ETHICAL ISSUES IN HIGHER ED

Ethical Issues in Higher Education

Mee Her

Kremen School of Education and Human Development, California State University, Fresno

HEAL 227: Law, Policy, and Ethics

Dr. Juan Gonzalez

December 04, 2022

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Introduction

For the interview of higher education leader, I decided to interview my current college

partner, Dr. Brenda Estrada. Dr. Estrada has years of experience working in higher education

throughout multiple functional areas within the community college system. She has been a

college partner serving as an on-campus advisor for Foundation for California Community

Colleges Student Ambassador Program. This fiscal year I have the honor to work closely with

Dr. Estrada as a continuing college partner for the California Low-Cost Auto Insurance Program

to support the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office basic needs initiative. Dr.

Estrada previously served as Director of Special Programs and Veterans Resource Center and

has transitioned into her new role as Interim Associate Dean of Student Development. As

Director of Special Programs, her duties include providing comprehensive reports to the

Department of Education to ensure that the student veterans are being adequately served in

addition to ensuring that the staff is supported. Dr. Estrada wears many hats on campus as she

also serves as the Title IX coordinator.

My relationship with Dr. Estrada is tied to Santa Ana College Thrive Center. This center

strives to provide students with access to basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, and career

workshops to help with student success. The Thrive Center addresses the significant disparities

in food and housing security to increase students' health and improve students’ academic

performance. The center offers free nutritious groceries and grab-and-go snacks to all students

who are currently enrolled at Santa Ana College. Due to limited resources, students are allowed

to pick up snacks once a day and groceries once per week. This is to ensure that all students have

an opportunity to receive nutritious groceries in times of need.

Ethical Issues
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Santa Ana College's highest student population group is Latina/o, followed by Caucasian,

Asian, African American, and others not specified. During the interview, Dr. Estrada expressed

the challenges she faced clashes with the institution's mission to transform and empower diverse

learners. One of the resources the Thrive Center provide is CalFresh. CalFresh is a federally-

funded program that provides eligible students with monthly food assistance. Given that the

CalFresh resource is a federal program, there are questions in the application that will ask for

information about the student’s citizenship status. “There are students who are afraid to apply for

the Calfresh resource due to their immigration status. These students are also the students who

are seen in our food pantry weekly”, states Dr. Estrada. She continues to explain how the Thrive

Center continues to find ways to ensure all students enrolled at Santa Ana College can receive

support. “As a student affairs professional, I am responsible for improving students learning

development. This means I need to recognize and be aware of the student population on campus

and address the barriers that are in the way of them succeeding,” shares Dr. Estrada.

When students come to the Thrive Center to apply for CalFresh, they are assigned to a

case manager to help with the application process. During the pandemic, the number of students

who applied for the CalFresh resource increased drastically. Students expressed they have lost

their jobs, family members have lost their jobs, they were short on food and are experiencing

food insecurity. Some of the students who came to apply for the CalFresh resource were denied

due to not meeting the student eligibility requirements. This was very disheartening to Dr.

Estrada because she did not like seeing students be turned away. She felt that the institution

needed to find other solutions to help meet students' basic needs so they can put their focus back

on their education rather than having to worry about where their next meal is coming from.
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Dr. Estrada began to see more and more of these student cases and knew she needed to do

something about it. She took this issue to the board meetings and advocated for the students who

were turned away. She mentioned the programs still have equity gaps the institution needs to

address.

ACPA Ethical Principles and Standards

Dr. Estrada is a member of the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) so I

thought it would be appropriate to review the ACPA Ethical Principles and Standards for my

interview. ACPA is dedicated to transforming higher education by creating and sharing

influential leadership, shaping reflective practice, and advocating for equitable and inclusive

learning environments (American College Personnel Association, 2006). Dr. Estrada uses these

standards to guide her in the work that she does.

As I reflected on the conversations I had during my interview with Dr. Estrada, her

leadership is reflected in Responsibility to the Institution, which essentially promotes shared

responsibility with other members of the institution to fulfill the university’s mission (American

College Personnel Association, 2006). Dr. Estrada was faced with challenges when students

were denied to the CalFresh resource. The institution offered this resource to meet students’

basic needs so that they can succeed in higher education. If students were denied to this resource,

this means that their academic performance may be impacted. Those students may need to work

more hours and spend less time on their education and studies. Dr. Estrada brought this issue to

attention at the board meetings to strategize what can be done to break this barrier. According to

the ACPA section 3.6 states, “Inform supervisors of conditions or practices that may restrict

institutional or professional effectiveness” (2006). Additionally, Dr. Estrada’s leadership was

founded in the ACPA section 3.1 for contributing to the institution by supporting its mission. To
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transform the diverse community of learners at Santa Ana College, the institution must address

students''' basic needs in a holistic manner to ensure that all students have the opportunity to

succeed.

Additionally, Dr. Estrada’s leadership was founded on Responsibility to Society through

her contribution to improving the communities and advocating for social justice work. Although

the institution offers resources to the students, not every student has equal access to them. Dr.

Estrada sought additional resources and funding to provide students with options to meet their

basic needs via food. The solution Dr. Estrada found was to provide students who were denied

CalFresh benefits with a $100 gift card to purchase groceries at a selected store. Dr. Estrada

illustrated the ACPA section 4.2 by demonstrating concern for the welfare of all students and

working for constructive change on behalf of students (American College Personnel Association,

2006).

Concluding Thoughts

Implementing a leadership style that values educational improvement needs to make sure

that department policies are aligned with the institution’s mission (Cahn, 2011). Dr. Estrada is

guided by her values in improving student learning and student development. I learned from this

interview experience that as an administrator, it is important to stay student-focused so that

students can receive the support they need to succeed. This experience also taught me how to

seek a new approach when one system is not working and that higher education practices are not

a one size fits all.

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References

American College Personnel Association. (2006). Statement of ethical principles &

standards.ACPA College Students Educators International. https://myacpa.org/wp-

content/uploads/2020/12/Ethical_Principles_Standards.pdf

Cahn, S. M. (Ed.) (2011). Moral problems in higher education. Philadelphia, PA: Temple

University Press.
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Appendix A

American College Personnel Association Ethical Principles & Standards

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