Maybe I Should. . .Case Studies on Ethics for Student Affairs Professionals

Maybe I Should…Case Studies on Ethics for Student Affairs Professionals is designed to help graduate students and new to midlevel student affairs professionals heighten their knowledge of sensitivities to professional ethics in practice. Hamrick and Benjamin encourage professionals to identify and articulate plausible—as well as preferred—strategies for addressing ethically problematic situations, and develop rationales to justify particular ethical decisions and actions. Readers are provided with strategies for analyzing cases as well as a number of targeted cases for consideration and analysis. Additionally, resources and suggestions are offered to instructors and facilitators who seek to incorporate professional ethics and case study analysis into formal educational or staff development activities in student affairs.

This book grounds the ethical statements in student affairs with the literature and research of student affairs The authors point out that as a profession we must [learn to] recognize ethical situations as well analyze these situations as they arise. The case studies provide a wide variety of examples that will promote reflection and discussion among all practitioners., In our day-to-day professional activities using theories, values, and ethics of care when faced with a challenging situation may not be a common practice when making decisions. The editors and authors of Maybe I Should… remind us, through the cases presented, that moral dilemma discussions with colleagues help broaden our perspectives on what we view as "right or wrong" decisions. These decisions push the readers to engage in a mental moral musical chairs process by reviewing the situations from multiple perspectives then assessing the issue from the soul rather than policy alone., The case studies offered in Maybe I Should offer student affairs professionals, from graduate students through senior student affairs officers, the chance to consider a host of ethical challenges common in our field. The inclusion of a variety of situations, settings, and institutional types makes the book a great resource for personal reflection, professional preparation classrooms, or professional development discussions., This book will immediately become a standard text for both student affairs professionals and graduate students who wish to improve their understanding of professional ethics and their ability to apply ethical considerations to everyday practice. The rich, complex ethical dilemmas and ethics resources provided will improve both the teaching and learning of ethics in our field.

Florence A. Hamrick is associate professor of higher education at Iowa State University. Her research focuses on higher education equity, access, and success for members of historically underrepresented or non-dominant populations; and professional ethics and professionalism. Mimi Benjamin is the associate director for faculty programs in residential communities at Cornell University. Her research interests include learning communities, student affairs administration, undergraduate student experiences, and ethics.