Enhancements to Instructional Practices

Maintain Professional Boundaries

While we strive to develop impactful relationships with students, it is critical to maintain professional boundaries in these relationships.  In making a request or communicating with a student, think beyond your intent.  Consider the scenario from the perspective of the person with less power (in this case, the student) —whether they could potentially feel uncomfortable in these situations and whether they would actually be in a position to express their discomfort or say no.  And consider whether your request/communication relates to your overall efforts to train and/or assist students in reaching their professional goals.

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Example practices

The strategies below are applicable in early weeks of the semester and ongoing.

Early (First Two Weeks) / Ongoing

  • Avoid holding one-on-one meetings at your home, a bar, or a hotel room. If you are meeting in your office, do not lock the door and consider leaving the door ajar for non-confidential meetings.
  • Avoid prolonged or frequent messaging of a personal nature, particularly late at night. If you feel the need to communicate outside of business hours for matters that are not emergent, consider scheduling the arrival of your message for the next day or adjust your email subject line to indicate it is not urgent and a response is not expected.
  • If you are “friends” with or “follow” students on social media, be mindful of what you share/post and what you “like” or comment on that they post. The more casual style of communicating on social media can undermine professional boundaries. Consider entirely avoiding private messaging with students and only posting where students can see what you would post to a professionally-oriented medium, such as LinkedIn.
  • If socializing one-on-one, do so in public spaces; if socializing in private spaces, involve groups of students. However, attempting to avoid interaction altogether (for example, having dinner only with the male students and excluding women) is not a viable or fair strategy. It can create cliques or make professional networking opportunities less accessible for whoever is left out. Rather, just keep in mind appropriate professional boundaries with individuals of all genders.
  • If you are in a social situation involving students over age 21, consider that the more alcohol consumed, the less mindful you and they may be of maintaining appropriate professional boundaries. Note that students may feel pressured to drink alcohol in these settings to feel included, so consider not drinking (or choosing a nonalcoholic option) to model alternatives. Remember also that alcohol may not be compatible with some students’ religious beliefs, or that others may have friends and family who have experienced substance abuse issues.
  • Avoid commenting on students’ physical appearance (weight, clothing, hairstyle, presence/absence of makeup).
  • Be mindful that individuals have different comfort levels with being touched, and respect personal space.
  • If you are seeking support for non-academic related matters, including childcare, dog walking, grocery shopping, house sitting, etc., be mindful that hiring a current or former student could cross boundaries by taking advantage of a power differential or risking exploitation of the student.