The Law, policy and governance competency is defined as “knowledge, skills, and attitudes relating to policy development processes used in various contexts, the
application of legal constructs, and the understanding of governance structures” (NASPA & ACPA, 2010, p. 20). My experiences and coursework have helped me attain an acceptable level of knowledge and skills in this competency.

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My professional experience as a graduate resident director for program houses has been a significant area where I have applied legislation and legal constructs to housing policies and administrative processes. One of my students this year failed to timely file the administrative paperwork in order to have an accommodation for a guide dog. This student was unable to follow the typical administrative process for registering the accommodation and therefore there were no support structures in place to notify the residential education staff. Although  we were a small school, we failed to make our organizational structure flexible to accommodate this students needs. Our initial policy stated that I needed to enforce the pet policy for this student—which would have meant that the guide dog would have been considered a non-essential pet and would need to be removed within 24 hours. Through learning about the American Disabilities Act, I advocated that we create an alternate solution for this student because a guide dog was necessary with this students success. In addition to wanting to support the student, it was important to make the argument that allowing the student to stay in the residence hall with the guide dog would also ensure that Oberlin remained ADA compliant.
 

This challenging professional experience motivated me to take the Higher Education Law class in the spring of 2013. This course covered a range of basic legal constructs as it pertains to our roles as administrators in higher education. The class has been a truly informative educational experience and has given me a greater knowledge and understanding of how constitutional rights, tort law, and legislative acts have all shaped the organizations that we govern.

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