Search Reslife.net
		Community Review Boards By Bryan L. Bain, Residence Hall Director, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Leadership and community development are primary goals of most university residence halls. Therefore, training our student staff members to build community and promote leadership by utilizing a variety of methods is essential. Teaching them how to plan programs, confront inappropriate behaviors, become peer helpers, and helping them understand the importance of diversity is only a short list of topics sure to be covered in any resident assistant or community advisor fall training. However, at the heart of leadership and community development is student participation. Studies have shown that if students are not involved in their community, they will feel less connected to the university. Residence halls are an excellent place for student’s to become involved, thus they play an integral role in student development. Most residence halls offer floor and hall government opportunities, activities and programs, involvement in university events such as homecoming, etc. Inherent in the mission of the Department of Residence Life at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh is the opportunity for students to participate in decision-making, leadership, and governance. In order to assess current leadership opportunities and provide future ones, the Department of Residence Life participated in a Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) process from 1995 – 1996. From this process developed a Student Conduct CQI Committee comprised of student leaders, hall directors, residence life administrators, and other student affairs professionals. This committee was charged with examining the student conduct process and to identify how students could become more involved. In the summer of 1996, this committee submitted a student conduct proposal with the following six objectives on how students could become more involved in their community through the student conduct process: Increase basic participatory skills, such as listening, speaking, and working in small groups Aid in the acquisition of knowledge Aid personal development that would foster self-esteem and social perspective taking Develop in students the ability to understand democratic values and acquire social responsibility Develop in students the ability to reason about moral and ethical issues at the highest possible stage of moral development on the Kohlberg scale Develop in students a better understanding of what a community is and how to be a positive, contributing member of a community Essentially, the Community Review Board (CRB) was the fruit of that committee’s labor. The main objective was (and still is) a disciplinary process that encourages peer moral authority over members of a community. Research has shown that by having an external moral authority, community members may abdicate their ability to make individual moral decisions, thus creating a decision-making process focused on the community rather than the individual. Even the name Community Review Board was intentional in order to express the inclusion of peers as the primary board members and to have an educational rather than punitive focus. Obviously there were numerous other considerations regarding the suggested changes in the student conduct process. Some of those considerations were language that’s conducive to community building, community (floor) contracts and meetings, and community based or educational sanctions. There were also numerous considerations for the creation of the Community Review Board. Some of these considerations were structure, marketing and recruitment, the process, training, confidentiality, legal issues, and changes to the student handbook. In the end, the committee developed the following CRB meeting procedures: Introduction and explanation of the process by the CRB Chairperson The accused student reads and signs the incident report Questions are asked and comments are made by board members, the accused student, the staff member who documented the situation, and any witnesses CRB board members deliberate in private (only the advisor may remain in the room) CRB Chairperson renders decision to the accused student Accused student can request an appeal as outlined in the student handbook The committee also developed other CRB procedures. First, hall directors would decide what cases went to the CRB. Once cases were assigned, the CRB would have the same “authority” as the hall director. The meetings would run very similarly to those conducted by the hall director except that CRB members would elect a chairperson, and in order to protect student rights, he or she would have an exact script to follow. The CRB would consist of three to five members from the community to serve on the board. There could be no more than one hall staff member and no more than one hall government executive board member on the board at one time. Also, if a board member’s roommate had a CRB meeting, he or she could not serve during that case. All members of the board must have received both departmental and in-hall training and signed a CRB member contract. CRB meetings could be open or closed and boards would always have an ex-officio advisor (primarily the hall director) present. Furthermore, all CRB board members must be in good standing at the university. At this point in time, the Department of Residence Life was ready to test the CRB process. During the fall semester of 1996, a CRB pilot program was initiated in three residence halls. During the spring semester of 1997, a committee examined the effectiveness of the program and made any necessary adjustments. The results were positive and in the fall semester of 1997, the CRB program was up and running in every residence hall. The Department of Residence Life has remained committed to the CRB process ever since. In fact, this past year we created a new student staff member position for every residence hall. This staff member serves on the hall staff team and is the primary advisor to the CRB. In the fall semester of 2002, the Community Review Board will be celebrating its sixth year in existence. While changes in time, technology, laws, and the forms we use have somewhat altered the CRB process, the purpose and intent remains the same. The Community Review Board is a peer student conduct board that upholds community standards and university policies, increases basic participatory skills of students, and develops in students democratic values, social responsibility, and an understanding of community. Peer judicial boards are an excellent way for students to gain experience and knowledge outside the classroom. They are also a way for students to have a voice in a decision-making process. A good number of our students that serve the CRB also end up serving on the university-wide judicial board that hears cases involving suspension and expulsion from the university. I have to admit that I was skeptical of the CRB concept when it first started; however, I have witnessed first-hand the effectiveness of the Community Review Board and will continue to support utilizing them in our residence hall system. About the Author Bryan L. Bain has worked at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh since 1999. He currently serves as a Residence Hall Director. As apart of his special assignments, Bryan has also served as a Residence Life Judicial Officer, a University Investigating Officer, and co-coordinator of the Community Review Boards. Bryan is a member of ASJA (Association for Student Judicial Affairs), ACPA (American College Personnel Association), and served as an executive board member of WCPA (Wisconsin College Personnel Association).