Risk Management in Student Affairs: Foundations for Safety and Success by Thomas E. Miller and Roger W. Sorochty (review)

Student affairs educators quite often approach work with a “do no harm” philosophy; yet, there are times when one’s most sincere efforts to be a supportive and responsive educator and colleague carry great risk. Thomas Miller and Roger Sorochty wrote Risk Management in Student Affairs: Foundations for Safety and Success as a resource to help student affairs professionals gain awareness of the risks associated with our work, and how to mitigate those risks. As the authors point out, while “good judgment is a useful tool in student affairs work . . . it might be wise for it to be enhanced by an understanding of how laws regulate against it” (p. 57). Written by and for practitioners, this book presents the basics of many complex legal issues and risk management concepts in a manner that is easy to follow and digest.

Within the book’s 23 chapters, which are organized into seven sections, Miller and Sorochty cover the wide variety of risk management-related topics and concerns that are germane to student affairs work. The first section reviews the organizational boundaries of student affairs work and the contexts in which that work is susceptible to risk. The first chapter in this section details the operational differences between public and private institutions. The second describes how issues of risk management differ for individual student affairs educators and their employing institutions, providing examples of personal versus institutional liability and instances where the two might be conflated.

The second section focuses on the U.S. Constitution, and contains chapters 3 through 5 that focus respectively on the First Amendment, the Second and Fourth Amendments, and the Fifth Amendment. With a focus on the first amendment, chapter 3 outlines the specifics of religious expression, free speech and the freedom of the press, and encourages student affairs educators to help uncover the value of unpopular opinions on campus. Chapter 4 describes the shifting parameters around the right to bear arms on college campuses and the Fourth Amendment right to privacy in residence halls and other campus locations where privacy might be assumed. The final chapter in this section deals with issues of due process for both employees and students, and briefly discusses options for mediation and dispute resolution between individuals and the institution. Each of these chapters note differences for public and private institutions, emphasizing the increased risk associated with public institutions and describing common practices of private institutions. Collectively, these chapters illustrate how Constitutional rights influence student affairs work and underscore the more recent legislative initiatives that are altering the rights of campus constituents and thus our work on college campuses.

Section 3, Regulatory Challenges, contains three chapters that discuss the risk associated with regulations imposed by government entities and other external regulatory agencies. Chapter 6 outlines federal regulations that influence student affairs work, such as laws associated with immigration, copyright, human subjects, environmental protections, missing student notifications, and all the various legislations connected to both whether institutions receive federal aid and the rights of persons with disabilities. Additionally, this chapter provides overviews of both longstanding and more recent laws governing portions of student affairs work, including the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) of 1970, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), the Patriot Act, the Affordable Care Act, and the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act (VAWA). Although the chapter focuses heavily on federal regulations, readers are cautioned to be aware of and alert to state regulations. Chapter 7 focuses on discriminatory practices, highlighting federal regulations that protect the rights of students and employees, as well as those pertaining to sexual harassment and affirmative action. The final chapter in this section covers regulations imposed by accrediting bodies and athletic associations and conferences. It also discusses the role of professional associations that help to set standards of practice for student affairs educators.

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