Hello! My name is Adam Bernot, and I am the chair-elect for the Commission for Student Conduct and Legal Issues. Over the past few years, I have served as a member of the Directorate Body and as the Vice Chair for Education for the commission. I am looking forward to building upon my experiences so far and challenging the commission to grow in some new directions.

When I first joined the commission, I was looking for a home within ACPA. My day job is in Residence Life, but I work for a small school and consider myself a generalist. I had an interest in several functional areas, but the

thing that drew me to CSCLI was the ease of becoming involved. In a couple other commissions I visited, I was overwhelmed by the number of people involved in the open business meetings or other events. I did not get the same sense that I did with CSCLI where I connected with people right away and felt like I could make a difference. Several years later, as the chair-elect, I hope to maintain that environment where everyone is welcome, and can actively participate in the business of the commission as much as they would like.

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Greetings from theCommissionChair-Elect

Official Newsletter of the CSCLI - Commission XV

March 2015

XVeritas2014-15 CSCLI LeadershipArdy Gonyer, ChairGraduate Assistant, Educators in Context and CommunityBowling Green University

Adam Bernot, Vice Chair for EducationDirector of Residence LifeSpring Hill College

Nicholas Stroup, Vice Chair for MembershipAssistant Director of Student ServicesGeorge Mason University

Jennifer McCary, Vice Chair for AdministrationAssistant Dean of College Life/Director of Student Rights & ResponsibilitiesGettysburg College

Valerie Glassman, Vice Chair for PublicationsAssistant Dean of StudentsDuke University

Tiffani Ziemann, Past ChairArea CoordinatorIthaca College

2015-16 CSCLILeadership ElectAdam Bernot, Chair Elect

Hannah Durant, Vice Chair for Administration (Elect)Associate Director of Residence LifeSmith College

Alan Acosta, Vice Chair for Education (Elect)Associate Dean of StudentsFlorida State University

Commission for Student Conduct and Legal Issues

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Adam Bernot,Director of Residence Life, Spring Hill College

ACPA Annual ConventionMarch 5-8, 2015Tampa, Florida

Student conduct practitioners hold significant positions on college campuses in which they can influence student development and encourage learning through experience. Shushok, Henry, Blalock, and Sriram (2009) promoted the idea that learning happens all over college campuses, not just in the classroom. Student conduct should be seen as one of these educational opportunities occurring outside of the classroom (Mullane, 1995). Therefore, practitioners must embrace educational opportunities to positively influence students’ lives.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the use of student development theory in current student conduct practice. A second purpose of this study was to determine how student conduct practitioners utilize student development theory, as well as what theories are used, in order to guide their work with students to ensure the process is educational and developmental. The study also determined what barriers exist to using theory in practice. This study used a researcher-developed survey instrument that was based on the

Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) Standards and Association for Student Conduct Administrators (ASCA) Principles. The instrument contained questions that were answered using a Likert scale. The survey was distributed to select members of ACPA that currently held positions consistent with student conduct work.

The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results showed that student conduct practitioners almost always use student development theory in their practice and believe it is very important to use theory in practice. Most often, practitioners use theory to determine the students’ current developmental levels. The most commonly used theorists included Chickering, Kohlberg, and Perry. This indicates that while student conduct practitioners believe that using theory in practice in very important, they are not necessarily using the most current theories in practice. The data also showed that student conduct practitioners almost never experience any barriers to using theory in practice.

Lily Bruckner

The use of student development theory in student conduct practice is a guiding principle, as outlined by the CAS Standards and ASCA. Current student conduct practitioners need to take steps to remain current in student development theory and learn additional applications of theories in order to ensure that student conduct work is focused on educational and developmental student outcomes. Additional research is encouraged on this topic in order to better analyze how practitioners intentionally use theory in their day-to-day work.

Lily Bruckner graduated in May 2014 with an Ed.D. in Adult and Higher Education from the University of South Dakota. She is currently serving as Directorate member for the ACPA Commission for Student Conduct & Legal Issues. She is in the process of searching for employment.

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ACPA - College Student Educators International Commission for Student Conduct and Legal Issues

Alan Acosta, Associate Dean of Students, Florida State University

This February I had the fortunate pleasure to join student conduct colleagues from around the country at the Association for Student Conduct Administration’s (ASCA) annual conference. Right down the road from this year’s ACPA annual convention, this year we learned that the two organizations are doing more than just sharing a conference city. They are also linking themselves in numerous ways to form an amazing, beneficial, and strong partnership.

At the ASCA 2015 conference, ACPA’s Executive Director, Cindi Love, attended the conference for the very first time. I got supremely lucky and was able to sit next to her during the business meeting. Cindi eloquently explained to me how essential partnerships between ASCA and ACPA were going to be moving into the future to shape not only each respective association and its members, but the higher education field as a whole. Her passion for the work of student conduct administrators was evident, and her firm conviction in advancing the work that all student conduct professionals do was noticeable to me. It was a real treat to listen to her talk about ideas for ways our associations could grow stronger together.

Later in the meeting, Jennifer Waller, ASCA’s Executive Director, announced that ASCA would be occupying an office within the ACPA headquarters at 1 Dupont Circle beginning in March. This news was met with great enthusiasm by all in attendance, as this announcement signified both the figurative and literal joining of

our professions together to make the voice that we as student conduct administrators louder and stronger to our national and international leaders.

Knowing that ACPA and ASCA have collaborated before and are deepening our bond brings me renewed hope, joy, and optimism that student conduct will grow as a recognized important facet of higher education.

Alan Acosta is an Associate Dean of Students at Florida State University. He has been a member of ACPA since 2006 and an ASCA membevr since 2010. Among his numerous ACPA involvements, he has also served on the Commission for Student Conduct & Legal Issues Directorate for over a year. He can be reached via email at aacosta@fsu.edu.

ACPA and ASCA WorkingTogether

Using Student Development Theory to Enhance the Educational Experience in Student Conduct: Perspectives of Student Conduct Practitioners at Four-Year Institutions

Sponsored Programs of the Commission for Student Conduct and Legal Issues at the 2015 ACPA Convention

Administrating a Title IX Sexual Misconduct Climate Survey: Lessons Learned [ID:587](Co-sponsored with Standing Committee for Women)

Attempted Suicide and ADA Changes: Helping Students Stay Alive [ID:335](Co-sponsored with Standing Committee on Disability)

Emotional Support Animals 101: Students’ Rights and Institutions’ Responsibilities [ID:518](Co-sponsored with Standing Committee on Disability)

Get Involved!

Join the commission, sign up for the listserv, and more! Learn more at http://www.myacpa.org/commscli/get-involved#

Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/fbcscli

Twitter: @ACPA_CSCLI

CSCLI at the 2015 Annual Convention in Tampa, Florida

Don’t miss these exciting opportunities!

Thursday, March 59:30 AM - 3:00 PMCSCLI Directorate Meeting (directorate only)

Thursday, March 56:00 - 7:00 PMCelebrACPA!

Friday, March 62:30 - 3:30 PMOpen commission meeting (all members)

Friday, March 63:30 - 5:00 PMTown Hall Assembly Meeting

Friday, March 68:00 - 10:00 PMAssociation Awards

Congratulations to our commission’s own Jason Meriwether on his election to ACPA’s Governing Board as the new Director of External Relations!

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I am encouraged by the progress we have made in terms of communicating with our membership, providing educational opportunities for our commission and ACPA, and collaborating with other entities. As chair, I hope to help us formalize some of our goals and objectives, and ensure that the wealth of experience contained within the commission’s membership and leadership is utilized fully by ACPA’s leadership team as we continue to have a rich variety of hot topics related to our area.

On a personal level, I would like to acknowledge my colleagues and friends within the commission who have helped me to feel at home within ACPA. We have some truly amazing people involved in the commission and I look forward to seeing what we can do together over the next few years. See you in Tampa!

The Tampa Convention Center is the site of many of the 2015 ACPA Convention programs. (Image © Wikimedia Commons)

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Friday, March 6Trauma-Informed Student Conduct for Adjudicating Sexual Misconduct11:30 AMConvention Ctr. Room 22

Beyond Legal Compliance: Data-Based Rape Prevention2:30 PMMarriott - Florida Salon VI

Saturday, March 7Extended Session: The Four Corners of Title IX Regulatory Compliance8:00 AMConvention Ctr. Rooms 3-4

Beyond Compliance: Sexual Violence Prevention on Campus12:30 PMConvention Ctr. Ballroom A

Some programs of note pertaining to Title IX, sexual misconduct, and legal issues (For the full program, see the Convention book):