Student Affairs Practice in Higher Education - Paper Example

Published: 2021-08-16
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Harvey Mudd College
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If you were hired at a new university and were asked to set up a student a Student Discipline and Judicial Affairs Department, what are some of the things you would include first and why? How would you protect the constitutional rights of the students?

The Student Discipline and Judicial Affairs Department assumes the responsibility of overseeing and providing disciplinary guidance to the entire student fraternity. As such, items that I would first include are the general conduct rules and regulation, disciplinary checks and an administrative review process. The general conduct rules and regulations would set out the standard of conduct that would govern the student and student organization behavior and activities on or off campus. It would set out the disciplinary actions that the individuals who violate the standards set forth would be subjected to. The disciplinary checks would receive requests for conduct and check against the behavior standards to ascertain whether a student has violated any of the regulation and propose a corresponding disciplinary action.

On the other hand, the administrative review would be responsible for ensuring justice for the student by reviewing the proposed disciplinary actions by the disciplinary checks. They would look at the accused students perspective and determine if the disciplinary action was fair. I believe that through a student administrative process, I would be able to protect the constitutional rights of the students by ensuring that their right to education and fair disciplinary actions are guaranteed through hearing their perspective and delivering a fair punishment for them. The students would be heard before a judgment delivered. Also by establishing a code of rules will ensure that students with disruptive behaviors are handled well to avoid infringing the constitutional rights of the others who are entitled to learn in a safe environment to attain their academic goals.

What is the role of a Minority-Multicultural Affairs Office in todays environment? How would the office apply to Student Affairs?

Today, the Minority-Multicultural Affairs Office serves to ensure retention of diverse student populations, diversity education, and multicultural programming. These roles apply to Student Affairs in different ways. First, it ensures that the university encourages and accepts students from diverse populations irrespective of their cultures and ethnic groups. As a result, the minority students are protected against discrimination in admission to universities. It also encourages students to participate in all aspects relating to campus life, hence encouraging wholesome education for students. Furthermore, through multicultural programming, the Minority-Multicultural Affairs Office allows for cultural awareness and open communication among the students in the campus who can articulate their issues and be heard by school authorities.

Name and explain four (4) multicultural issues in Student Affairs.

There are several multicultural issues in Student Affairs. They include race, religion, sexual orientation, and ethnicity. Racial issues entail racial diversity problems within the student fraternity. The American universities have shown a slow progress towards affirming racial diversity issues within the schools (Bowen & Bok, 2016). As a result, there is unbalanced racial climate within the learning institutions and is affecting learning atmosphere in the schools because some of the students from minority races such as Hispanics are often harassed because of their race.

Another issue is religion. Universities bring together students from diverse religious groups, but often universities do not implement necessary policies to allow students from different religions to undertake their related religious activities (Bowen & Bok, 2016). Student Affairs professionals need to engage in open conversations with students about issues relating to religion and spirituality.

Also, Student Affairs experience issues relating to sexual orientation. Sexual orientation refers to an enduring pattern of sexual or romantic attraction to individuals of the same sex or same sexes (Frazer & Dumont, 2016). In campuses, sexual orientation issues involve those of the gays and lesbians who are often discriminated and stereotyped among the student bodies. For example, some religious groups may discriminate gay students and do not allow them to attend their places of worship as they perceive to be untidy (Frazer & Dumont, 2016). Student Affairs offices must address such issues.

Ethnicity is another issue in Student Affairs. An ethnicity is a group of people who share similarities such as Hispanics. In schools, students from minority ethnic groups often experience negative stereotyping, and some institutions such as those in Florida have been on the record setting lower achievement goals for students from minority groups Manning, Baruth & Lee, 2017). Student Affairs offices must address ethnic stereotyping and protect students from minority groups to ensure they access high-quality education as those of other ethnicities.

Define Orientation and what goals and purposes will your Orientation Program include? How would the Program help to develop the whole student?

Orientation is a program for all new students that introduces them to the school environment and academic climate and helps them familiarize with the opportunities and challenges ahead, intellectually, academically, emotionally and socially. It seeks to help them transition into the school environment. To ensure that the orientation program fully transitions the students into the learning institution, I would include goals and purposes that ensure the student gets all the information they need about the institution, services and the opportunities and challenges they will meet and how they can seek help. Some of the goals would include; introducing students to support services that will ensure they achieve their personal and educational goals, and to aid preliminary academic advisement, registration and course registration.

The orientation program would introduce the students to various services ranging from counseling to emergency and programs from academic to religious programs and areas of worship as well as sporting and cultural activities. By introducing the students to all these programs and activities, the orientation program will help in developing the whole student as it would address issues of religion, spirituality, mental support, physical fitness and academic areas.

Name several purposes of Residential Halls. How would you develop Residential Halls for the future using your vision?

Student residential halls serve more crucial purposes than just housing the students. Residential halls organize a peer environment to facilitate several aspects of learner psychological and cognitive growth and development. It also focuses students energy and time within the school, enhancing informal interaction with other peer students and providing an opportunity for the students to explore interest, values, and lifestyles under a supportive environment created by the trained administrators of student affairs. In fact, research shows that student's who reside in the college residence halls have a higher chance of graduating as compared to those who reside outside the campus (Blimling, 2014). This affirms the critical importance of residence halls in performing the above-enumerated roles for the students.

In developing the residential halls for the future, I would want to connect the academics with the residential halls. I would achieve this by integrating residential halls with areas for group projects, quiet areas for studying and support programs for students such as counseling services. All these will ensure that many students prefer residential halls to outside ones in future.

What are the goals and purposes of a Student Activities Program? Relate your goals and purposes to Student Affairs.

The goals and purposes of a Student Activities Program are varied. One of the goals and purposes is to enhance collaboration among the university partners in providing a developmental involvement experience for the learners. Another goal is to encourage and implement new programs that will connect with various diverse student fraternity populations. Also, Student Activities Programs create for development of new ways for students to be developed and experienced in leadership capacities. All these goals and purposes of the program link to Student Affairs as they seek to create and enhance an environment that promotes student growth and development.

You are hired as a Student Financial Aid Professional, explain how appropriate financial resources will assist students in achieving their educational potential.

Appropriate financial resources assist students in achieving their educational potential in many ways. It allows the learners to aspire to, and plan for future career development and advancement. It also helps the needy students who lack enough financial resources to support their education to be assisted financially and enable them to pursue their academic dreams. Also, appropriate financial resources ensure sufficient allocation of funds to various students programs that support the realization of academic goals. For example, sufficient resources can be supplied to purchase of learning aids, books and equipping libraries and laboratories which ensure that the students learn effectively with access to necessary resources needed.

Universities and colleges are requested to provide health information on six priority health risks. What are the six priority health risks and why do you think they are priorities?

Six priority health risks include the following.

Alcohol and other drug abuse. Research indicates that about 1, 825 students aged between 18 and 24 years die from alcohol-related injuries such as vehicle crashes (Keyes, Brady & Li, 2015). Thus, alcohol use should be prioritized as a health and death risk among campus students because it causes loss of several lives among students.

Injuries and violence. Motor vehicle, homicide, and suicide account for 30%, 15% and 12% of the deaths for campus students (Webster, Donohue III, Klarevas & McGinty, 2016). Thus, injuries and violence should be prioritized as a health risk because claims many lives among students.

Tobacco use. Campus creates an environment where young youth begin to experiment on cigarette smoking, yet smoking is a number one risk factor for cancer. As such, tobacco use should be prioritized as a health risk for campus students.

Unhealthy dietary behaviors. On campus, students eat fatty and sugary food but do not often exercise which creates a risk for obesity and developing chronic diseases such as diabetes.

Physical inactivity. Campus students rarely participate in physical exercises which expose them to the risk of developing chronic diseases and conditions related to lack of exercise such as obesity.

Unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (STIs). Campus creates an environment favorable for all sorts of immorality and unprotected sex which exposes students to the risk of unintended pregnancies and contracting STIs.

Make an organizational chart for Student Affairs, include line and staff positions, and provide the duties for each position.

Vice Provost for Student Affairs

Associate Vice Provost Sexual Assault Prevention & Drug Abuse

Associate Vice Provost Student Counseling and Disability

Issues

Associate Vice Provost Student Involvement & Leadership Center

Associate Vice Provost & Dean For Community Engagement & Diversity

Associate Vice Provost & Dean Of Residential Halls

Associate Vice Provost & Execut...

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