Training Module IV:

Ethical Considerations and Guidelines

This portion of the training will cover nine ethical principles that should be followed by hearing panel members.

• Members of student conduct hearing boards should treat students the way they would reasonably expect to be treated. A cornerstone of reasonable treatment in the college disciplinary process is a commitment to *hearing* cases before *deciding* them.
• When talking with a student, panel members should refrain from making accusations or statements which cannot be supported.
• A panel member should not participate in a hearing where he/she feels unable to be fair or impartial. If a panel member knows anyone associated with the hearing, he/she should be excused from their panel member duties for that case.

Students are often in the midst of an intense period of growth and development. They are likely to test rules, commit wrongs, and make mistakes. While they should be accorded the dignity of being held accountable for their behavior, the sanctions imposed should seek to accomplish educational aims, including development of the capacity to make reasoned judgments, and to understand the feelings of others.

Current and future members of campus communities (e.g. students, faculty, and staff) usually remain unseen and unheard when disciplinary cases are resolved. They can't be present before the hearing panel, even though they have strong interests in maintaining environments where the common good is promoted, and individual liberties protected. What is progressive discipline? Progressive discipline is more than therapy. It requires board members to be tough-minded as well as tender hearted when sanctions are imposed.

Even the best disciplinary process will seem intimidating to most students, since they realize important decisions about their future may be at stake. The words and behavior of hearing board members (even seemingly minor details like facial expressions and body language) will be observed with care and remembered for years. Whether by design or chance, hearing board members are role models. They should display the qualities they seek in others: clarity, courtesy, attentiveness, fairness, honesty, and respect.

Hearing board members have an unsurpassed opportunity to learn more about human nature in general, and themselves in particular. They should use their experience to integrate theory and practice in ways that promote wisdom and insight. It's also likely that qualities and habits acquired while serving in a campus disciplinary system-timeliness, good listening skills, attention to detail, and a sense of fairness and justice-will serve hearing board members for a lifetime.

• Hearing board members who violate institutional and federal privacy rules may create scars and stigmas lasting a lifetime. Decisions about public release of information should be collaborative, done in accordance with campus policy, and the law.
• Student panel members should adhere to all provisions of Student Rights and Responsibilities as outlined in the Student Code of Conduct.
• Information regarding any student's disciplinary status is not to be discussed with anyone (roommate, friend, parent, etc) outside the judicial board meeting without the written authorization of the student.
• The behavior of any student is not to be disclosed or discussed outside the hearing. All information presented at a hearing is confidential, including decision and sanctions, and must not be discussed outside the hearing.
• Files or records should not be kept or removed from the hearing.

College disciplinary policies reflect an endeavor to codify many core concepts in applied ethics. Those policies should be subjects of frequent debate in campus-wide forums. Dialogue about the purpose and nature of campus rules should also be encouraged in hearings, especially before sanctions are imposed. The aims are to promote ethical thinking, hear student perspectives, and *think anew* about the wisdom of college policies.

Individual opinions should be expressed during the deliberation process. While there will most likely be dissenting opinions during the deliberation process, all panel members should fully uphold and respect the final decision that is reached by the panel.

By volunteering to be on the hearing panel, you have accepted certain responsibilities for the success of the judicial process. If at any time you are unwilling or unable to fulfill your responsibilities/obligations to this panel, please notify the Office of Student Conduct or Residence Life (whichever is appropriate) as soon as possible.

***Note: You will be required to type your name and your social security number on the assessment form stating that you will abide by the aforementioned Hearing Panel Ethical Guidelines.

Click here to go to the online assessment

This training program was created and posted by the Office of Student Conduct at Missouri State University, 2006.