Course Overview:
This course examines the law and policy issues related to student suicide, the third
leading cause of death for young people in the United States and the second for
college students. Special attention will be paid to literature on the causes and
prevention of suicide; a detailed case study of a student suicide; analysis of a
recent, highly publicized student suicide at M.I.T.; legal developments concerning
potential liability for failing to prevent suicide; the scope and limits of
confidentiality (including parental notification); and suicidal students and the ADA.
Course Outline:
The course is divided into three modules, concluding with a list of "best practices"
on suicide prevention, complied by class participants. The first module focuses on
recent literature concerning causes and prevention of suicide, including a case
study assembled by the instructor. The second module will focus on analysis of the
M.I.T. Shin case, including the topic of parental notification. The third module
consists of analysis of key court cases on suicide liability.
Learning Outcomes:
Active participants in the course will:
- Have a better understanding of the extent, causes, and nature of student suicide;
- Identify stresses that contribute to student suicide.
- Understand competing perspectives on issues of confidentiality and parental notification;
- Know basic legal principles concerning liability for suicide;
- Understand recent trends in the law concerning a duty to prevent student suicide in campus settings;
- Better understand the role of the ADA in shaping institutional responses to suicidal students.
- Receive a list of "best practices" pertaining to suicide prevention, prepared through class collaboration.
Participant Expectations:
Participants will be expected to devote approximately fifteen hours to the course
(five hours for each of the three week modules). Assignments will include selected
readings and discussions. Active participation in online discussions will enhance
learning outcomes. At the close of the course, each participant will be asked to
submit a short list of at least three "best practices" in college student suicide
prevention, drawn from course (or personal) readings, or their own professional
experience.
Individuals registering for CEUs will receive 1.0 CEU upon successful
completion of the course.
Instructor Bio:
Gary Pavela, is Director of Judicial Programs at the University of Maryland-College
Park, and edits the national quarterly Synthesis: Law and Policy in Higher Education
as well as its sister publication, Synfax Weekly Report-- publications to which over
1,000 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada subscribe.
He holds an M.A. in intellectual history from Wesleyan University, a law degree from
the University of Illinois, and has been a Fellow at the University of Wisconsin
Center for Behavioral Science and Law.
Pavela worked as a staff attorney for the State University of New York--Central
Administration, was a law clerk to the late Chief Judge Alfred P. Murrah of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, and served as a faculty member
for the Federal Judicial Center in Washington, D.C. (the training arm of the United
States Courts).
Identified by the New York Times as an "authority on academic ethics," Gary Pavela
is a member of the Advisory Board of the Kenan Ethics Institute at Duke University
and is a past President of the National Center for Academic Integrity, a consortium
of 200 universities that collaborate on academic integrity policies and procedures.
He has been a consultant on legal issues and student conduct policies at many
leading universities, including Stanford University, the University of Michigan, The
University of California at San Diego, The University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill, Rutgers University, Georgetown University, The United States Naval Academy,
Lehigh University, Brown University, Colgate University, and Smith College.
Gary Pavela is a NASPA "Pillar of the Profession." In 1995 he was awarded the
American College Personnel Association "Tracy R. Teele Memorial Award" for
"contributions to the area of judicial affairs and legal issues." In 1996 he
received the "D. Parker Young Award" for "outstanding scholarly and research
contributions in the area of higher education law and judicial affairs" from the
Association for Student Judicial Affairs. In 1999 he was awarded the "Thomas S.
Biggs Award" for "dedicated legal service" in the field of law and higher education;
presented at the Twentieth Annual National Conference on Law and Higher Education.
Last year Gary Pavela was designated the year 2002 "Fellow" of the National
Association of College and University Attorneys. Fellows of the Association are
identified by NACUA as individuals who have "brought distinction to higher education
and to the practice of law on behalf of colleges and universities across the
nation."
