Legal & Ethical Issues
Graduates should possess a broad understanding of the legal foundations and constraints which affect College Student Affairs practice. Specifically, students should possess:
a. an understanding of the federal and state regulatory environments in which institutions of higher education operate;
b. an understanding of the major constitutional issues involved in college student affairs administration;
c. an understanding of the basic liability and contractual issues involved in college student affairs practice.
a. an understanding of the federal and state regulatory environments in which institutions of higher education operate;
b. an understanding of the major constitutional issues involved in college student affairs administration;
c. an understanding of the basic liability and contractual issues involved in college student affairs practice.
Institutional Policies
In the Legal and Ethical Issues in College Student Affairs (CSA 543) course, I wrote a paper comparing the institutional policies of two colleges. The paper demonstrates my understanding of major constitutional issues surrounding college student affairs. In the paper, I examined the University of Pennsylvania and Pomona College. I looked at what their college and student handbooks had to say about FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act), sexual harassment, alcohol, hazing, and sexual assault. All of theses policies have foundations in the national, state, and local laws. In my paper I compared, contrasted, and critiqued the two college’s policies, examining potential downfalls as well as areas in which the policies appeared to be appropriate. Through the assignment I better understood higher education’s place in the national legal system. I also began to understand the role of policy in helping students in their adult development (Kohlberg, 1971; Perry, 1968). |
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Sexual Harassment Workshop
In another assignment for Legal and Ethical Issues in College Student Affairs (CSA 543), two classmates and I designed a workshop on sexual harassment specifically for male students. This workshop was our effort to proactively prevent students throughout the university from breaking the law and policy by harming one another, both physically and emotionally. We targeted males in our presentation because they were the ones found to be most likely to harass a peer, male or female. We also designed the workshop for male resident assistants so they can assist student affairs professionals in the prevention of sexual harassment by acting as role models and leaders. Sexual harassment can happen anywhere in the university, so our workshop addressed its various shapes and forms with examples and strategies to confront and/or report incidences (Hill & Silva, 2005). Our presentation was based on the federal and state guidelines and laws regarding sexual harassment (U.S. Department of Education, 2008). |
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Working With Liability Issues
While in the service-learning office I encountered a handful of situations involving liability issues. Our executive staff sat down a few times during the fall semester to review our service-learning liability contract that we pass out to students. While we did not make many changes to the statement students signed, we decided to make the contract distinct from the rest of the page of information it was on in order for students to easily identify it. I also had to keep track of 75 people and their various forms for service-learning. This included our office contract, the school district volunteer form, and the roll sheet I took for our office and the school district. I had to pass on the roll sheets so that school districts would know who was on their campus in case of an emergency and for liability concerns. I had to keep track of which students would get ministry credits too. I also came across many legal implications regarding the planning of a picnic in which we wanted to provide food from off-campus. |
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