Faculty and Staff Resources

Set your students up for success by establishing clear expectations, boundaries, and ground rules for participation and engagement at the beginning of each term.

Class expectations can also be created with your students as community guidelines. Students are active participants in shaping the class learning environment, so co-creating community guidelines will increase buy in and motivate students to respect and uphold class expectations.

Reinforce by outlining expectations in your course syllabus, verbally in class, and in written communication to students (e.g., email correspondence, online announcements, discussion board prompts, etc.).

 When student's make comments that are offensive or inappropriate, doing nothing can be damaging (Souza, Vizenor, Sherlin & Raser, 2016). It is normal to have feelings of paralysis when confronted with this kind of situation. Modeling skills required during difficult conversations can assist in maintaining a positive learning environment. Consider using the ACTION communication framework (available below) to ask about intent, reduce tension, explore impact, and offer an alternative direction. This framework can be a valuable tool to organize your thoughts and navigate these situations. 

A | Ask questions

Ask clarifying questions to assist with understanding the individuals intentions.

"I want to make sure I understand what you are saying. Were you saying that...?"

C | Carefully listen to their response

If they disagree with your paraphrase and clarify a different meaning, you could end the conversation.

If you suspect they are trying to "cover their tracks," you may consider making a statement about the initial comment.

"I'm glad to hear I misunderstood you, as you know, such comments can be..."

If they agree with your paraphrase, explore their intent behind the statement.

"Can you tell me what you were hoping to communicate?"

"Can you please help me understand what you meant by that?"

T | Tell your perspective

Share what you obsesrved as problematic in a factual manner.

"I noticed that..."

I | Impact exploration

Ask for, or state, the potential impact of such a statement or action on others.

"What do you think others might think or feel when they hear that type of comment?"

"What message do you think such a comment sends?"

O | Own your thoughts 

Share your thoughts and feelings around the impact.

"When I hear your comment I think/feel..."

"That comment can perpetuate negative stereotypes and assumptions about..."

"Such negative comments can cause division and defensiveness. I would like to think that is not your intention."

N | Next steps

Request appropriate action to be taken.

"Our class is a learning community, and such comments make it difficult for us to focus on learning because people feel offended. So I am going to ask you to refrain from stating your thoughts in that manner in the future. Can you do that please?"

"I encourage you to revisit your view on X as we discuss these issues more in class."

The Office of Community Standards has created a flowchart to assist faculty and staff in how to respond in the case that a student's behavior has significantly or repeatedly interrupted teaching, learning, research, or other university business.

You can complete an Incident Report which will be routed to the appropriate entity after being reviewed by the Office of Community Standards. For more information about Incident Report Reviews you can visit the Office of Community Standards website.

Types of behavior that may warrant an Incident Report can include:

• Repeated non-compliance after instructor intervention.
• Verbal or physical threats.
• Academic misconduct.
• Disruptive content in class or other platforms use for class activities.
• Disclosure of hazing activity or impact.

When completing an Incident Report, remember to classify the "Nature of the Report" based on the following definitions:

• General Conduct Report
  • You believe a violation of the WTAMU Student Handbook has occurred.
• Title IX
  • You believe a violation of Title IX or Civil Rights has occurred.
• Mental Health Concerns
  • You are concerned for the mental wellbeing of the student.
• Student of Concern
  • You are concerned for the student's safety or the safety of others.
• Police Report
  • You believe there is a criminal element to the incident.
• Threatening Behavior
  • You are reporting behavior that is threatening in nature.

Your report and any subsequent student disciplinary record are considered educational records under FERPA. This means that the contents will be confidential. Educational records pertaining to an individual student are made accessible to that student and may be subject to Public Information Requests.