Student Rights and Responsibilities’ restorative justice program receives permanent funding
KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Western Michigan University President Edward Montgomery allocated permanent funds in late September 2024 for the continuation of the Student Rights and Responsibilities (SRR) restorative justice program. Based on restorative justice principles, four non-conduct conflict resolution processes have been implemented to offer students alternatives to the traditional conduct procedures. In addition to addressing a wider range of student behavior concerns, the program has resulted in greater student engagement, lower recidivism and put a greater emphasis on holistic student growth and education.
In 2022, the Department of Student Affairs spearheaded the pilot program and received three years of funding for development and implementation. This included updating the division name from Student Conduct to Student Rights and Responsibilities and hiring an associate dean/director position to develop and run the restorative justice program. The goal of the program was to create a student-centric process rooted in listening, learning, empathy and collaborative problem solving.
“WMU and today’s students are ready to engage in processes where they continue to be heard and valued in every choice they make in their lives,” says Dr. Reetha Raveendran, associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students. “It is an educational process that moves away from a sanctions-only approach.”
Prior to the restorative justice program, sanctions-only approaches funneled all student behavior concerns traditional academic and non-academic adjudication processes regardless of severity. According to Dr. Sarah Meiser, associate dean of students and director of student rights and responsibilities, there are many types of concerns that don’t necessarily benefit from the formal adjudication process, including instances of verbal harassment, emotional distress or financial harm.
“A lot of the situations that we deal with that are really concerning and problematic don’t actually violate university policy because of free speech and things like that,” she says. “This gives us some ability to address those situations more successfully. ... Students aren’t trying to go out and break a bunch of policies and ruin a bunch of people’s days. But mistakes happen, and sometimes students need to go through something to resolve the harm that was caused.”
When alleged student behavior clashes with University expectations, non-conduct resolutions are an excellent alternative for addressing it without infringing on a student’s rights. These processes provide spaces for facilitated dialogue, mediation, risk management and restorative practices that encourage experiential learning on the part of the students involved. By focusing on repairing harm through education, students are privy to a more inclusive, empathetic and equitable process.
“The conflict resolution process has opened so many options up for students in our office and allowed us to truly be focused on both wellness and personal responsibility,” notes Joe Erskine, assistant director of student rights and responsibilities. “It's great to see students take ownership over their part in the process and work through issues rather than just see us as the ‘trouble’ office.”
The development of the current program was a campuswide effort. SRR staff worked closely with Health Promotion and Education to develop the Medical Amnesty program for students seeking help for alcohol or drug-related medical emergencies, as well as the Alcohol and Drug Action Plan to Thrive (ADAPT), an alternative resolution process offered for first-time, low-level alcohol and cannabis possession or use incidents. Housing and Residence Life hall directors were also trained extensively in restorative processes for ADAPT and fire safety concerns in the residence halls.
“There is a lot of existing data showing that these methods have proven to be very effective at a variety of campuses across the country,” says Jeremy Ynclan, assistant director of housing and residence life. “Given how unpredictable our students can be with their conduct at times, it is important for us to have a wide range of options at our disposal to address those behaviors.”
Early data on the pilot program suggests that students have responded well to the additional options. Since its inception, 83% of students have opted in to the Restorative Process, while 85% of students have responded to offers for ADAPT or Fire Safety education in lieu of entering the formal adjudication process. This tremendous success and the allocation of permanent funding to continue its expansion has proven extremely validating for SRR staff.
“We hoped for years to try and bring this kind of process to our office and finally we were able to do so through Sarah’s leadership and experience,” says Erskine. “President Montgomery assuring us permanent funding puts the final stamp of approval on the program that makes all the work and effort worth it. We feel heard and seen, as do the students utilizing the new processes.”
For Meiser, the permanent funding also aligns with Western’s commitment to the Okanagan Charter and its overarching philosophy of being a health and well-being promoting institution. “Western is really doing what they say they value by developing programs and funding for those programs to support the idea that we really want healthy people, a healthy community and we are investing not only money but time and resources to support that.”
Although the restorative processes do not eliminate the need for policy enforcement or a formal disciplinary process, a shift towards solving most student behavior concerns with non-conduct conflict resolution is a key goal for SRR. In addition to offering a full spectrum of conflict resolution options, the department hopes to continue building a network of restorative justice facilitators across campus in the coming months. They also aim to create a campus culture that encourages students to resolve conflicts through communication.
“At the end of the day, we want to help our students learn and grow, become ethical human beings and have a safe campus environment,” says Meiser. “The restorative process does that as successfully, and in some areas more successfully, than our adjudication process because students have more agency. They’re really in the driver’s seat and can determine if they’re going to make a choice that’s good for them and for others.”
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