STUDENT CONDUCT ADMINISTRATIVE PROFESSIONALS - RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY, TRAINING, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

Oct 15, 2026

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A study involving 329 student conduct administrators with at least a master’s degree examines whether specialized training, the need to stay current with trends, and mastery of specific skills meet criteria for student conduct administration to be considered an independent, unique profession. The work also analyzes how tenure on the job relates to skills mastery. Context is provided by comparing how SCA functions have evolved from early higher education roles toward educator-like responsibilities, including investigation, dialogue, and educational sanctions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Review of the Literature

Professional Identity as a Construct

STUDENT CONDUCT ADMINISTRATIVE PROFESSIONALS: RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY, TRAINING, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE Brian Glick Suzanne Degges-White Northern Illinois University A diverse sample of 329 student conduct administrators, holding at least a Master’s degree, participated in a study to explore whether their level of specialized training, their need to stay up-to-date on current trends, and mastery of specific skills sets met the necessary criteria to determine whether student conduct administration could be considered an independent and unique profession. Also explored was the relationship between tenure on the job and mastery of skills. Please direct inquires about this manuscript to: Suzanne Degges-White, [sdeggeswhite@niu.edu](sdeggeswhite@niu.edu) [College Student Affairs Journal](College Student Affairs Journal), Volume 37(2), pp. 169- ISSN 2381-2338 Copyright 2019 Southern Association for College Student Affairs All rights of reproduction in any form reserved. 170 College Student Affairs Journal Vol. 37, No. 2, 2019 The functions performed by today’s stu dent conduct administrators (SCAs) bear only minimal resemblance to the functions performed by SCAs in the earliest days of higher education (Stoner & Lowery, 2004) . According to the Association for Student Conduct Administrators (ASCA, 2018b), an SCA functioning in the field of higher education today is an educator; in the time of the colonial colleges, the person who filled the role most similar to today’s SCA would have been primarily a disciplinarian (Rudolph, 1962; Stoner & Lowery, 2004; Waller, 2013) . Today’s SCAs conduct investigations into violations of the institution’s code of conduct, dialogue with all parties involved in conduct infraction, and construct intentional and educational sanctions for infractions of the student code of conduct and other institutional policy breaches by students (Rudolph, 1962; Stoner & Lowery, 2004; Waller, 2013) . In addition, the complexity of student conduct violations has increased over time which requires SCAs to consider multiple aspects of a conduct violation in terms of school policies, student developmental level, and any relevant legal issues related to the situation. While meting out discipline is still one aspect of the job, the SCA’s responsibilities extend beyond this basic function. In earlier times, SCAs adjudicated a limited range of conduct violations (e.g., curfew violations, cheating, etc.) and represented the role of institutions as in loco parentis (Gehring, 2006); today’s student code violations can involve much more complicated and hazardous conduct violations. These may include students gaining electronic access to examination answers and distributing the answers to an entire class, investigations into sexual assault or other criminal activity, as it relates to a student code violation, and other intricate violations (National Center for Higher Education Risk Management, 2014) . To be effective in today’s higher education environment, it is necessary for the SCA to have a thorough understanding of policy and legal issues, to possess a multitude of skills, and to be adept at utilizing these skills when investigating and adjudicating a wide variety of incidents (Dowd, 2012; Waller, 2013) . It seems clear that today’s fast-paced and highly collaborative higher education environment requires SCAs to possess specialized skills and training in order to carry out the position responsibilities (Stoner & Lowery, 2004) . SCAs must also recognize that the application of these skills requires attention to the unique circumstances of each infraction. It is not possible to apply a “cookie-cutter” approach to handling student conduct referrals. As noted, the most basic functions of student conduct administration have existed since the first institutions of higher education were established (Komives, Woodward, & Associates, 2003; Rudolph, 1962) . The field of student conduct

FAQs

How does the study define the purpose of examining student conduct administration as a profession?

It evaluates whether specialized training, staying current with trends, and mastery of specific skill sets support the criteria for student conduct administration to be an independent and unique profession, while also examining tenure-related skill mastery.

What responsibilities do student conduct administrators perform today?

They conduct investigations into code-of-conduct violations, engage in dialogue with involved parties, and construct intentional and educational sanctions, while considering policy, developmental level, and relevant legal issues.

Why does the document emphasize the need for specialized skills and training?

It argues that modern higher education involves increasingly complex and hazardous violations, requiring SCAs to apply skills appropriately to each unique circumstance rather than using a uniform approach.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by kopisore