I believe that there are many benefits to having a collective activity in your classroom in which everyone is encouraged to contribute to naming the community norms. When we create things (paintings, songs, dances, stories), we care deeply about them, and the same is true for putting together a statement of values. When a professor hands out a printed copy of expectations, students will hopefully read them and know what class behaviors are expected of them. However, when a class creates the expectations together, everyone who contributes has a stake in them, remembers them more vividly, and is more likely to be invested in enforcing them. For instance, if a student suggests as one of the expectations: No Yik Yak about anything that goes on in the class and if they later see that someone did post something, the student might be motivated to mention their disappointment about it in the next class. Accountability is heightened.
Here are some examples of Community Values as stated in a Semester at Sea course syllabus:
- Well-Being: We commit to the health, safety and well-being of ourselves.
- Interconnectedness: We understand our actions and attitudes have an impact locally and globally. We always seek to positively affect the planet and the people around us near and far.
- Respect: We honor the inherent dignity of all people with an abiding commitment to freedom of expression, scholarly discourse and the advancement of knowledge. We have the right to be treated, and the responsibility to treat others, with fairness and equity.
- Inclusion: We ensure inclusive environments that welcome, value, affirm and embrace all people.
- Integrity: We are honest and ethical in all of our interactions, including our academic work. We hold ourselves accountable for our actions.
- Excellence: We model the highest academic standards of preparation, inquiry and knowledge and consistently seek to understand complex issues and express informed opinions with courage and conviction.
Here is another set of values, found in the Wharton undergraduate division:
Students devote their all to each endeavor while pushing through challenges to reach goals, both academically and beyond.
We are a community that values collaboration and mentorship, where students can ask for assistance from peers while lending a helping hand to others.
We value diversity and inclusion, where students, faculty, and staff from all backgrounds and perspectives are embraced and treated with respect, care, and fairness.
Students seek exploration, in which students embrace inquiry at every level of their education, careers, and interactions.
We value integrity, which allows students to act and lead with principle, bringing a sense of humility and honor to their academic, extracurricular, and professional lives.
We seek to make a positive impact. Students strive to be at the forefront of social change by working collaboratively and compassionately.
Honesty, integrity, accountability, respect, and a host of other worthy goals are at the core of a set of community values. Having them will allow your class to enunciate and then uphold basic values of your community. The Ombuds Office is here to support you throughout your academic year and wishes you a successful, joyful, and meaningful experience.
