Since the publication of the first edition of Student Conduct Practice in 2008 the landscape of student conduct has matured and has shifted dramatically. As the composition of the overall population and of the student body on campuses across the nation has changed, institutions of higher learning have a greater awareness of the importance of preparing students to function competently in a diverse society. They are seeing student behaviors, such as challenging mores, rules and policies, that reflect the growing polarization and complexity we see in our larger society, and such trends as a marked increase in student mental health challenges as well as changing social dynamics, all of which require a new awareness and a rethinking of policies and responses by conduct professionals, including embracing the a social justice as a lens by which we perform our work.
This up-dated and considerably expanded edition maintains the objectives of the first which is to constitute a compendium of current best practices in the administration of student conduct, to summarize the latest thinking on key issues facing practitioners today, and to provide an overview of the role and status of conduct administrators within their institutions.
This text invites student conduct administrators to examine current programs and policies to ensure that the spaces that they create during interactions with students are spaces in which all students feel welcome and heard. As we strive to prepare students not only to be productive members of today’s workforce, and more importantly to be good people and upright citizens, this text accentuates the delicate balance between responding to regulatory mandates and meeting the educational aims of student conduct. The aim is to offer those with an interest in student conduct and those professionals who are new or seasoned student conduct administrators with both a compendium of chapters on best practices and the background to grapple with the thought-provoking situations they will encounter.
