A Phenomenological Examination of the Responses to Judicialization by College Student Conduct Administrators.

A qualitative study of twelve student conduct administrators sought to capture their lived experiences relative to the impacts of federal and state regulation, case law, the media, attorney encroachment, parental involvement, and the use of litigation to supersede traditional processes on their professional work and personal lives. The interviews invited participants to share personal narratives about their lived experiences and led to the discovery of seven themes pertaining to the judicialization of their work: (1) communication, (2) conservative decision making, (3) mental health concerns, (4) responding to perceptions of what student conduct is, (5) the role of campus legal counsel, (6) the shift from being student-centered to process-centered, and (7) impacts of students' attorneys. Findings revealed that although this phenomenon has created harms for these practitioners, it has also allowed them to develop strategies for wellness, self-care, and sustainability in the profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]