Universities across the country are moving away from traditional forms of discipline to systems based more on mediation and restorative justice.
Universities originally set up legalistic discipline systems in order to stand up better in court, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. However, many schools are now choosing to focus more on building better citizens and less on judicial punishment.
The goal of using mediation and restorative justice is to distinguish university discipline systems from legal systems, Gary Dickstein, the past president of the Association for Student Conduct Administration and student judicial matters director at the Ohio-based Wright State University, said in a phone interview.
"Our job is not necessarily to be punitive," he said. "It's to be more educational. The court system can be punitive."
AU is also working to help students who end up in Judicial Affairs and Mediation Services, according to JAMS Director Rosie McSweeney.
"The philosophy of student conduct is focused on education and accountability," she said in an e-mail.
Changes are also occurring in the terminology used. Wright State, along with many other universities, are working towards a shift in language to help separate its disciplinary proceedings from legal proceedings, Dickstein said.
"When we have terminology like 'guilty,' 'innocent' and 'judges,' people begin to get confused," he said. "We use 'disciplinary.' To some people, it might be semantics, but to us, it's an important distinction, because we are not in the business of trying to take the place of the court system."
Wright State had decided to rename the Office of Student Judicial Service the Office of Community Standards and Student Conduct. The new name would be less ambiguous, Dickstein said.
AU is reviewing the language in its student conduct code, McSweeney said.
Changes in terminology would make a big difference, said Jared Alves, a freshman in the School of Public Affairs.
"To me, it just comes down to a matter of semantics," he said. "It would put it into a more informal sense. Maybe it would mean something psychologically."
James Page, a freshman in the Kogod School of Business, said he thinks moving away from legal terminology could have both costs and benefits.
"It seems a little more friendly," he said. "It makes the university seem more compassionate, but at the same time, you're babying the students."
Making sure the language adequately reflects the purpose of the student code of conduct is important, McSweeney said in the e-mail.
"We aim to educate students to be respectful and contributing citizens who make considered decisions," she said.
You can reach this staff writer at crice@theeagleonline.com.
