addressing student misconduct @ lcc student life division workshop melanie humphreys vice president,...
TRANSCRIPT
addressing student misconduct @ lcc
STUDENT LIFE DIVISION WORKSHOP
Melanie Humphreys
Vice President, Student Life
Lithuania Christian College
December 2004
purpose
To understand the philosophy and history behind LCC discipline procedures
To identify any Lithuanian legal requirements of our disciplinary process
To be familiar with current practice and policies To identify shortcomings of current discipline
procedures To understand role and responsibility of staff
and faculty members in the discipline process
liberal arts tradition
Inherit more than a set of classes History of student
conduct and guiding philosophy for student discipline policy
Shift from ‘in loco parentis’
Expectations of students
Due process Rules and regulations Difference between
private and public
Contextualization issues Role of the university
LCC - “whole person” education
Higher Ed law in LT Greater separation of
public and private life Public services less
developed
distant tradition
Loosely coupled (philosophy and practice) discipline based on North American traditional models
Influenced by North American law – understanding of the rights of student – to due process, representation, and justice
not distant tradition
Influence of faith, Christian world view and understanding of grace
Short history already built on balancing discipline and grace
Student examples of disciplinary action and restoration to community
EM 1999 DJ 2002
strengths and limitations of traditional models
Strengths: Demonstrate attentiveness to community standards
and behaviours Use judicial processes that support resolution in a fair
and reasonable manner Provide all parties with opportunities and procedural
fairness Provide consequences for students found in violation
of institutional standards Allow for participatory governance through involving
faculty and students
Presentation Legal Issues Conference 2004 - Tribbinsee, N., Leavitt, A.L., Jones, L.B. Facilitated by Kelly, R. “When is a Hearing Not a Hearing? Alternative Approaches to Addressing Student Misconduct”
Strengths (continued): A just punishment can be therapeutic Facilitate ethical dialogues in an educational setting Employ clear language Include informal as well as formal procedures Recognize that authority for student discipline is vested in
delegated staff Framed by investigatory rather than more adversarial models Allow for fair evaluation of accused students’ responsibility for
violating university requirements, usually without formal rules of evidence required in criminal proceedings
Presentation Legal Issues Conference 2004 - Tribbinsee, N., Leavitt, A.L., Jones, L.B. Facilitated by Kelly, R. “When is a Hearing Not a Hearing? Alternative Approaches to Addressing Student Misconduct”
Limitations: Even when processes are not established within the strictest
legal framework, legalism and proceduralism can make proceedings so adversarial that the educational purposes of judicial programs can be lost
Promote a “winner and loser” scenario by setting students as antagonists with each other or with the institution Traditional models have the perspectives of an accused with a point of view, an accuser with a point of view, and a hearing officer that has to make a decision between them
Do not always distinguish, in the level of formalism or process, differences among campus rule violations, Infractions against campus community standards and more serious criminal behaviours
Presentation Legal Issues Conference 2004 - Tribbinsee, N., Leavitt, A.L., Jones, L.B. Facilitated by Kelly, R. “When is a Hearing Not a Hearing? Alternative Approaches to Addressing Student Misconduct”
Limitations (continued): Timeliness can be compromised by the adversarial
nature of hearings – which encourage strategies of procedural delay
Can limit opportunities to apply institutional standards to individual cases in ways that enhance ethical development by providing interventions that represent learning outcomes
Presentation Legal Issues Conference 2004 - Tribbinsee, N., Leavitt, A.L., Jones, L.B. Facilitated by Kelly, R. “When is a Hearing Not a Hearing? Alternative Approaches to Addressing Student Misconduct”
our history
1997 – Student Life department est. 1st Dean of Students Comprised of RL, Sports & Rec Committee, & Student Council Karklu dorm regulations Classes held at KU buildings
1999 2nd Dean of Students (now VP, SL) Revised existing discipline policies (May 1999) Fall semester - 1st Student Handbook published
our history
Spring 2001 C.A.S. est. Committee on Academic Standing brought together Academic
and SL discipline
Fall 2001 - 1st Director of Community Life Deal with discipline issues prior to suspension and dismissal Added to CAS committee Philosophical and language change from ‘Discipline policy’ to
Good standing policy’
Spring 2002 Substance Misuse Policy Weapons Policy
our history
Legal advice (2002) Meeting with LCC lawyer (Lideika, Petrauskas, Valiunas ir partneriai) LCC has the right to determine regulations and
policies for our dorm and our student body. We need to
be sure regulations are approved by a governing body (Administrative Cabinet)
inform students about the regulations follow our own regulations
Fall 2002 – 2nd Dir. of CL Revision of Good Standing Policies
nontraditional approach
Experts on restorative Justice Michael Umbreit Howard Zehr – The little Guide to Restorative Justice Principles and practices are derived from faith
communities Examples – University of Oregon, University of
Colorado at Boulders Zehr’s umbrella set of principles can be put to use in
a variety of ways: victim/offender mediation, family group conferencing, and community circles
Presentation Legal Issues Conference 2004 - Tribbinsee, N., Leavitt, A.L., Jones, L.B. Facilitated by Kelly, R. “When is a Hearing Not a Hearing? Alternative Approaches to Addressing Student Misconduct”
two different views
Criminal Justice Crime is a violation of the
law and the state Violations create guilt Justice requires the state
to determine blame (guilt) and impose pain (punishment)
Central focus: offenders getting what they deserve
Restorative Justice Crime is a violation of
people and relationships Violations create
obligations Justice involves victims,
offenders, and community members in an effort to put things right
Central focus: victim needs and offender responsibility for repairing harm
Presentation Legal Issues Conference 2004 - Tribbinsee, N., Leavitt, A.L., Jones, L.B. Facilitated by Kelly, R. “When is a Hearing Not a Hearing? Alternative Approaches to Addressing Student Misconduct”
three different questions
Criminal Justice What laws have been
broken?
Who did it?
What do they deserve?
Restorative Justice Who has been hurt?
What are their needs?
Whose obligations are these?
Presentation Legal Issues Conference 2004 - Tribbinsee, N., Leavitt, A.L., Jones, L.B. Facilitated by Kelly, R. “When is a Hearing Not a Hearing? Alternative Approaches to Addressing Student Misconduct”
towards a philosophy of restoration
Discipline Policy 1999 Balance individual and
community needs 3rd person Other?
Good Standing Policy 2004 Good standing
definition Value based 1st person Academic & SL
policies brought together
Other?
revision needed?
Further definition for student misconduct On campus
Athletics/Recreation Class
Other?