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Interview with Administrator: Ethical and Legal Issues in Higher Education

John “Mikey” Mejia

Department of Educational Leadership, California State University, Fresno
Dr. Juan Carlos Gonzalez
December 14, 2021
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Ethical and Legal Issues Administrator Interview

Being a professional in higher education comes with high expectations that you will do

great things for the institution and the people it serves. However, being an administrator in

higher education comes with so much more. Part of that is learning how to effectively navigate

through numerous legal and ethical dilemmas coming your way. These dilemmas may be related

to students, staff, faculty, or other administrators. This can bring up the question, how do you

prepare to handle these situations? Thankfully I had the opportunity to interview Frank Ramirez,

Director of Student Services at Porterville College (PC). Frank works at the same institution;

however, I work in the Office of Instruction while he works in Student Services. I know that he

has loads of information and is always a great figure to be around. In addition, Frank was more

than happy to provide me with some insightful information on several legal and ethical

dilemmas. The three topics I want to highlight from our conversation are the legal process of

terminating an employee, the ethics of misusing organization funds, and advice to being an

effective administrator in higher education.

Administrator Background

Frank has worked in higher education for over 15 years and is committed to providing

high-quality work with leaders, staff, and committees that he directly works with. His work has

taken him through departments such as the Federal TRIO Programs, Extended Opportunity

Programs and Services (EOPS), K-12, and some work in the non-profit sector. He believes

leaders should practice the leadership they want to see from others. More importantly, he

believes that higher education can provide students with a greater chance at upward economic,

social mobility along with personal growth and experiences that align with their own goals.

Frank is still relatively new to the PC community seeing as how he started his director position
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right when we all went into lockdown from COVID-19. However, his work experience speaks

volumes at our campus. Especially since his voice and work is shaped to increase diversity

efforts, inclusion, access to education, and a continuation of being a lifelong learner.

Ethical Termination of Employees

There are a couple of ethical situations that my interviewee provided me, but one that we

highlighted in our discussion is the termination of employees. When an employee is not meeting

satisfactory job requirements and has discussions of improved performance, it is essential to

document everything. Frank notified me to document all instances, preferably through email.

This is a delicate conversation because a legal process can lead up to someone's termination.

Frank understands that including your human resources department in this discussion will help

you avoid any positions that may lead to discrimination. Of course, no one wants to work

through that process, and in some cases, managers would instead work with the employee and

provide professional development opportunities to improve their performance. Providing

feedback and letting the employee know that they are failing is a great way to help navigate the

employee on the road to succeed and improve (Heathfield, 2020). However, if the need to

terminate is there, it is best to use help from the legal department or HR. The purpose of using

legal support is to protect you if it turns against you for the wrong reasons. Frank understands

that this is not an easy process, and you make sure it is done in a legal and ethical matter. In this

case, Frank has been thankful for having the resources to navigate through a complicated process

but even more thankful to not have to go through with a termination process entirely.

Ethics to Misuse of Funds

A significant dilemma that was mentioned in our discussion was the ethical dilemma of

an employee misusing organization funds. Now, from my perspective, I do not believe that I
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have worked with anyone who would do such a thing, but at the same time, we never truly know

until it is fully exposed out there. Frank recalled a time when he worked with an individual who

used the company credit card to buy outside of work uses. This money belonged to taxpayers

because it was from the county. This occurred during his earlier years in higher education when

Frank was not yet fully informed of all the policies and procedures in higher education.

However, Frank stood firmly with his ethical principles that align with the Council for the

Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS). The CAS Statement of Shared Ethical

Principles provides seven codes of ethics: autonomy, non-malfeasance, beneficence, justice,

fidelity, veracity, and affiliation (See Appendix A). These seven principles are used to improve

the services and programs within higher education institutions. Frank displayed Principle V,

Fidelity, by exercising good stewardship of resources (Council for the Advancement of

Standards in Higher Education, 2015). He demonstrated this by rejecting any offers that

potentially meant misusing funds.

Coming from a first-generation and low-income background, it was easy for Frank to be

targeted by these scandals at an early age of his career. However, Frank's values also aligned

with Principle II, Non-Malfeasance, which states do not harm (Council for the Advancement of

Standards in Higher Education). By misusing funds, you are inherently harming the people you

serve. Therefore, Frank chose to stay on an ethical path that benefitted his community more than

his former coworker. In the end, these individuals went under investigation and were found

guilty, which led to their imprisonment. Frank recalls many other unethical and illegal instances,

which also helped shape the leader he is today. The kind of leader who has become familiar with

the CAS Standards and uphold those principles in his work every day. More importantly, he
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teaches the same ethical principles to his employees and younger professionals in higher

education.

Administrator Recommendations

As a young professional in higher education, I have gained a lot of information and

advice from my interview with Frank. After telling me about these two legal and ethical

dilemmas, he continued to provide me with recommendations to follow if I were to go into

administration. Following the misuse of funds scandal, Frank emphasized the importance of

having an honest and ethical discussion regarding salaries. Especially when employees do not

feel well compensated for their work. He understands that money can be tight when working in

higher education and non-profit organizations, but transparency can help develop a greater

understanding of the situation for everyone. Frank also reminds others that under the California

Equal Pay Act, it is illegal for any employer to prohibit employees from discussing salaries and

pay with each other (California Department of Industrial Relations, 2020). I appreciate his

commitment to challenging what was once taboo about speaking openly about your wages and

creating a culture that values transparency.

Lastly, Frank provides a bit more of an insight into being an administrator. He says that it

becomes harder to trust the higher you go up. Partly because admin is at-will employees and can

be let go the next day, unlike classified staff. He emphasizes the importance of working together

with other individuals but, at the same time to always protecting yourself. I am nowhere close to

being an administrator, but I know this is not the first time I have heard this in higher education.

This advice provides me with more guidance as I continue to navigate through my career in

higher education and prepare for any situation that may come my way.
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Conclusion

Initially, I knew my chosen person to interview would provide me with an example of an

ethical issue in education; however, I did not expect to gain so much more information regarding

many legal and ethical topics. The insight and guidance that Frank has provided are of

tremendous value. His shared ethical principles and knowledge have allowed him to navigate

difficult situations and model ethically wise decision-making throughout his work. Expanding

his knowledge of laws and ethical principles has helped out his organization and community.

More importantly, having the same commitment to sound ethical principles can help many other

professionals and institutions better support the people they serve and avoid complex problems

in the future.
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References

California Department of Industrial Relations. (2020). California Equal Pay Act. Retrieved

December 2, 2021, from https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/california_equal_pay_act.htm

Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education. (2015). CAS statement of

shared ethical principles. In J. B. Wells (Ed.), CAS professional standards for higher

education (9th Ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Heathfield, S. M. (2020). What you need to know about firing an employee. The Balance

Careers. Retrieved December 2, 2021, from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/how-to-

fire-an-employee-1917907
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Appendix A
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