Examining the role of the student conduct advisor at public institutions within an alternative dispute resolution framewor

Student discipline is one of the biggest challenges faced by college and university administrators today. One of the primary goals of student discipline is student development. Promoting student development within the current student conduct framework is difficult. One of the campus administrators who can help to promote student development within the student conduct process is the student conduct advisor. Little research has addressed the role of the student conduct advisor. This multi-method study examined the role of the student conduct advisor within an alternative dispute resolution framework. Alternative dispute resolution is the method of resolving disputes outside of the court context. Using the Guill (1997) framework for evaluating dispute resolution systems, student conduct administration analysis was done to provide a comprehensive view of student conduct processes. Then, examining the use of student conduct advisors at four-year, public institutions provided insight into how institutions view the role of the student conduct advisor.;The findings indicated that student conduct administration is a form of binding arbitration. Binding arbitration is an adversarial form of alternative dispute resolution. Findings from four-year public institutions revealed that 95% of institutions allow student conduct advisors and 70% of institutions allow attorney-advisors to accompany students through the conduct proceedings. These findings suggest that the role of the student conduct advisor must be taken into account and more closely examined at public institutions. These conclusions have implications for public institutions and how they define the role of the student conduct advisor. These findings highlight the continued division of how different entities believe the student conduct advisor should be used in student conduct proceedings. Suggested areas of future research include qualitative studies of students' perceptions of student conduct advisors' roles as well as more qualitative analyses on student conduct advisors at both public and private institutions.