Ethical Decision Making - A Teaching and Learning Model for Graduate Students and New Professionals

Oct 15, 2026

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Student affairs practitioners face escalating ethical complexities when making daily decisions about the welfare of students and colleagues, with ethical choices embedded in student services work. New professionals often encounter crises that force alignment with policies or supervisors they may not personally endorse, or decisions that conflict with their values. The article proposes an ethical decision-making model for graduate students and newcomers, examines obstacles via vignettes and case scenarios, and outlines teaching strategies to strengthen awareness and skill development in ethical conflicts.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Ethical Decision Making

Objections to Teaching Ethical Decision Making

# Ethical Decision Making:A Teaching and Learning Modelfor Graduate Students and New Professionals William M.McDonald,Marcus Walker Ebelhar,Elizabeth R.Orehovec,Robyn H.Sanderson* Student affairs practitioners are inundated with a variety of ethical considerations wbenmaking day-to-day decisions regarding the welfare of students and colleagues.There is everyreason to believe that confronting etbical isszues will be an increasingly dificult issue forstudent affairs professionals in the future.This article provides a model for ethical decisionmaking that is designed particularby for graduate students and new professionals. Student affairs practitioners are inundated with a variety of ethical considerationswhen making day-to-day decisions regarding the welfare of students andcolleagues.Indeed,Kitchener (1985)stated that “college student personnel workhas ethical choices at its very core”(p.17).Robert Brown(1985)agreed and stated,“The common mission of the student services profession is being the moralconscience of the campus.Staff responsibility is to promote and support ethicalbehavior on campus and to recognize and confront unethical behavior”(p.68) Yet new student affairs practitioners and graduate students may view themselves asill-prepared to address ethical decision making.The first time new professionalsface an ethical decision is when it revolves around a crisis.At such times,the staffmember may have to support a campus policy or a supervisor's decision withwhich they do not agree;or the new professional may have to make a decision thatis in conflict with his or her own personal set of values and standards. Although ethical considerations have existed among student affairs practitionersfor almost 70 years(Saunders &Cooper,1999),the recent national trend of ethicallapses in business has brought this issue to the forefront.Carroll (2003)stated"today,after .….[the]numbing experience of watching one business executive afteranother fall victim to corruption and fraud,everyone seems to be calling oncolleges and universities to do something about the ethics of organizations andleaders”(p.1).Higher education has not been insulated from this "numbingexperience”;recent examples include former University of Tennessee president'sexcessive spending habits and the University of Colorado at Boulder's scandal-ridden athletic program.It may be difficult to instill a sense of ethical behavior THE COLLEGE STUDENTAFFAIRS JOURNAL ## Ethical Decision Making among our greater student population.Dalton (2002)voiced this concern when hewrote, Student cynicism about the shallowness and hypocrisy of leaders and popularculture combined with students'privatism and concern for wealth and statusto create a powerful college student culture of detachment in much of highereducation.Colleges and universities often promote this culture of detachmentby forcing a separation between intellectual and moral reasons and reflection.To the extent that issues of conscience,citizenship,character,civility,socialresponsibility are treated in academe as matters of personal discretion andperipheral to higher learning the more the culture of detachment is fixed in theminds and hearts of college students.(p.1) Many new student affairs practitioners may feel anxious when address ethicaldecision making due to their lack of training and experience.They may bewrestling with integrating their personal set of core values that will guide theirwork.Two of the biggest challenges student affairs professionals face when tryingto implement ethical decision making are "How can I know whether I’m beingethical or not?"and "Why should I care if I make the ethical decision?I can't winfor losing!” Carroll (2003)provided insights for new practitioners wrestling with these issues.He wrote, Maybe the appropriate question is not whether ethics can be taught,butwhether they can be learned.In considering my own personal experiences andthe experiences of many others I know an

FAQs

Why do student affairs practitioners need ethical decision making skills?

Ethical choices are central to student services work, and practitioners regularly confront dilemmas affecting students and colleagues. The article also notes that ethical lapses in business have increased attention to ethics in higher education.

What challenges do new student affairs practitioners and graduate students face?

They may feel ill-prepared, especially when the first ethical decision arises during a crisis. They may struggle to integrate personal core values while supporting policies or decisions they do not agree with.

How does the article support ethical learning for new professionals?

It explores dimensions of ethical decision making, reviews common obstacles, and applies Kitchener’s principle model using vignettes and case scenarios. It also discusses teaching strategies for using these resources to improve awareness and skill development.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by jayni