module 1 assignment 3

Page 1 of 2 Navigating Law, Policy, and Politics

©2013 Argosy University

LASA 1: Field Experience Research Project Your first LASA requires you to interview two administrators regarding their experiences in dealing with law, policy, and regulations in their daily work lives. Remember, the sources of law are different, and, therefore, you will have to be mindful of institutional policies such as faculty handbooks, department policies (e.g., standard operating procedure manuals), local and state laws (e.g., departments of higher education, city ordinances, and state constitutions), federal law, and accrediting bodies (e.g., programmatic, regional, and national) when gaining an understanding of the legal issues that affect academic administrators. Tasks: Field Experience Research Project You will develop an understanding of the legal and policy issues that your institution and particular department face every day. You will gather data from interviews and, as available, from published documents dealing with these issues (e.g., procedural manuals, training requirements and materials, institutional policy statements, and other institutional documents). The purpose of this assignment is for you to develop a description and understanding of how your institution meets the legal, policy, and regulatory requirements of postsecondary education. To obtain this information and understanding, you will conduct two interviews—one with an administrator of a unit in a higher or postsecondary education institution and one with a staff member in the human resources department of that institution. The interviews should identify key legal and policy considerations that the interviewees believe all unit personnel must be aware of. In addition, you will attempt to discover from your interviews the manner in which the unit staff and leaders learn to navigate these legal and policy issues and environments. You will analyze the information gathered from the interviews and documents to define and describe the most critical legal and policy issues facing their institutions and the ethical and social justice aspects of those critical issues. Finally, you will create a well-developed argument for the manner in which your institution has used policies and procedures to meet the requirements of law and implement best practices. Interviews The interviews should attempt to identify the policies and procedures that each interviewee believes are most critical in his or her institution and why he or she thinks of those as critical. You should try to determine what part each interviewee played in developing, disseminating, or implementing these policies and procedures. You should attempt to learn what systems or practices are currently in place or planned that promote sharing, learning, and reinforcement of these policies and procedures within the unit. If appropriate, you should determine what written documents exist that outline the unit’s policies and procedures concerning these critical issues and request permission to review them for this assignment. Interview Questions and Research Notes You should keep detailed notes on what you learn during the interviews and from an examination of the documents. You must append a copy of your interview questions, interview notes, and notes from your document review to the end of your report. The Report The report should be a formal paper that uses professional writing and APA conventions. The report should be divided into the following sections:

Page 2 of 2 Navigating Law, Policy, and Politics

©2013 Argosy University

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LASA 1: Field Experience Research Project

An introduction and overview of the project

A description of the institution or department and its mission, staff, and students

A description of the interviewees and their job titles, units, and responsibilities and the documents reviewed

A rationale for the interview questions that specifically addresses the manner in which you framed the questions to:

o Identify critical policies and procedures.

o Determine the extent to which each interviewee developed, disseminated, or implemented these policies and procedures.

o Ascertain where and how these policies and procedures are learned, shared, or reinforced.

o Learn where the policies and procedures are maintained or housed and whether access is available.

An analysis of the information gathered from the interviews and documents

Logical conclusions drawn from that analysis, including:

o What the critical issues are at this institution and why they are considered critical

o What the legal, policy, ethical, and social justice implications of these critical issues are (on the basis of course readings and discussions)

A strong argument with supporting evidence for how the institution or department has attempted to address these critical issues and the ethical and social justice implications in its policies, procedures, and practices

Learning from this assignment and the manner in which the information can be used in the future by a professional in the field