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Community Accountability and Conflict Education/Community Accountability/FAQs/Educational Outcomes
Educational Outcomes
For a majority of our cases heard in CACE, we seek to resolve any policy violations through what we call “educational outcomes”. These discretionary outcomes, as outlined by the Code of Conduct, seek to center the College’s philosophy around student learning. We also use these outcomes to center a restorative approach, which means want to choose outcomes that address the needs of individuals or communities harmed in a policy violation, as well as the needs of the student who may have caused the harm.
In the case of our Agreed Resolutions (informal meetings), accountability is an active process. Therefore, students have the agency to collaborate with a Resolution Coordinator (RC) and choose an outcome that best fits their situation. In order to help students do this, students can use the pathways and ideas outlined below to help choose an outcome that best addresses their situation. Still not sure? Ask your RC for ideas.
NOTE: What a student chooses is NOT limited to this list, and we encourage students to think creatively about how they can resolve a situation. This list is simply a starting point, so feel free to propose your own idea that may fit within one of the pathways below.
Educational Outcome Pathways & Ideas
- Campus Event - If an event coming up in the campus community is relevant to the violation that has occurred, you can choose to attend and do a brief summary of the event for CACE.
- Conflict Style Assessment - If you’re looking to learn more about how you show up in times of conflict, complete an assessment on your Conflict Style. This can be done alone or with a friend. You’ll then be asked to reflect on how this comes up for you in daily life.
- Hall/Community Program - Work with your residence hall staff and/or the Office of Student Engagement to put on an event. This event can be educational in nature, or it can be a social event that helps provide students with alternative activities. The staff you work with must confirm your involvement in the planning and implementation of this event.
- Educational Bulletin Board - In the case of vandalism to a bulletin board or if the student believes the community may need more awareness around a topic, you can work with your RA to complete a bulletin board for your community. The design must be approved by CACE in advance.
- Educational Flyer - If the behavior is something you believe a community may need more awareness on, create a flyer for your community on a policy or topic agreed upon with your RC. Send a copy of this flyer to CACE for approval and then work with your community to distribute the flyer after approval.
- Explore Campus Opportunities - If actions have stemmed from a student feeling a lack of belonging on campus or not having alternative things to do, a student can choose to find opportunities to get involved on campus. This can be working with the Office of Student Engagement or ASLC to find a club on campus and attend a meeting, or it can be researching offices on campus that you think would be helpful to your success.
- Letter to My Future Self - Using the website “Future Me”, a student can write a reflective letter to their future self about their values and lessons learned in their experience with this policy violation. A copy will need to be submitted to CACE, but students can select when the letter is sent to them.
- Letter to a Mentor - Write a letter to a mentor or someone important to you, such as a faculty member, parent or advisor, to explain the incident and your behaviors. You can choose whether to send the letter or not.
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Reflection Paper - Using a rubric provided by your Resolution Coordinator/CACE, write a paper about your experience, the impact you had, and your plans for behavior change in the future. Types of reflection papers can include:
- Policy review and reflection on why it may be in place
- College Mission review and reflection of values
- Reflection on those, both students and staff, who may have been impacted by your actions.
- Research Paper - Using a rubric provided by your Resolution Coordinator/CACE, write a research paper about a topic related to the policy you have violated. Please cite all sources used.
- TED Talk Reflection - If there is a TED talk that is particularly relevant to your topic, you can choose to watch this TED talk and reflect on what you have learned.
- ‘This I Believe’ Project - For a student in search of their core values, they can listen to three “This I Believe” podcasts on the NPR website and write reflection essay about their core beliefs. Podcast links will be shared in the your outcome letter.
- Alternative Break Program - Work with the Center for Social Change & Community Involvement to attend a volunteer program taking place over a break period, such as Spring Break. This is similar to Positive Action Hours.
- Conflict Style Assessment - If you’re looking to learn more about how you show up in times of conflict, complete an assessment on your Conflict Style. This can be done alone or with a friend. You’ll then be asked to reflect on how this comes up for you in daily life.
- Educational/Informational Interview - To learn more about a topic area, schedule a meeting with a staff member to discuss that topic. For example, if you would like to learn about the hours that go into Housekeeping staff keeping our halls clean, schedule a meeting with Facilities. *Note - Your RC will need to confirm with the staff member that they are open to this meeting first.*
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Supportive meeting with staff - When further mentorship is needed, you can choose to meet with a staff member to connect about your experience. *Note - Your RC will need to confirm with the staff member that they are open to this meeting first.*
Staff Offices that have already spoken with CACE about this or who have hosted meetings in the past are:
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- International Students & Scholars
- Financial Aid
- Facilities Services
- College Advising Center
- Athletics
- Campus Living
- Student Engagement
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- Research Paper - Using a rubric provided by your Resolution Coordinator/CACE, write a research paper about a topic related to the policy you have violated. Please cite all sources used.
- TED Talk Reflection - If there is a TED talk that is particularly relevant to your topic, you can choose to watch this TED talk and reflect on what you have learned.
- Career Center Meeting - If behavior stems form anxiety or uncertainty around a career path, schedule a meeting with the career center to talk about this anxiety. Have the Career Center confirm this meeting to CACE after you submit a short summary of your discussion.
- Financial Literacy Program - Meet with the Office of Financial Aid to complete a financial literacy program that can help with you learning about money management and loans, if this a stress area contributing to decision making concerns.
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Meeting with Case Management - If you’re interested in learning about about resources on or off campus that can help support your well-being, a meeting with Case Management can help you learn what’s available and how to access it.
Some of the ways that case management can support you:
- Identifying resources in the community and on campus that may be beneficial to you, such as off-campus mental health care, psychiatry, and public benefits
- Accessing and coordinating those resources
- Navigating systems, such as health insurance
- Navigating complicated or difficult situations
- Building self-advocacy skills
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Meeting with the Palatine Support Network -
For student’s who may be looking to get a student perspective on an issue, you can choose to connect with the Palatine Support Network. The Palatine Support Network (PSN), formerly called the Pio Support Network, aims to provide students with a peer-led, free, mental health resource in the form of a space for conversation and connection at LC. They hold weekly meetings in their office, in the Fowler Student Center, where students come to talk about school, work, mental health, friendships, and anything else that they want to share. Their trained facilitators foster an open, empathetic, and respectful group dialogue through engaging with students in support groups.Groups are facilitated by students who guide open-ended conversations and are knowledgeable about on-campus resources. Facilitators receive training from a mental health professional who works in collaboration with PSN, providing guidance about facilitation skills. At these weekly group meetings, group facilitators are responsible for creating an emotionally and mentally accessible atmosphere and an inclusive and engaging dialogue.PSN also puts on monthly events that are open to the entire Lewis & Clark student body. The goal of these events is to create community and peer connections through activities with a mental health focus. Past events have included succulent potting, arts and crafts such as collaging, and board game events! PSN also hopes to encourage LC students to seek additional support by providing resources to connect students to healthcare professionals on- and off-campus.
- Make an Academic/Graduation Plan - If your needs center around finding your path here at LC, you can work with the College Advising Center to create or update their 4-year plan. This discussion should also include resources the CAC can offer to help you be successful in achieving this plan, such as tutoring, SQRC, etc.
- Public Transportation Assignment - For students who may have violated transportation & parking policy on campus or who are looking for ways to get out into the Portland community without a vehicle, a student can create a resource on alternative transportation methods available to students in Portland, including options, costs, schedules & routes.
- Relationship Boundaries Conversation - In the Office of Health Promotion & Wellness, you can talk to a graduate staff member about how to set healthy boundaries and say no to your peers when it comes to policy violations. Health Promotion & Wellness should confirm this meeting with CACE after you submit a short summary.
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Reflect, Inform, Support & Empower (RISE) - For issues relating to substance use, this program that includes a survey and meeting with Health Promotion & Wellness can help you better understand your relationship with substances and reduce risk.
R.I.S.E. conversations can look a lot of different ways, but our focus is always on finding what you feel would be most helpful. Examples include:
- Working toward any substance-related goal you might have, such as cutting back, quitting, or using a substance in a safer way.
- Processing difficult or challenging substance-related experiences.
- Supporting your choice to abstain from one or more substances, either temporarily or indefinitely.
- Finding and connecting with resources either at L&C or in the wider community.
- Semester on a Page - If skills around organization & time management are needed, you can complete an outline of your semester on a page to help with planning. Staff can help guide you in this assignment.
- Apology Letter or In-Person Apology - Connect directly with those you may have harmed to take accountability for your actions and explain how you will resolve to do things differently in the future. An apology can take place in person or by way of a written letter. CACE must get permission from the impacted party before an in-person apology can take place. Written apology letters must be reviewed by CACE prior to being sent to the impacted individuals.
- Behavior Contract - If behavior has been disruptive or harmful, create a contract with your RC that outlines expectations moving forward and the outcomes should the contract be violated.
- Educational Bulletin Board - In the case of vandalism to a bulletin board or if the student believes the community may need more awareness around a topic, you can work with your RA to complete a bulletin board for your community. The design must be approved by CACE in advance.
- Educational Flyer - If the behavior is something you believe a community may need more awareness on, create a flyer for your community on a policy or topic agreed upon with your RC. Send a copy of this flyer to CACE for approval and then work with your community to distribute the flyer after approval.
- Hall/Community Program - Work with your residence hall staff and/or the Office of Student Engagement to put on an event. This event can be educational in nature, or it can be a social event that helps provide students with alternative activities. The staff you work with must confirm your involvement in the planning and implementation of this event.
- Positive Action Hours (PAHs) - When harm has been caused to the greater community, work with your Resolution Coordinator to complete an agreed amount time doing community service work. Opportunities for community service can be found by connecting with a specific office (Facilities specific harm may require your work with Facilities) or by utilizing LC’s ‘Give Pulse’ account through the Center for Social Change & Community Involvement. This office can verify community service does through Give Pulse, but CACE also provides PAH verification sheets to students wanting to get involved. If you are disruptive during community service opportunities found on campus, this will be reported back to CACE.
- Mediation - When the harm caused is centered around a peer to peer conflict within your residence hall, you can choose to complete a mediation with the help of your RA or Area Director. The other individual involved will need to agree to this.
- Restorative Justice Circle/Conference - When harm caused to a particular person or community, creating space to take accountability and plan how everyone wants to move forward can be helpful. RJ Circle or Conferences provide an opportunity for community members to come together to address harmful behavior in a process that explores harms and needs, obligations, and necessary engagement. Involved community members include responsible parties, impacted parties, supporting parties and facilitators. Circles bring all parties together to meet, talk about what happened, and settle on a plan to repair the harm.
This idea resource is adapted by “The Guide to Creative and Educational Sanctions for Today’s College Students” by Britt Q. Hoover. The educational pathways are adapted from the article “Choose your own pathway: How letting students choose their sanctions revolutionized the student conduct process” by Evelyn L Ashley and Tony Miller Jr.
Community Accountability and Conflict Education is located in Odell Annex on the Undergraduate Campus.
MSC: 113
email cace@lclark.edu
voice 503-768-8181
Assistant Dean of Campus Life and Student Rights and Responsibilities
Jessica Caron, MEd
Community Accountability and Conflict Education
Lewis & Clark
615 S. Palatine Hill Road
Portland OR 97219