 |
|
|
| 
|
 “First of all, I would hope that the Coordinator and/or Director for Students with Disabilities had been involved in this case BEFORE the Review Committee had made any commitments to the student. If so, then the Coordinator might have been helpful in detecting validity of the documentation, request for withdrawal, etc. If a university attorney is accessible, you might want to consult with him/her to see what could be done 'retroactively' to the student – my guess is nothing, unless you want to go out on a limb and press charges. Probably the most appropriate thing to do would be to go back to your office, share with the committee what you overheard, and review with them the decision-making process. You might need to revamp the committee membership to be more inclusive and representative of the student body needs/concerns. You definitely want to make sure that you have ready access to more information, the next time such a request is submitted. It's possible you could also confront the student on what you overheard, in the hopes of educating the student, but this could open up a can of worms that you might not want to open. Best thing to do is to learn from the experience and work smarter next time. Who knows, the student might be lying to his friends!”~ Mary Lee Vance, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin – Superior, April 2 “The student's successful retroactive withdrawal is a done deal. Whatever checks and balances necessary to prevent such an occurrence (verifying with the signing care giver) were obviously not in place. Now would be a good time to review the policy, process and practice and build in the necessary checks and balances to prevent such possibilities in the future.As for the student, I myself would definitely call him in for a reality check. I would not bring up his own appeal. What I would do is discuss how things were going presently. I would mention in passing that we had him to thank for taking a second look at our retroactive medical withdrawal policy and that his case allowed us to see some possibilities for misuse. 'For instance,' I would tell him, 'we have decided to verify the care giver's signatures and dates of treatment.' If that doesn't elicit an honest conversation, at least it will send notice to the student that he's made it harder for others. Hopefully he'll relay the information to his circle of friends.” ~ Thomas G. Fairbairn, Ontario College of Art & Design, April 2 “I would arrange an appointment with Sam and let him know that I had overheard him explain his ruse. I would introduce the topic of ethics and honesty as applied to our everyday lives. It would be hoped that we have or can develop enough of a relationship that we can have an on-going discussion during which we can listen to each other and respond honestly. This is a teaching moment which advisers encounter occasionally. I feel it is an opportunity to help a student examine his/her moral and ethical standards from the point of view of the family, school, religious beliefs, private life, the conscience, and future life in a work situation.”~ Carol Gilster, Saint Louis University, April 2 “I would call Sam into my office, confront him with the fact that I overheard the conversation. I would also call the Dean of Students or whomever oversees judicial problems and perhaps press legal action (not me personally). I would question where he got the medical documentation – was this all a fraud? Is it possible the doctor is responsible for writing a fraudulent report? If all of this is true, the student should be suspended or possibly dismissed permanently from the school. The doctor is also liable for some action.”~ Sondra Snyder, George Mason University, April 2 “I think you have to 'eat' this one. Trying to change the decision will lead to a swamp of things like 'I was only kidding when I was bragging to my pals.'And, for what it's worth, we would never have granted the request AFTER the term in question has ended. (And I'm known to be a softy.)” ~ Larry Russ, Stevens Tech, April 2 “I would first check out Sam's documentation carefully (he could be lying to his friends) and if it turns out to be fabricated, I would confront him about it and refer the matter to the campus judicial board as a matter of academic dishonesty. It is important for Sam to learn that fabricating documents has consequences to try to deter him from doing this again in the future, and it's an issue of fairness to all of the other students who may be in a similar situation but who didn't fabricate documents to get a retroactive withdraw.”~ Dean Hebert, University of Maryland, College Park, April 3 “Without a doubt, I would bring charges of misconduct against this student. SMSU's Code of Students Rights and Responsibilities states, 'When students enroll at the University, they do so voluntarily and in so doing implicitly accept certain obligations of performance and behavior established by the University ...'This student's behavior is well out of the expectations higher education institutions have of their students. Not addressing this kind of behavior only fosters other students to follow the same kind of path. We, as educators, need to stand up for the integrity of our schools.” ~ Harry B. Cook, Southwest Missouri State University, April 3 “I would address this issue in two respects.In obligation to the institution, I would consult the Review Committee and the office that handles student conduct. In addition to tweaking its policies and procedures, I would hope the committee would review any precedents regarding decision reversals just in case. I would consult the student conduct officer to see if any code was violated, e.g. academic dishonesty, providing false information to school official, etc. In this situation, the Review Committee would probably be the 'charging party' in any institutional judicial proceeding (notice, it's not LEGAL proceeding). Thus, I would share this information with the Review Committee and suggest they review the student's conduct history, for it may be relevant. If it appeared as if charges might be forthcoming, I would recommend they first involve the ADA or Health Services offices in verifying the validity of the medical documentation in the student's file. They did keep a file on this, didn't they? My second obligation is to the student. And while I am aware of the difficulty and tensions involved, it is not an obligation I can take lightly. I would not confront the student, nor accuse the student. But I would have a dialogue with him. I would meet with him and be upfront with him about overhearing him. I would listen in good faith to his response and continue the conversation. If I felt he was being honest or not, I would say so, and continue non-judgementally, hoping to explore our mutual views on ethics and responsibility. I would also be forthcoming about the impact of the situation; that the review committee is revamping its policies and considering institutional judicial charges against him. I would then be prepared to refer him to an appropriate adviser in this respect. I'd later follow up, if possible, to honestly see how the student is doing and seek his reflections on his experience. ” ~ Stan Dura, Zayed University, United Arab Emirates, April 3 “I think I generally agree with Carol Gilster's approach overall. There is no question I would set up an appointment with the student, confront him directly with what I overheard, and allow him the opportunity to respond. I would likely ask his permission to contact the Dr.'s office to verify the documentation. From that point I would probably request that the Committee rescind its previous decision, based upon new information. I would decide upon separate (from academic) disciplinary action based upon the student's responses during our discussion. If he is contrite, realizes the circumstances and consequences, that is, learned a hard lesson in ethical behavior, I would likely not pursue that option.”~ Tom Grites, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, April 3 “You could stop this entire situation from happening by simply verifying the student's medical documentation with the Medical Professional whose name appears on the documentation before granting the request to withdraw. Basically, you need to be an Academic Adviser/Investigator. In my experience that is what has been done.”~ Ryan Gray, University of Illinois, April 4 “I disagree with those who say that you have to accept the decision and avoid the 'can of worms.'First, I would attempt to contact the medical practitioners to verify whether or not they supplied the excuse. If they did, then Sam's friends need to get a new friend; if they did not, then it is time to bring Sam in for a discussion of his activities and your institution's misconduct rules. I cannot imagine that any institution lacks rules regulating presentation of false documents to a school official. In a meeting with an authoritative witness – both for Sam's protection and mine – I would confront him with the issue, although I would not tell him how I figured it out; then I would turn the matter over to whatever board is responsible for such misconduct. In my letter about the incident, I would suggest revocation of the drop, reinstatement of the bad grades, and dismissal from the institution.” ~ Wayne DeYoung, Ohio State University, April 12 The Mentor is published by Penn State's Division of Undergraduate Studies Available online at www.psu.edu/dus/mentor/ Privacy and Legal Statements | Copyright | © The Pennsylvania State University | All rights reserved | |
