The Law, Policy, and Governance competency area includes the knowledge, skills, and dispositions relating to policy development processes used in various contexts, the application of legal constructs, compliance/policy issues, and the understanding of governance structures and their impact on one’s professional practice.

While the process of establishing policy is fairly easy to observe in most employment settings, until the beginning of last semester, I knew very little about laws that apply to Higher Education and the ways in which the law and Higher Education policy intersect. Fortunately, the course I took in the law of Higher Education has largely filled that knowledge gap. As a result of taking this course, I can articulate basic legal theories, the laws that affect professional practice in Higher Education, and the ways in which the law and institutional policy depend upon one another. Institutions generally do a good job of training employees on relevant legal dimensions of their work, however, I now possess a deeper understanding than a single training can provide.

In my experience, policies in colleges and universities are usually set informally and tend to be utilitarian. However, now that I know courts can rely on institutional policy in the event of a legal challenge, I am even more sensitive to the fairness and equity dimensions of policy as well. Understanding the appropriate circumstance to bend a policy rule can be challenging, especially because exceptions to policy are usually handled on a case-by-case basis. As a result, I always consult a supervisor or colleague when determining whether to make an exception.

Currently, I am at a Foundational level of mastery in this area, apart from the Intermediate rubric item, “Explain legal theories related to tort liability, negligence, the exercise and limits of free speech, discrimination, and contract law and how these theories affect professional practice.” In order to grow in this area, I need to be employed in a student affairs position. This will allow me to better understand how an institution’s governance affects my work and to be able to seek student feedback on policies that affect them. My job in admissions generally does not consult students because its function is to evaluate them. And while I can discuss equity issues in relation to admissions policy, I cannot affect the admissions policy I am required to follow. I look forward to hearing student perspectives on institutional policy and to opportunities to speak to stakeholders who influence policy creation. This will give me a deeper understanding of how governance and policy at my future institution will affect my practice and my students.