Date of Award
5-2022
Document Type
Thesis
Primary Advisor
Dr. Tim Sensing
Secondary Advisor
Dr. John H. Boyles
Committee Reader
Dr. Myles P. Werntz
Abstract
This project was designed to address a lack of policies and procedures at Southwestern Assemblies of God University that support its restorative accountability approach in addressing student conduct violations. The student handbook provides rights and responsibilities afforded each student as well as the procedures that appointed staff members are to follow in the event that campus policies are violated; however, the language used in the student handbook did not address modern student culture, nor did it procedurally assist staff members in helping students to develop spiritually. The project intervention involved staff members who address student violations with grace as well as students who have been involved in restoring students to good standing to God, the institution, and one to another. Questions originally arose from focus group data collected among student leaders during the Fall 2018 semester. The students admitted that they were not aware of how they could receive restoration through accountability because the current student handbook policies do not provide that information to them. This led to not only a redesign of the student handbook to make the language relevant to college students, but to also help them understand that following a restorative process involves discipleship for them as a person and member of a community built on a foundation of love and grace. The core of this process is found in the Apostle Paul’s theology in 2 Cor 5:11-21 as well as practices found in restorative justice.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Meche, W. Lance, "Developing Policies and Procedures for Restorative Accountability at Southwestern Assemblies of God University" (2022). Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations. 47.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/dmin_theses/47
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