Standing At The Intersection: Reconsidering The Balance In Administration

Abstract

Student life administrators everywhere recognize the scenario: sitting in conference with a student, expounding institutional policies, explaining a particular action because policy “requires” it. They can also recall pursuing action against a student who, while clearly violating the letter of a policy, seems more a confused adolescent than an intentional offender. Student development professionals “theoretically” deal with these issues by addressing the needs of students in the context of a developmentally appropriate educational environment. In that small, remote region that administrators identify as their “gut,” they also know that tomorrow morning their attempts at development may be featured in the local paper’s headline story about unregulated behavior on college campuses. They face media attention, government regulations, professional organization ethical standards, local policy, and their own, sometimes conflicting, values. They are constantly challenged by the questions What should we do?What will we do? How will we decide?