Synthesis - Research Paper Example

?Table of Contents Reflection................................................................................................2 Personal Philosophy...............................................................................7 References...............................................................................................10 Reflection Paper and Synthesis Reflection When reflecting upon the value of student services, there are many things that need to be taken into account. One is that the student body is diverse, and is more diverse now than perhaps at any time in the history of higher education (Howe & Strauss, 2000). Included in this diversity are LGBT students (Komives & Woodward, 2003). Additionally, there are many ethical and legal foundations that must be considered (Hamilton, 2002). Civil Rights laws and affirmative action are the legal aspects that must be considered (Sandeen & Barr, 2006). Diversity is a staple on campus, as there are many ethnicities and first generation students, as well as disabled students and LGBT students (American College Personnel Association, 2006).             Also, as a student professional, I must be concerned with the theory of what guides the profession. There are many learning and development theories, and theories of organization. The guiding organizational theory is one that is considered to be collegial, which means that faculty and staff have autonomy, and may participate in decision-making and governance through committee work and hiring (Komives et al.,  2003). Along the same vein is the theory of leadership that states that collaborative leadership, in which everybody in the community is involved in decision-making, is best (Love & Estanek, 2004). Financial aid is becoming more important to students, as there is increasingly a lack of funding combined with higher tuitions. Other challenges include the fact that technology has increased, which means that e-mail and chat has replaced face to face interaction in many cases.             As a student services professional, I must focus upon not just teaching and training, but also advising. Student professionals must be able to understand the problems of the student body, and be able to craft an acceptable solution to these issues. Interpersonal and problem solving skills are essential when advising students, as well as having a thorough understanding of developmental and learning theories. Conflict resolution and community building are other skill sets which are necessary for student services personnel.             To this end, in my role as a student services personnel, I know that I will have to wear multiple hats, while being a part of a collaborative team. The collaboration of the team will be crucial in solving problems which might crop up with our student body. I must not only know all the details about financial aid packages, and be able to advise the students accordingly, but I also must be able to resolve conflicts between students and the faculty, other students or organizations. One of the ways to resolve these conflicts is through mediation, so I must be familiar with the mediation process and be able to listen to both sides and use my mediation skills to help the opposing parties come to some type of acceptable agreement between them. Cognitive and learning theories will come in handy when advising students about the course that they should take to reach their goals outside of college. Some of cognitive theories are that of Piaget. Piaget discovered that there are ways that people think, reason and make meaning from experiences (Komives, 2003). What this means to me is that there must be challenges for the students – they should always be subjected to new and different stimuli, and should be encouraged to seek out ideological positions which are different from what they currently have. This might mean that I will encourage the students to try different coursework that might develop their ideologies, or coursework that would help them look at subjects in a new way. Another theory that I would take into account in my role as a student advisor is that the students have innate talents, and their coursework should be geared towards these talents. Moreover, the students should be encouraged to find a career path that nurtures these talents, as this will help them find the right fit in their employment opportunities. The students should take the Myers-Briggs Personality Inventory to discover their strengths and weaknesses, and what career field they should try to master. Another theory that I should use in my practice is the psychosocial theory as heralded by Erikson and the like. The students form identity through progressing through developmental stages, and knowing the students' identity will help me in ascertaining what services they might need. All the while, I must be aware of all laws that pertain to the profession, including constitutional laws and laws regarding discrimination, disability, sexual harassment, and civil rights. I also must know the ethical code, and be able to ascertain if my actions that I take are within this code. Some of the laws that pertain to my profession are Civil Rights Laws that prohibit discrimination, and I must know these laws and how they apply to the student body. For instance, there needs to be proper accommodations for disabled students throughout the campus, and this is something that the student services needs to be aware of. Laws regarding affirmative action would be another area of which I would have to be aware – affirmative action has been the bases for complicated Supreme Court decisions, so I would need to know the nuances of those decisions to ensure that our school is complying with what is legal is this realm. Moreover, the students have constitutional rights – included in these constitutional rights are freedom of religion, of the press, of association, of assembly. They also have certain rights regarding search and seizure and they have due process rights. What this means is that the school needs to be sensitive to religious practices, and cannot engage in censorship. Students need to have due process if there is disciplinary proceedings, which means that they must have their voice heard. And they cannot be subject to search and seizure without proper authority.             At the same time, I know that the student body is very diverse, so I must be sensitive to this. It would be helpful if the colleges around the country would offer a course that is focused just upon the diversity of the student body, and how the colleges can accommodate them. Different people from different religions will observe different religious holidays and ceremonies, and the school has to know when these different holidays are and what is expected of the student body during these holidays. Jews who are observing Rosh Hashana will have requirements for their religion, as will Christians observing Lent, and other religions will also have their own requirements. Muslims have requirements to pray at certain times, so the campus must observe this. Additionally, there must be campus awareness of bullying of the LGBT community, and sensitivity training should be instituted so that this bullying is minimized. Other kinds of discrimination and bigotry may crop up, and it is up to the student services personnel to address this.             Non-traditional students will present a challenge as well. Some students will be telecommuting, which means that it would be very difficult to meet with them face to face. The school should have a way to teleconference when there is a serious issue, and communicating with e-mail will be the way to go with these students. Older students may also need some kind of accommodations, in that they might be raising families, and, therefore, would have to miss class more often than traditional students. Accommodating these students should also be a focus for the student services personnel. Therefore, I have to consider how student services affects my own workplace. My workplace must be cognizant of all of these issues, from the issues regarding non-discrimination, to the issue regarding non-traditional students. The workplace must adopt these issues and codify them in the rulebooks which are distributed to new employees, and should reinforce these issues with seminars on a periodic basis. Moreover, the principles that guide student services cannot be taught in an abstract way, but, rather, should be put into concrete rules to follow. It is not enough simply to say that there is a policy of non-discrimination. Rather, there should be codes and rules that say things like “Our workplace recognizes that all religions have specific holidays, which are........and that these holidays will constitute an excusable absence for these religious followers.” Or “sexual harassment is specifically prohibited. The following actions constitute sexual harassment.......” These principles contribute to higher education because they give guidelines to higher education on how to treat their student body in a sensitive and respectful manner. Personal Philosophy             I have developed a personal philosophy regarding my role as a student services personnel professional. My personal philosophy is that I need to learn all I can about theory and apply this to my job. Cognitive theory and learning theories are not just beneficial for teaching and training, which is a part of my job, but also is valuable for conflict management and other issues that may be a part of the job. People think in different ways – it not just depends upon how they learned the subjects that are taught, but how they are raised and what culture raised them. There are so many differences that students have, and these differences will inform how they behave and resolve conflict.             For instance, certain cultures have a lower view of women than do other cultures. This is something that is abhorrent to many in the Western culture, and, while it is certainly not right that women are second-class citizens, it is a reality of culture. These cultures must be respected, while, at the same time, women must be respected and there must not be discrimination against them. This is a tricky line to balance. However, it is not for me, as a student personnel, to judge, and it is up to me to find out all that I can about different cultures so that I have a sound basis for their practices.             My philosophy is that I can never stop learning, and I can never learn enough. I need to learn not just about the nuts and bolts of my job – how to process financial aid packages, how to advise students academically, how to be a liaison to the community at large, how to organize student affair organizations, etc. – but I also have to be a student of human nature. I need to learn the issues that face our minority populations, and I also need to learn the solutions that others have proposed to help these minority and oppressed populations assimilate. I need to learn all the latest research regarding conflict management, and I also need to learn how to do proper and professional mediation. I need to learn about organizational theory, and I need to learn how to implement collaborative organizataional structures if there is not one in place. This is because collaborative organization has been shown in research to be the most effective way to provide autonomy to faculty and staff, while providing faculty and staff a way to have their voice heard when resolving issues that face us. I need to know how poverty affects students, and how to advise them about the best financial aid packages that helps them attain a good education, while not putting  them into too much debt when they graduate. I need to constantly research the latest in financial aid, and be able to find the best grants, scholarships and other programs for students that will minimize their student burdens.             In other words, I do not think of my job as nine to five, but recognize that there are so many learning opportunities that take place outside of the job that are crucial for me to discover. While there is always a certain amount of hours that I need to fulfill to keep my accredidation, I understand that I should always go above and beyond these hours and do independent study on the issues. And, when certain, specific issues arise during the course of my advising and other duties, it is incumbent upon me to do specific research on these issues, so that I know the best course of action. While instinct is always valuable when resolving issues and conflict, having a sound basis to back up the instinct is the best way to go.             Beyond this, I recognize the need to be as non-judgmental as possible. That is always a challenge in human nature, to treat others the way that we would like to be treated. If these others are people who are different from us, we have a harder time treating them this way. We wonder why it is that people behave the way that they do, and how it is that people are so different in the beliefs and values. The problem is that we do not have empathy for one another, and this is why we cannot understand each other. However, empathy comes from not just being able to understand how a person feels, but to actually look through their eyes – how would I react if I was an Arab female or male? If I were gay? Disabled? While I might not be able to completely put myself in their shoes, if I was informed as much as possible about the issues that face our minority populations, I might be able to come close to as empathetic response as I can. Empathy will help me in every facet of this job, from mediation, to conflict resolution, to academic advisement, to community outreach. Therefore, this is the one aspect that I will always try to develop, in order to ensure that I am treating everybody who comes through my doors in a respectful manner.             In conclusion, this job is not just the nuts and bolts. I need to be ethical at all times, which means I need to know the Code of Ethics – I understand that sometimes what comes naturally to me might not be what is ethical according to the Code. Ethics can be taught, and I do not feel otherwise. I have an innate sense of right and wrong, but I need to know how to formally act in accordance to how my Code guides me. I also need to know everything I can about culture, minorities, disabilities, etc., so that I can react positively to students and be able to not just respect the student body, but also be a shining light for other students. I want to be somebody that they can emulate and look up to, so my own education is crucial for this endeavor. References American Council on Education. (1949).  The student personnel point of view.  Reprinted in G. Saddlemire, & A. Rentz (Eds.) (1986), Student affairs:  A profession’s heritage (pp.122-136).  Media Publications, 40.  Alexandria, VA:  American College Personnel Association.   Association of American Colleges and Universities 2004-05.  www.aacu.org. Academic  freedom and educational responsibility.   Hamilton, N.W. (2002).  Academic ethics:  Problems and materials on professional conduct and shared governance.  Westport:  Praeger Publishers.   Howe, N. and Strauss, W. (2000).  Millenials rising.  Toronto:  Random House.   Komives, S. R., Woodard, D. B., & Associates. (2003).  Student services:  A handbook for the profession.  San Francisco:  Jossey-Bass.   National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.  Retrieved on February 1, 2006 at http://nasfaa.org/annualpubs/NEthical599.html   Sandeen, A., & Barr. M. (20060.  Critical issues for student affairs: Challenges and opportunities.  San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.   Sanford, N. (Ed.). (1962).  The American college.  New York:  Wiley               Read More