Personal & Ethical Foundations | Higher Education Por

Personal and Ethical Foundations

Involves the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to develop and maintain integrity in one’s life and work; this includes thoughtful development, critique, and adherence to a holistic and comprehensive standard of ethics and commitment to one’s own wellness and growth. Personal and ethical foundations are aligned because integrity has an internal locus informed by a combination of external ethical guidelines, an internal voice of care, and our own lived experiences. Our personal and ethical foundations grow through a process of curiosity, reflection, and self-authorship

At the core of my professional identity is a commitment to the Personal and Ethical Foundations (PPF) competency, which ACPA & NASPA (2015) defines as the "knowledge, skills, and dispositions to develop and maintain a healthy and authentic self-awareness" that informs one’s professional practice and ethical decision-making. I lead with a personal code of ethics rooted in Prestige, Integrity, Commitment to Education, Relationships, and Growth, values I solidified during the 2022 LeaderShape Institute. I believe that transparency is the most effective motivator for achieving goals, and I apply this by ensuring that student funds and resources are utilized to authentically serve a diverse student body.

Foundational Outcome	Experience
Articulate key elements of one’s set of personal beliefs and commitments (e.g., values, morals, goals, desires, self-definitions), as well as the source of each (e.g., self, peers, family, or one or more larger communities).	In my experience supervising student employees both for Late Nite and Residential Life. I have found that transparency is the biggest motivator to achieving goals especially when they are important to you as an individual and do not closely relate to the job description. This means as a professional you have to take an introspective look at yourself and what it is you wish to achieve in order to best communicate these.
Articulate one’s personal code of ethics for student affairs practice, informed by the ethical statements of professional student affairs associations and their foundational ethical principles.	My personal code of ethics is rooted in the "excellence in innovation, leadership, and fostering diversity"; I believe in transparency and advocacy, ensuring that student funds and resources are utilized to authentically serve the diverse student body.
Describe the ethical statements and their foundational principles of any professional associations directly relevant to one’s working context.	I maintain active engagement with ACUI and NACA. These associations prioritize student development and stewardship, principles I apply daily throughout my work.
Facilitate reflection to make meaning from experiences with students, groups, colleagues, and others.	After each event that I have hosted with both Late Nite and Residence Life, I have traditionally hosted a debrief that allowed everyone directly involved with the event to provide feedback. This reflection asks everyone to think about things that they personally thought went well, what they thought didn't go well, and what they foresee in the future for improvement. This reflection allows for continual improvement in event facilitation to meet goals.
Identify ethical issues in the course of one’s job.	During my tenure in the SILC, I consistently had to acknowledge and make decisions around decisions that I deemed both ethical and unethical in the context of serving the student body or utilizing student funds.
Explain how one’s behavior reflects the ethical statements of the profession and address lapses in one’s own ethical behavior.
Facilitate individual decision-making and goalsetting.	In my semesterly 1-on-1 evaluations with students I always ask for updates on what they want to achieve post graduation as well as how they see their role fulfilling those needs. I use these conversations to provide work related experiences and for determining professional development opportunities.
Appropriately challenge and support students and colleagues.	In the SILC, I will often act as the voice of reason in a fast moving environment where it is easy for inidviduals to feel overworked. I will consistently ask colleagues and student's to further define goals, think through decisions, or question the feasibility of certain tasks in relation to ongoing projects.
Appropriately question institutional actions which are not consistent with ethical standards.	Questioning a great deal of administrative decisions from the Board of Trustees and Pamela Whitten that do not align with our mission to serve student populations.
Utilize institutional and professional resources to assist with ethical issues (e.g., consultation with appropriate mentors, supervisors and/or colleagues, consultation with an association’s ethics committee).	Frequently meet with my personal mentor to discuss issues that I deem inethical to the work that I have been charged to accomplish.
Maintain an appropriate degree of confidentiality that follows applicable legal and licensing requirements, facilitates the development of trusting relationships, and recognizes when confidentiality should be broken to protect the student or others.	Follow all FERPA standards as well as communicate personal issues that student may face that I am not able to accomodate up to supervisors.
Seek opportunities to expand one’s own knowledge and skills in helping students with specific concerns as well as interfacing with specific populations within the college student environment.	I am always looking for additional ways to support my student populations by attending conference sessions that apply directly to student employee supervision at conferences such as ABCC, ACUI, or NACA. Additionally I am often speak to or invite professionals from the IU campus to talk about excellent programs that they have either facilitated or created.
Articulate awareness and understanding of one’s attitudes, values, beliefs, assumptions, biases, and identity how they affect one’s integrity and work with others.	I am consistently communicating and advocating for students with an open mind understanding that my identity as a black man may sometimes clash with the identity of other students.
Take responsibility to broaden perspectives by participating in activities that challenge one’s beliefs.	In each of my roles I have been responsible for collaborating across the university ecosystem, which requires me to integrate perspectives outside of my immediate silo
Identify the challenges associated with balancing personal and professional responsibilities, and recognize the intersection of one’s personal and professional life.	In my SILC Role, I am consistently trying ot balance personal and professional responsibilities as student life does not stop when the work day does. Since I am still a student, the consistent reflection on workplace outcomes often makes it difficult to seperate the two.
Identify one’s primary work responsibilities and, with appropriate, ongoing feedback, craft a realistic, summative self-appraisal of one’s strengths and limitations.	In my SILC role, I am a program advisor who is responsible for maintaining day to day operations as well as planning one program from start to finish each semester.
Articulate an understanding that wellness is a broad concept comprised of emotional, physical, social, environmental, relational, spiritual, moral, and intellectual elements.
Recognize and articulate healthy habits for better living.	Within the SILC, due to the understaffed nature of the office, it is often that there is far too much on everyone plates. I recognize what I can let go and what I need to hold onto tightly and prioritize while trying to maintain a good worklife balance. I consistently remind my staff to do the same by encouraging them to not spend too much time in the office, talk about mental health, or even provide small reminders to make sure they eat.
Identify positive and negative impacts on wellness and, as appropriate, seek assistance from available resources.	While in Residence Life I have frequently been responsible for doing wellness checks and follow ups with students to ensure minimal impacts providing students with additional resources an a case-by-case basis.
Identify and describe personal and professional responsibilities inherent to excellence in practice.	I take responsibility for generating post-event reports and proposals to ensure that every program provides a positive student experience and a high ROI.
Recognize the importance of reflection in personal, professional, and ethical development.	I value reflection as a tool for growth, as evidenced by my regular practice of evaluating event processes and generating reports for future programming to ensure we are meeting the evolving needs of the student body.
Articulate key elements of one’s set of personal beliefs and commitments (e.g., values, morals, goals, desires, self-definitions), as well as the source of each (e.g., self, peers, family, or one or more larger communities).	In my experience supervising student employees both for Late Nite and Residential Life. I have found that transparency is the biggest motivator to achieving goals especially when they are important to you as an individual and do not closely relate to the job description. This means as a professional you have to take an introspective look at yourself and what it is you wish to achieve in order to best communicate these.
Articulate one’s personal code of ethics for student affairs practice, informed by the ethical statements of professional student affairs associations and their foundational ethical principles.	My personal code of ethics is rooted in the "excellence in innovation, leadership, and fostering diversity"; I believe in transparency and advocacy, ensuring that student funds and resources are utilized to authentically serve the diverse student body.
Describe the ethical statements and their foundational principles of any professional associations directly relevant to one’s working context.	I maintain active engagement with ACUI and NACA. These associations prioritize student development and stewardship, principles I apply daily throughout my work.
Facilitate reflection to make meaning from experiences with students, groups, colleagues, and others.	After each event that I have hosted with both Late Nite and Residence Life, I have traditionally hosted a debrief that allowed everyone directly involved with the event to provide feedback. This reflection asks everyone to think about things that they personally thought went well, what they thought didn't go well, and what they foresee in the future for improvement. This reflection allows for continual improvement in event facilitation to meet goals.
Identify ethical issues in the course of one’s job.	During my tenure in the SILC, I consistently had to acknowledge and make decisions around decisions that I deemed both ethical and unethical in the context of serving the student body or utilizing student funds.
Explain how one’s behavior reflects the ethical statements of the profession and address lapses in one’s own ethical behavior.
Facilitate individual decision-making and goalsetting.	In my semesterly 1-on-1 evaluations with students I always ask for updates on what they want to achieve post graduation as well as how they see their role fulfilling those needs. I use these conversations to provide work related experiences and for determining professional development opportunities.
Appropriately challenge and support students and colleagues.	In the SILC, I will often act as the voice of reason in a fast moving environment where it is easy for inidviduals to feel overworked. I will consistently ask colleagues and student's to further define goals, think through decisions, or question the feasibility of certain tasks in relation to ongoing projects.
Appropriately question institutional actions which are not consistent with ethical standards.	Questioning a great deal of administrative decisions from the Board of Trustees and Pamela Whitten that do not align with our mission to serve student populations.
Utilize institutional and professional resources to assist with ethical issues (e.g., consultation with appropriate mentors, supervisors and/or colleagues, consultation with an association’s ethics committee).	Frequently meet with my personal mentor to discuss issues that I deem inethical to the work that I have been charged to accomplish.
Maintain an appropriate degree of confidentiality that follows applicable legal and licensing requirements, facilitates the development of trusting relationships, and recognizes when confidentiality should be broken to protect the student or others.	Follow all FERPA standards as well as communicate personal issues that student may face that I am not able to accomodate up to supervisors.
Seek opportunities to expand one’s own knowledge and skills in helping students with specific concerns as well as interfacing with specific populations within the college student environment.	I am always looking for additional ways to support my student populations by attending conference sessions that apply directly to student employee supervision at conferences such as ABCC, ACUI, or NACA. Additionally I am often speak to or invite professionals from the IU campus to talk about excellent programs that they have either facilitated or created.
Articulate awareness and understanding of one’s attitudes, values, beliefs, assumptions, biases, and identity how they affect one’s integrity and work with others.	I am consistently communicating and advocating for students with an open mind understanding that my identity as a black man may sometimes clash with the identity of other students.
Take responsibility to broaden perspectives by participating in activities that challenge one’s beliefs.	In each of my roles I have been responsible for collaborating across the university ecosystem, which requires me to integrate perspectives outside of my immediate silo
Identify the challenges associated with balancing personal and professional responsibilities, and recognize the intersection of one’s personal and professional life.	In my SILC Role, I am consistently trying ot balance personal and professional responsibilities as student life does not stop when the work day does. Since I am still a student, the consistent reflection on workplace outcomes often makes it difficult to seperate the two.
Identify one’s primary work responsibilities and, with appropriate, ongoing feedback, craft a realistic, summative self-appraisal of one’s strengths and limitations.	In my SILC role, I am a program advisor who is responsible for maintaining day to day operations as well as planning one program from start to finish each semester.
Articulate an understanding that wellness is a broad concept comprised of emotional, physical, social, environmental, relational, spiritual, moral, and intellectual elements.
Recognize and articulate healthy habits for better living.	Within the SILC, due to the understaffed nature of the office, it is often that there is far too much on everyone plates. I recognize what I can let go and what I need to hold onto tightly and prioritize while trying to maintain a good worklife balance. I consistently remind my staff to do the same by encouraging them to not spend too much time in the office, talk about mental health, or even provide small reminders to make sure they eat.
Identify positive and negative impacts on wellness and, as appropriate, seek assistance from available resources.	While in Residence Life I have frequently been responsible for doing wellness checks and follow ups with students to ensure minimal impacts providing students with additional resources an a case-by-case basis.
Identify and describe personal and professional responsibilities inherent to excellence in practice.	I take responsibility for generating post-event reports and proposals to ensure that every program provides a positive student experience and a high ROI.
Recognize the importance of reflection in personal, professional, and ethical development.	I value reflection as a tool for growth, as evidenced by my regular practice of evaluating event processes and generating reports for future programming to ensure we are meeting the evolving needs of the student body.