Competency Level: Foundational

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Competency Description: The Law, Policy, and Governance competency area includes the knowledge, skills, and dispositions relating to policy development processes used in various contexts, the application of legal constructs, compliance/policy issues, and the understanding of governance structures and their impact on one’s professional practice.

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Outcomes: 

• Explain the difference between public, private, and for profit education with respect to the legal system and what they may mean for respective students, faculty, & SA professionals.

• Describe how country and state/provincial constitutions and laws influence the constituents within a college community and affect their professional practice.

• Identify internal and external stakeholders, policymakers and special interest groups who influence higher education policy.

• Act in accordance with country, state/provincial, and local laws with institutional policies regarding nondiscrimination.

• Describe the governance systems and structure at one’s institution.

• Know how and when to consult with one’s immediate supervisor and institutional legal counsel regarding matters that may have legal ramifications.

• Demonstrate awareness of the inequitable and oppressive ways that laws and policies are enacted on vulnerable student populations in the institution and at all levels of government.

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Education: ​

• EAF 462 - Organization & Administration Student Affairs Functions in Higher Education

• EAF 466 - College Students and the Law

• EAF 473 - Community Colleges

• WGS 490 - Feminist Theories and Methodological Issues

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Experience Documentation: In my current role as an administrative assistant, I do not create policies for our department; however, I do get to view, review, and revise policies and procedures for administrators around me. This experience has given me a deeper understanding of the policy development process. It also has shown me that decisions in are not made lightly and many eyes must follow policy development to ensure legal and ethical compliance. 

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In EAF 462, I took part in multiple projects to showcase my understanding of higher educational organizational structures and how persons in position of authority drive the development and implementation of policy at each institution, respectively.

 

I was able to look at various departments at multiple institutions to learn more about the institution's structure. I created a PowerPoint explaining Student Conduct after benchmarking a dozen institutions and interviewing two Dean of Students.

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Law is daunting to discuss, but during EAF 466, I was able to break down my fear of examining law through reviewing case studies and researching specific laws which directly impact my work in higher education. My colleague and I created a PowerPoint to present to our class to discuss Academic Policies and Concerns. 

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When speaking about law and policy at the institutional level, one cannot forget that there are systematic hands at play that affect lawmaker and stakeholder decisions in policy making. I spent a great deal of time during my spring 2020 semester researching and diving into the world of feminist theory to better understand how our country's history is entwined with systematic oppression and inequality. Below is an example of a response paper I completed for WGS 490.

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