Date of Award

12-19-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Education

First Advisor

Felice Billups

Committee Members

Dawn Montagna, Suzanne Buglione

Abstract

Student conduct administrators are charged with crafting and enforcing an institution’s code of conduct equitably for all students. Few administrators are in a position to disrupt or end a student’s college career. Public institutions’ administrators function as state actors and must uphold the student rights protected in the landmark 1961 Dixon v. Alabama Board of Education Supreme Court decision. Thus, conduct administrators have a professional obligation to act with integrity and balance the authority of the institution with the rights of the student. This balance includes enforcing policy while considering the context and lived experiences of students. Further, when working with underserved populations like first-generation students, conduct administrators need to be aware of their implicit bias in adjudicating decisions to avoid arbitrary outcomes or disproportionate sanctioning. First-generation students face unique challenges when navigating college systems resulting from their social capital deficit, often-minoritized identity, and low socioeconomic status (Almeida et al., 2019; Capannola & Johnson, 2022; Radunzel, 2021). Due to these factors, degree attainment is critical for these students to make meaningful advances in wage gain and financial security. To address a literature gap regarding first-generation experiences in student conduct processes, this collective instrumental case study explored three public institutions in the Northeast with large first-generation enrollments and robust first-generation support systems to identify best practices and policies. Recommendations for intentional and proactive support for first-generation students may inform campus administrators and student conduct professional organizations about ways to assist this important student population.

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