Assignment:
Discussion: Decisions, Decisions...
In your position as a higher education professional, you will encounter numerous difficult decisions that require ethical consideration. Consider what you have learned about ethics this week as you review the following scenario:
As the director of student services, you supervise a number of departments, three of which currently run special student support initiatives started within the last five years: an early-alert system to identify students in danger of dropping out, special advising for high school students to take advantage of dual-enrollment programs at your college, and an initiative that provides small start-up grants to faculty members wanting to try new approaches to teaching developmental education courses. Due to budget cuts, you have been asked to eliminate one of these special initiatives.
Each special initiative is run by one full-time staff member but employs no other full-time staff. The manager of the early-alert system is a below-average employee, but you suspect with the proper leadership this initiative would be extremely successful. The manager of the high school advising program is an exemplary employee but was recently found to have committed a policy infraction; the program does bring in enrollments that the college might not otherwise obtain. The manager of the developmental education mini-grant program is a single mother and is well liked on campus; she works well with the faculty and has been able to support a few faculty in significantly improving their teaching.
As the director, how will you determine which program to eliminate, and who stays and who leaves?
Assignment
Post a response that includes the following:
• Take a position on which program should be eliminated and, as a result, which individual should be let go. Assume there are no other positions within your department to which they could be moved.
• Support your position and explain how you arrived at the decision.
• Describe the role ethics played in your decision-making process.
Learning Resources
Focus On
As you explore resources, focus on the special ethical considerations of leaders in educational organizations, particularly those who work closely with students and staff, and methods for negotiating ethical dilemmas and solving problems fairly and equitably.
Required Readings
McClellan, G. S., & Stringer, J. (Eds.). (2016). The handbook of student affairs administration (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Wiley.
• "Maintaining and Modeling Everyday Ethics in Student Affairs"
McDonald, W. M., Ebelhar, M. W., Orehovec, E. R., & Sanderson, R. H. (2006). Ethical decision making: A teaching and learning model for graduate students and new professionals. College Student Affairs Journal, 25(2), 152-163.
Hornak, A. M. (2009). Ethical issues for community college student affairs professionals. New Directions for Community Colleges, 2009(148), 53-62.
Note: Retrieved from the Walden Library using the Education Research Complete database.
Ethical issues for community college student affairs professionals. New Directions for Community Colleges, (148) by Hornak, A. M. Copyright 2009 by JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC. - JOURNALS Reprinted by permission of JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC. - JOURNALS via the Copyright Clearance Center.