In an effort to focus more on students living off-campus, the College has expanded the role of director of community standards with the introduction of Angela Chong as the temporary Associate Dean of students and director of student conduct, according to Vice President for student affairs James Norfleet.
Norfleet said the position is not newly created and is a replacement that “was redefined and expanded to meet the College’s educational mission and priorities.”
It incorporates duties previously assigned to the director of Community Standards, a post that was eliminated earlier this year when core functions of the former Community Standards department were realigned under the Office of the Dean of Students, Norfleet said.
In an e-mail Norfleet said the responsibilities of the new position will require Chong to “oversee non-academic student conduct, serve as a policy and strategy adviser to the dean of students, and lead initiatives that foster student learning and responsible citizenship.”
The revised role will encompass all non-academic student conduct, with the intent of improving the College’s relationship with nonresidential students. Chong explained this element of her position in an interview.
“The (College) identified that we have a portion of our student body living off campus and not one role dedicated to checking into what the needs are of that population,” Chong said.
Because she has only been acting as associate dean since Sept. 14, changes to student conduct are still in the preliminary stages. Chong said she is still becoming accustomed to the College and “learning about the campus community, climate and culture, and determining what the needs are.”
According to Chong she is evaluating current student conduct policies in order to plan future initiatives.
“Part of it is trying to access current policies and procedures that are already here, accessing what the needs of the community are, and also comparing that to the best practices in the field and determining whether they would be successful programs here,” she said.
Though new to the College, Chong plans to open up discussion with the off-campus community to receive feedback on what changes need to be made, while working to make sure the policies regarding student conduct are consistent in treatment of students.
“It is a balance between finding out what things we can do to be more inclusive of our off-campus population, and at same time determining what we need to do to help address student conduct off-campus,” she said.
Chong will be serving the position on a one-year interim basis since a formal search couldn’t be conducted prior to the beginning of the fall semester according to Norfleet.
The salary range for Chong’s position is currently set between $71,000 and $115,920 annually according to Matthew Golden, executive director of communications and public relations.
