Community Service as a Disciplinary Tool
Ed Shenk, Ed.D.
ISSUE No. 3 November 2002
Synopsis
Dealing with student discipline has long been a challenge for most student services professionals. While issues must be handled swiftly and consistently, the process can allow for less serious violations to become teachable moments. In this article, Dr. Shenk shares his idea of using community service as part of the disciplinary process and discusses the framework in which it becomes a viable option for consideration.

Article
Of the varied tasks assigned in our area, I would venture to say that student discipline places the greatest stress on today's student services professional. While we have recently seen an escalation in incidents involving greater levels of violence, many “traditional” student code of conduct violations still occur. It is these traditional types of violations for which I am proposing a new approach to disciplinary action: community service.

As I mentioned when I presented this topic at the NASPA Region 5 and 6 Conference in Portland on November 8, 2002, student services were envisioned in the late 1800’s as a branch of the president’s office.  One of the primary purposes was to address students who disrupted the teaching-learning process. Today, classroom behavioral boundaries have become blurred because of drugs, rudeness, gang-related interactions, harassment, and other disruptive conduct.

Instructors and staff are often intimidated by the threatening behavior of a student they view as a “dangerous character.” As a result, they are unsure how to address the behavior, and a common reaction is to kick the student out of class, in some situations, permanently.

The president, faculty leaders, and many administrators want swift and certain action. The desired goal in many cases is to remove the student violator from the educational environment. However, the administrator in charge of student discipline must carefully follow district regulations governing violations of the student code of conduct, thus preventing lawsuits and protecting the victims (often faculty and staff) while ensuring due process for the violator.

Historically, disciplinary action ranges from a warning to a lengthy suspension or expulsion from the campus. Even though the violator may be young and may not possess conventional social skills, the traditional responses for code of conduct violations on most campuses are as follows: removal from class, verbal warning, written reprimand, prohibition from entering certain parts of the campus, or suspension from the campus. Actions required for serious violations, such as threats of violence against people or property, usually focus on suspension or expulsion.

While removing the student may be most appropriate in such serious situations, in lesser violations (talking in class, harassment, rudeness, or first-time violation of drug use), a different approach may offer students the chance to learn from their errors by becoming more involved in the institution.

So what exactly am I proposing? During the twenty years I have administered the student code of conduct, I have come to believe that the administrative due process hearing can be a teachable moment. I have talked to students whose parents were mortified to learn about the problems their son or daughter created, and the student is equally embarrassed. During informal hearings, I have often found the student violator to be truly interested in my advice on ways to prevent future reoccurrences. I believe the violator becomes a better student at this moment and possibly a better citizen.

Of course, this approach does not work in all cases. I have tried to dialogue with the students who were not listening, were combative, or were not even "there" while I conducted the informal hearing as part of their due process. However, sometimes teachable moments do occur, giving rise to my new approach.

If the student violation is partly a result of a campus disconnect, then this concept of community service on campus may be one way to prevent future violations and bring the student into campus life. I recently used this concept with a student whom I disciplined for hitting another student.  Despite this being his second violation of this type, the circumstances surrounding each incident did not warrant a major removal from campus. (The first time the student was defending himself and the second time involved an argument with his roommate over a girlfriend.) The young man had good grades and was sincerely remorseful.

I decided to place the student on disciplinary probation and require him to complete 10 hours of community service through the Office of Student Life. He was also to write about the experience before he transferred to a four-year school. He completed the hours and indicated that the activity gave him a greater understanding of the college and how students can become more involved in activities. Of course, I did have to hold his transcripts to get the written summary of the experience. However, I will try this approach again when the situation warrants.  I feel that taking this action was much better then removing him from class, which would have further reduced his opportunity to be successful on campus socially and academically.

So, does it make a difference, and how would you know in which situations to use this form of discipline? There are no easy answers in student discipline; so much depends upon consistent administration of the regulations and treatment of student violators. However, part of our role is to allow students who make mistakes to have a second chance and to learn from their errors. The removal from class or the campus still remain options that I will use to discipline dangerous or unwilling participants.  However, I meet more students who need to be connected to the institution and give back to atone for their inappropriate actions.

Thus, time helping instructors prepare for class, assisting the Office of Student Activities to set up events, cleaning up the campus of trash, or helping prepare for high school breakfasts become options which may change students forever by helping them gain a greater appreciation for the disruption, damage or hurt inflicted on the victim through the use of their time to repay via community service.

Student discipline is constantly under scrutiny and dynamic change, and campus leaders must address on a smaller scale the same problems occurring in the greater society. But if we are to make a difference to the "fringe" students, I am advocating for the discovery of the “teachable moment” in the disciplinary process and encouraging those who administer discipline to explore new ways to reach students. One way to create the campus connection for troubled students may be community service.
The Author

Ed Shenk, Ed.D.

Vice President of Student Services
Napa College

Dr. Ed Shenk has been a highly visible leader within Student Services for many years. He served on the executive board of CCCCSSAA (California Community College Chief Student Services Administrators Association) for seven years and was president of the organization in 1991-92. He continues to represent the field by serving on many statewide committees and special task forces.

Having a special interest in leadership and professional development, Dr. Shenk was instrumental in initiating the Student Services Training Institute in which hundreds of California student services professionals have participated. He is a frequent facilitator, trainer, and speaker at local colleges and for statewide and national organizations the most recent of which was at the NASPA Regional 5-6 Conference in Portland Oregon. At this conference, he was recognized as the Outstanding Dean in NASPA’s Region 6.

Ed has been an administrator at Napa College since 1975 and, since 1987, has held the position of Vice President of Student Services. Throughout this time he has been active in the community as a member of the Napa City-County Library Foundation, the Napa United Way Coordinating Council, the American Heart Association, and as a board member and former president of the Napa Chamber of Commerce. Most recently he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Napa County Hispanic Network.

Dr. Shenk attended San Diego State University where he received a B.A. in History and an M.P.A. in Public Administration. He earned his Ed.D. in Higher Education from the University of Oregon.