Judicial Affairs awarded
Posted on February 28, 2008
The hard work of JMU’s Office of Judicial Affairs has garnered a national award from the American College Personnel Association.
The ACPA Gold Award for the Emerging Best Practice in Student Affairs Assessment for civic learning will be awarded in Atlanta on Saturday, March 29 to Josh Bacon, the director of the JMU Office of Judicial Affairs.
The civic learning program began two years ago and is used for the development of students who have violated a JMU policy, such as an alcohol violation and noncompliance or theft, and teaches them civic responsibility. This program allows students to focus on personal issues with a member of the faculty or staff volunteering their time to help students.
“This program is a sanction we use here with students in violation of a policy where their development is facilitated by meeting with for between 25 to 75 hours,” Bacon said.
The program allows students to work side by side with a mentor to overcome personal issues that lead to a violation of a university policy. Upon entering the program students have an intake interview to allow faculty members to further understand what is going on in the students’ life. Students found to be in violation of school policy meet with their mentor for about an hour each week. To complete the program there is a final review paper and a final interview. This process typically takes a semester or longer to complete.
According to Bacon, several students develop a relationship with their mentor and continue to meet after the completion of the program. Some students have even been able to obtain jobs at the site of their mentorship. So far 20 students who have gone through the program, while 55 are currently in the program, with 66 faculty and staff serving as mentors.
The Civic Learning Program is dually beneficial for both students and faculty, as “the relationships I’ve had with my mentees are mutually beneficial friendships. I think for the students, it’s nice to have a professional/adult friend on campus, someone with experience, an ally of sorts. And for me, it’s wonderful to take the time to sit and really “be” with this person on a regular basis. It informs all the other work with students that I do, giving me insight into the challenges they face,” said Shari Scofield, a mentor and TDU Program Coordinator, in an e-mail.
Mentors are eager to spend time with students outside of their normal roles on campus.
“It’s a great way to meet more students and have one on one time to challenge perspectives (theirs and mine). I believe that the program is in the student’s best interest, so I’m happy to volunteer my time,” said mentor Misty Newman in an e-mail.
This program allows students in violation of university policies to reevaluate their situation at JMU.
“We have been able to help people who were failing or considering dropping out and in some cases we have had students change their major,” Bacon said.
This award confirmed what Bacon called a “hunch” coming from the assessments given to the students at the beginning and end of the program.
“This program is having the most impact on students” he said.
Bacon credits the Center for Assessments and Research for helping to co-write the program, plan the program and developing the assessments for crucial feedback to help further development.
Bacon is very excited about the future of the program here at JMU.
“Awards like this will continue to get more people involved in the program.”
