Studentaffairs.com
Case Study
Jessa Carpenter, Brandon Ebenhoeh, James C. Welch, Nicole Wilson
University of Florida
Overview of
Presentation
• Overview of Case Study
• Why is it important?
• Technology Use by Current Students
• Impacts when used correctly
• Why regulate it?
• Negative impacts on students
• Specific cases
• How to Address it?
• Middle College Social Media Policy
• Guidelines
• Implementation of Policy
• References
Case Study
• Institution Information:
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Small, Private less than1500 students
Rural Midwestern location
Prided in its business program and job placement rates
• Key Players:
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President: concerns with misuse of social media
Faculty: want to promote social media and technology into classroom
Student Affairs colleagues: assist with completion of tasks
Kim Brown, Director of Campus Communication
• Task:
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Develop a social media policy
Create a set of guidelines
Develop website to include information about policy and use on campus
Sanctions for inappropriate use
Why It’s Important
to the President
• Students Current Use
• What students own which
devices (next slide)
• New students are using
technology to interact in
new ways
• Positive impact when used
correctly
• Faculty currently using
multimedia in the classroom
• Allows for a larger
knowledge exchange (no
more regurgitation)
• We need to be constantly
evolving our use of media
(International Conference
on Computers in Education)
Technology use by
students
Pew Research Center Data (2010)
• Millennial Student Technology Usage:
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Cell Phone Use: 95%
Desktop Computer: 57%
Laptop Computer: 70%
iPod: 74%
Tablets such as iPad: 5%
• 2011 Social Networking usage for ages 18-29: 83%
• Based on these numbers, we need to engage with students to
instill social media etiquette and the possible negative
implications of social media usage
Technology use by
students
• Regardless of what we do as practitioners, our students will
continue using technology
• It is our duty to take the technology that they are already
using and integrate it into the way we convey knowledge to
our students
• Furthermore, it is our duty to assist in these students’
development, including providing a safe space for students to
learn how evolving technology can be used and how it affects
them.
• This necessitates education on the potential negative affects
of technology use, as well as the vast number of positive
outcomes that can be achieved through appropriate use of
new technologies.
Using Social Media’s
Positive Impacts
• Benefits of On Campus Usage
• “From the very beginning of the early applications,
something was different, people had the opportunity to
burst out of their parochial communities and make
connections around the world.”
–Tracy Mitrano, Directors of IT Policy at Cornell
University
• Corporate Statistics on social media:
• http://mashable.com/2011/08/28/social-mediarecruiting-infographic/
Negative Impacts
• Cases that resulted from negative use of social media:
• Harassment and negative comments on twitter
• Inappropriate pictures on Facebook
• Instance of foursquare usage leading to stalking
• Additional Cases
• Youtube video: disgusting Domino’s Pizza Employee’s
mishandling about food
• Cisco Fatty Tweet: Connor Riley tweeted about choosing
a “fatty paycheck” or hating current job
Why regulate it?
• Technology such as social media sites are integral for
networking with friends and colleagues
• Used inappropriately, however, this technology can have
negative impacts on students
• It is therefore necessary for practitioners in Higher
Education to anticipate the needs and difficulties
associated with certain technologies to best protect our
students
By Implementing our
Social Media Policy,
we hope to deter
students from
Committing
unethical and
potentially
damaging decisions
Middle College
Social Media Policy
• Using benchmarking schools such as Adrian College, Colorado
State University, and Seattle University, we developed a social
media policy specifically for Middle College.
• Please See Attached Social Media Policy
• This policy highlights standards already set by the university such
as student code of conduct, harassment policy, and endorsement
policy.
• We value the ideals of open inquiry, first amendment rights,
compassion, and transparency.
• Please be aware that all content and posts are bound by the Terms
of Use of the social media site that you are using, the Middle
College Code of Conduct, and, when on campus, the Middle
College Computer Use Policy.
Middle College
guidelines
• Benchmarked from AMP3 public relations
• Our Social Media Guidelines focus on community
building and understanding the effects of ones actions
on ones peers and supervisors.
• It also focuses on the professional public persona that
one is presenting at all times on social media.
Guidelines like “Be Professional”, “Be Respectful”,
and “Always Give Proper Credit” speak to this.
• Please refer to Social Media Guidelines handout
Faculty component
• It is important to address our faculty and staff when
implementing this policy.
• We request all social media sites affiliated with the
University to be properly registered as noted in the
Middle College Social Media Registration handout.
• We at Middle College would like to establish best
practices in order to hold all stakeholders accountable.
Please see the attached Faculty Best Practices handout.
• We have also scheduled multiple faculty seminars as
highlighted in the Faculty Seminars worksheet.
Implementation of
Policy
• Three Touch plan:
• Before Orientation
• During first year seminar course
• Upper level student workshops through the Career
Resource Center
Touch One
• Program similar to alcohol edu
• Videos and information to educate students about appropriate use
of social media
• Post workshop online quiz must receive a 90% or higher to pass
• Students must sign Electronic Civility Pledge, which adheres to
the social media guidelines, in order to register for classes.
• Baxter-Magolda’s (1992) Theory used in this touch because we
realize there are different ways in which students develop
cognitively. This touch is based on the assumption that students
learn form absolute knowing. For more developed students, the
videos would include students presenting knowledge and the test
allows students to show mastery
Touch two
• Lesson Plan: Establishing positive personal branding
among social media channels
• Taught during First Year Middle College-Success for
the Future course
• Students will review instances where individuals
misused social media and how it affected the
individual and the community
• Students will be assigned to create an Action Plan for
how they will change the way they use social media.
• See Lesson Plan Handout & Facebook Ethics 2011
Handout
Touch Three
• Collaboration with Career Resource Center
• Sponsored workshops focused on positive social media
use
• These programs will intentionally integrate group work
and debate in order to engage with the ways of
knowing under Baxter-Magolda’s (1992)
epistemological reflection model
• See attached workshop examples handout.
Sanctions
• Sanctions can be for individuals or organizations
• Using Gilligan’s Ethic of Care Approach, sanctions
will be individualized to each situation.
• Common sanction for first transgression is an
educational requirement typically our Moral and
Ethical Decision Making Seminar.
• Multiple transgressions may result in higher level
sanctions up to and including suspension and
expulsion.
Reference
• Evans, N., Forney, D., Guido, F., Patton, L., & Renn,
K. (2010). Student development in college. (2nd ed.). San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass