Meaning of Responsibility
The roles played by public relations practitioners often imply a responsibility to perform various functions related to the roles. A business expert, Vincent Barry, defined responsibility as a sphere of duty or obligation assigned to an individual depending on the nature of the person’s position, work, or function. Responsibility could thus be described as a set of obligations or duties associated with a given job or work. A role can be defined as a job description that is not limited to function or duties. For instance, a practitioner may be assigned a role associated with media relations. A function can be defined as the specifics of the job such as press release writing, and dissemination. As such, responsibility refers to more than just the primary functions of a role as it includes both processes and outcomes of functions. Student responsibility majorly occurs when the students take an active role to ensure that they are accountable to their academic success. Students demonstrate responsibility when they take ownership of their choices and actions by exhibiting certain acceptable behaviors. They are required to attend and participate in classes, and labs and they should always be prepared on time, to respect other people’s diverse ideas and opinions, to utilize the college resources and always seek help when needed, act in a civil manner or abide by the institution’s policies, and demonstrate academic integrity and honesty.
Every institution has established a class and lab program that students are required to adhere to. Students are usually expected to attend the formulated lecture and lab sessions that they may have registered for, at all times. To achieve this, institutions often establish attendance requirements that are announced, published, and distributed along with the course outline whenever the students and instructors have their first class meeting. Students are usually required to sign attendance forms whenever they attend any lecture or lab session, and all absences are often recorded by the instructor. At the end of the semester, absentees are usually held responsible for making up all the work that they might have missed. Moreover, students are obliged to utilize their activity hours by actively engaging in various lecture related activities. Institutions encourage students to participate in various activities such as student club and Senate meeting, and special lectures and programs (Campbell & Nutt, 2008).
Colleges often encourage dialogue and even differences, and they educate students on how to live in an environment where people tend to have different ideas, and opinions. Students are entirely required to respect other people’s ideas and opinions both in the internal and external school community. For a healthy environment, colleges have formulated and implemented laws that create a safe place for people to express themselves freely and held responsible students who violate the school’s code of conduct. The aim of this is to educate students on the importance of understanding, accepting, and respecting others with a notion of creating a positive environment in which everyone can learn and grow (Teranishi, Suárez-Orozco, & Suárez-Orozco, 2011).
Another responsibility of students is to effectively utilize the school’s resources and ask for help when needed. Colleges often provide staffs, faculty, and students with access to computing resources. The institutions usually establish a computer use policy that outlines various regulations that are in place for all network users. By signing into their accounts, students tend to agree to abide by the rules outlined in the institution’s computer use policy. Institutions do encourage students to take the opportunity of access of computer resources to do further research of their classwork as well as lab work with an aim of improving their knowledge level (Bettinger, Boatman, & Long, 2013). The institutions hold responsible students who violate computer use policy that is handled through the procedure for academic integrity, and student misconduct. Institutions also always encourage students to effectively use the available resources such as library and labs. Students who damage any of the institution’s property are also held responsible for their unacceptable behaviors.
Students are also required to act in a civil manner and abide by the college’s policies. Colleges prohibit the unlawful distribution, possession, and use of illicit drugs and alcohol amongst employees and students. The use of these substances severely threatens the mental and physical health of students and employees. Students violating this policy are usually subjected to disciplinary committee procedures and sanctions, and they are at risk of expulsion as outlined by the institution’s formulated student constitution (McClellan & Stringer, 2011). Colleges do not permit gambling activities within the learning environment. Students engaged in any gambling activities within the college’s premises are held responsible for violating an act of the college’s policy and they are also subjected to disciplinary committee procedures and sanctions that include the risk of expulsion if found guilty of the alleged behavior.
In sum, students are required to demonstrate academic integrity and honesty at all times. They are required to study for their tests and exams ahead of time to avoid engaging in exam malpractices. Colleges have established policies to hold responsible students caught engaging in exam malpractices by canceling their results or expelling them from the premises. Moreover, colleges encourage students to take responsibility for their words and actions to enable them to stay focused and committed to academic issues.
References
Bettinger, E. P., Boatman, A., & Long, B. T. (2013). Student Supports: Developmental Education and Other Academic Programs. The Future of Children, 93-115. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1015252.pdf
Campbell, S. M., & Nutt, C. L. (2008). Academic Advising in The New Global Century: Supporting Student Engagement and Learning Outcomes Achievement. Peer Review, 10(1), 4. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/openview/093dd58fbf178e61d86c52a6202e21c6/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=26636
McClellan, G. S., & Stringer, J. (Eds.). (2011). The Handbook of Student Affairs Administration:(Sponsored By NASPA, Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education). John Wiley & Sons.
Teranishi, R. T., Suárez-Orozco, C., & Suárez-Orozco, M. (2011). Immigrants in Community Colleges. The Future of Children, 153-169. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ920371.pdf