Nelda Bailey: Texas A&M University's Student Conduct Office Week Six

Activities:

• Individual Supervision
• Letter Review
• Exit Interviews
• Conduct Conferences
• Call-In Conferences
• Panel Debrief

Experience:

This week was a great combination of administration work and counselor work within the TAMU Student Conduct Office. During this week, I had the opportunity to both provide and gain insight into the language used throughout Student Conduct as the office and I worked to reword and update all of the letters that are sent out to students in various situations. Student Conduct is a very unique place on a college campus where language holds a high level of attention. The language needs to be explicit and exact enough to ensure that the office covers the necessary policies and outlined points while simple, direct, and condense enough to engage the student throughout the length of the letter. This task is easier said than done. I also continued to sit in and even worked up the nerve to actively participate in conferences and interviews with students. The most exciting thing I observed this week was Friday’s Panel Debrief. This debrief served as both recognition of the hard work the panel members contribute as well as an open forum for suggestions, new pieces of training, and questions on past cases. In this event, I was able to see how things all interact to ensure the success of the Student Conduct Office and its process. I was also able to interact with the members at my table, one from the Corps and one from ResLife. 

Insight:

Chapter 3 directly relates to my current practicum area. Ethics is a very big deal in Student Conduct because this area treads the fine line of law and ethic. Technically, this office does not uphold the laws of Bryan/College Station/Texas. This office directly upholds the rules and regulations of Texas A&M University that ties to both ethical and legal boundaries through the Aggie Honor Code.   

On the other hand, this dual relationship of sorts makes it very interesting for a Student Conduct Officer to work through a case. Ethics is also included with the idea of social media for this office due to the standard in which this office operates. Hard proof is not needed which means some information from social media may be relative. Social media can include both means of exposure and reporting to the office. The reporting is a good thing because the office can be informed of the bad behavior. I personally believe the exposure from social media serves more as an aggravating factor to Student Conduct which basically means it worsens/increases the effects of an act conducted by a student. On one hand, the exposure can possibly serve as a reinforcement to the process ensuring that severity of the offense is conveyed to the student. On the other hand, if the process is not conducted to the standings of some, the exposure can reflect negatively upon the office. Likewise, the social media “fame” can serve as a stimulant to the student which may serve as motivation for continued undesired actions.