Incorporating Restorative Justice Practices (RJPs) into disciplinary policies and practices on a college campus can be beneficial to both the students and the administration. By helping students understand how their actions may have directly hurt others as well as the more remote consequences of their actions, they are more likely to be remorseful to those they hurt, are less likely to reoffend, and may develop a stronger sense of their relationship with the rest of the school community. Listed on this page are resources for colleges to receive encouragement and guidance on how to incorporate RJPs into disciplinary policies and protocol.
Resources
-Restorative Justice on the College Campus; Promoting Student Growth, Responsibility, and Reawakening the Spirit of Campus Community This chapter discusses the value of RJPs integrated on campus. It reviews the principles of RJPs, making suggestions on how to best implement them and outlining some benefits for campus community and mentality. The restitution process is defined and the relative effectiveness of RJPs compared to fining students is explained. Multiple restorative justice models are highlighted to compare and contrast their differences. Read more here: https://www.skidmore.edu/campuslife/karp/book-chapters/Introducing-Restorative-Justice-to-the-Campus-Community.pdf
-Applying Restorative Justice to Higher/Tertiary Education in the U.S. This informative resource demonstrates successful use of RJPs in higher education, outlining examples of different colleges and universities throughout the country that are participating in restorative practices. This powerpoint highlights Colorado State University, University of Michigan, and University of Colorado at Boulder. All three of these universities take different approaches to including RJPs on their campus. Colorado State University incorporates RJPs in their Judicial Office by conducting Victim/Offender Restorative Conferences. University of Michigan uses RJPs as part of their Housing Department in resolving housing conflicts. University of Colorado at Boulder utilizes RJPs within Municipal Connection in promoting restorative processes involving students and the greater Boulder community. This powerpoint includes quotes from students reflecting on their experience with RJPs on their college campuses. Statistics are also included and references to further studies on using RJPs in disciplinary practices are provided. Read more here: http://www.iirp.edu/pdf/Hull-2010/Hull-2010-Pierson.pdf
-Restorative Justice on the College Campus; Integrity Boards This chapter outlines the use of “integrity boards” on campus as an alternative to the more commonplace judicial board and, in some cases, an alternative to reconciling conflicts through the judicial system. “Judicial boards are widely used on college and university campuses. Many include students as members. Nevertheless, the typical judicial board differs from restorative justice integrity boards in both process and outcomes. Integrity boards are particularly concerned with a process that encourages trust, emotional expression, and community building. These go far beyond (but include) the more common concern with fair and equitable treatment that judicial boards promote. Integrity boards seek creative outcomes that strive to repair harm and reintegrate offenders and victims.” (Karp) Find out how you can make integrity boards part of your campus disciplinary practice. Read the chapter here: https://www.skidmore.edu/campusrj/karp-vitae-files/book-chapters/Integrity-Boards.pdf
-Making Things Right: Restorative Justice Comes to Campuses This article discusses how RJPs are used to reconcile conflicts on the campus of University of Colorado at Boulder. CU-Boulder provides an inspiring example as the first campus to formally adopt RJPs. You may prepare to approach the implementation of RJPs on your campus as you read about their approach, including successes and failures. Read the article here: http://www.campus-adr.org/cmher/reportarticles/Edition1_1/Restorative1_1.html
-Restorative School Discipline: Chapter 1 “This chapter presents an overall picture of the features that provide the foundation for a restorative discipline approach to school policies and practices. It also offers a process for planning and introducing restorative discipline in the school, along with providing essential information for sharing with the school community toward ensuring ownership of a whole-school approach.” (Restorative School Discipline) Read the whole chapter here: http://www.corwin.com/upm-data/50294_Pages_from_Meyer_The_School_Leader's_Guide_to_Restorative_School_Discipline_Final_3.pdf
-Restorative Justice on the College Campus: Promoting Student Growth and Responsibility, and Reawakening the Spirit of Campus Community This textbook was co-written by David R. Karp, the Director of the Restorative Justice Project at Skidmore University. The book is broken up into four sections, with the first section discussing RJPs in K-12 education and also in adult criminal sentencing, and the second section of the book describing common RJPs. It is in the third and fourth where content on RJPs as part of disciplinary protocol on college/university campuses are discussed. The third section analyzes certain problems that college students face, such as binge drinking and date rape, and how restorative justice practices can help mitigate the after-effects. The fourth section looks to the future of college campuses, and how they can be improved by incorporating restorative justice practices in their disciplinary policies. The book can be bought here: http://www.amazon.com/Restorative-Justice-College-Campus-Responsibility/dp/0398075166
-The Little Book of RJ for Colleges and Universities Also written by David R. Karp, this Little Book is a concise and easy read on using RJPs as a method for conflict resolution on campuses. It is “a call to colleges and universities to consider implementing restorative practices on their campuses, ensuring fair treatment of students and staff, while minimizing institutional liability, protecting the campus community, and boosting morale. From an Associate Dean of Student Affairs who has put these models to work on his campus.” (Amazon review) The book can be bought here: http://www.amazon.com/Little-Restorative-Justice-Colleges-Universities/dp/1561487961
-Skidmore College Project on Restorative Justice Skidmore College has a highly developed Project on Restorative Justice that conducts research, teaching, training, and technical assistance for restorative justice projects in schools, universities, communities, and criminal justice systems. On their website, they provide multiple resources on how RJPs can be used as a part of disciplinary policies and protocol. Restorative Justice for College Student Misconduct is one of their resources that provides general ideas on how RJPs can be implemented on your campus while also providing valuable tools for training. See the page here: https://www.skidmore.edu/campusrj/campusrj.php
-Campus PRISM: Promoting Restorative Initiatives for Sexual Misconduct on college campuses This “is a project to incorporate restorative justice principles into responses to the problem of campus sexual violence. . . The current climate on campus is highly adversarial, which may lead to increased litigation, reduced reporting, and negative psychological and academic outcomes for complainants and respondents in Title IX cases.” (CAMPUS PRISM) By incorporating RJPs on campus, people affected by sexual violence will have less of a fear in reporting, and can be a part of a meaningful process meant to repair – as much as possible - the harm done. For more information on the use of RJPs and sexual misconduct, visit their website at: http://www.skidmore.edu/campusrj/prism.php
-Use of Restorative Justice Improves Campus Behavior This article looks at the process that James Madison University went through to make RJPs a part of their disciplinary policies. JMU realized that these practices could transform the way they handled student misconduct. JMU and other universities committed themselves to intense training at Eastern Mennonite University, where they learned to be facilitators for RJPs and how to implement them on their campuses. Josh Bacon, JMU’s Director of Office of Judicial Affairs, had a positive experience going through the trainings and immediately recognized how these practices could impact his students. “‘After 12 years of looking at problems through a judicial lens, restorative justice has rejuvenated my career,’ says Bacon. ‘I’m actually enjoying my work these days. I walk out on campus, feeling good, with my head held high, and so does everyone else involved in the process, including the students who have taken responsibility for the harms they caused and are now fixing them. It’s a great feeling.’” (Lofton) Read the full article here: http://emu.edu/now/news/2010/04/use-of-restorative-justice-improves-campus-behavior/
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