardly in ways aligned to Kohlberg’s theory of moral development. For example, in a conduct case involving overnight noise violations, I asked students to respond to questions such as “Why do we have quiet hours?” and “What role can you play to be a positive member of the community?” In answering the former question, the students acknowledged the importance of keeping noise level down in order to allow their neighbors to sleep or to study in peace and not annoy them. This type of reflective thinking shows a transition from a survival mindset where the students is only acting in their self-interest to an increased understanding and interest in caring for the needs of …show more content…
In almost all of the examples of sanctions discussed earlier, the decision to impose said sanctions is completely up to the discretion of the conduct officer. With exception of the “Look Once, Think Twice” class, educational sanctions are enforced in additional to more legalistic sanctions such as fines, parental notification, and disciplinary probation. If a conduct officer does not have the time to enforce an educational sanction, which often happens, then they may choose to forgo the educational sanction altogether and stick solely to the legalistic sanctions. In order to demonstrate moral sensitivity and moral judgement, the conduct officer should explore all possible resolution options in a given case and provide a balance between the needs of the institution and the needs of the students (Lancaster, 2012). The more legalistic sanctions imposed in the conduct system may be the result of institutional needs based on the high frequency of specific policy violations in the past. That being said, legalistic sanctions may not provide the moral development conduct officers are aiming for if not combined with sanctions that encourage reflection and
It is often that a student affairs practitioner finds themselves at odds with the administrative aspects of their position and their innate desire to aid in a student’s development. This contention is often at play in the realm of student conduct, as the practitioner must enforce university policies while at the same try and create a place for learning and growth. There is a value in the developmental conversations a conduct officer has with students that violate policy. Sanctions that follow the conduct meeting can either continue that developmental conversation through further reflection on the part of the student. Often though, legalistic sanctions, such as fines and probation, fail to …show more content…
Reflection papers assigned to the student who violated a policy often ask the student to think inwardly in ways aligned to Kohlberg’s theory of moral development. For example, in a conduct case involving overnight noise violations, I asked students to respond to questions such as “Why do we have quiet hours?” and “What role can you play to be a positive member of the community?” In answering the former question, the students acknowledged the importance of keeping noise level down in order to allow their neighbors to sleep or to study in peace and not annoy them. This type of reflective thinking shows a transition from a survival mindset where the students is only acting in their self-interest to an increased understanding and interest in caring for the needs of …show more content…
In almost all of the examples of sanctions discussed earlier, the decision to impose said sanctions is completely up to the discretion of the conduct officer. With exception of the “Look Once, Think Twice” class, educational sanctions are enforced in additional to more legalistic sanctions such as fines, parental notification, and disciplinary probation. If a conduct officer does not have the time to enforce an educational sanction, which often happens, then they may choose to forgo the educational sanction altogether and stick solely to the legalistic sanctions. In order to demonstrate moral sensitivity and moral judgement, the conduct officer should explore all possible resolution options in a given case and provide a balance between the needs of the institution and the needs of the students (Lancaster, 2012). The more legalistic sanctions imposed in the conduct system may be the result of institutional needs based on the high frequency of specific policy violations in the past. That being said, legalistic sanctions may not provide the moral development conduct officers are aiming for if not combined with sanctions that encourage reflection and