Implementation of Stringent Managerial and Academic Policies in College - Article Example

Over the years, Dr. Lawrence had managed to shift from literature research to institution management for the last seven years. The policymaker was also quick to justify and defend stringent policies on the use of smartphones by students in classrooms, punitive measures on plagiarism claims, and his inclination towards the American degree system.

            In his defense of the policies on mobile phone usage in the classroom, the academician noted that new technologies had transformed the minor sources of distractions into a profound cause of alarm for tutors. The prevalence of mobile phone usage in classrooms furthermore amounted to disrespect of tutors in addition to negatively impacting their teaching morale while every student is busy on their smartphones and tablets. Alternatively, Dr. Lawrence added that the new policy against phone usage was to be guided by disciplinary action. According to this interview, Dr. Lawrence stated that disciplinary action on mobile phone usage would take two stages, the informal stage, and the formal stage. The informal stage entailed warning students caught using their gadgets in school. Failure to restrain from these offenses, the students would be asked to meet the directors of Regent and Webster University for further questioning. These two steps were termed informal since no record of the incidences would be registered on students' accounts. On the other hand, the formal stage entailed official disciplinary action by the disciplinary committee of the institution for students who failed to heed their subsequent warnings.

            Another key issue raised by Dr. Lawrence was the new policies on plagiarism offenses. He noted that despite the harshness of the newly formulated policies on plagiarism, it was imperative that students appreciate that the policy aimed at promoting behavior change in students concerning their attitude towards research projects and individual efforts. The newly formulated policies provided the Regent’s students with an opportunity to resubmit their assignments in case of plagiarism claims. These stringent sanctions had been partly based on the Webster university provisions to uphold professionalism and universal academic standards. Therefore, Dr. Lawrence agreed that the stipulation of stronger consequences for plagiarism offenses would effectively deter students from voluntarily submitting substandard plagiarized papers.             Similarly, Dr. Lawrence readily admitted that he was strongly inclined towards the American university system as opposed to the British university. With objectivity, he noted that he had worked successfully with each of the systems and concurred that they significantly varied in their educational approach. He noted that the American university system was highly broadened in terms of skills training and intellectual impact, unlike the British system which he criticized as being purely focused on developing intellectualism alone with little consideration for real-life application and integration of every aspect of career survival. In the long run, Dr. Lawrence emphasized that every aspect of the newly implemented policies was primarily for the improvement of students' conditions in the school after they had obtained their degrees.