Contract for managing student behavior

Teaching / Pedagogy

Has anyone here ever made a contract that all of your students must sign? A colleague of mine has one, and with our department's unique blend of terrible student behavior, I've been thinking about making one too. If you have one, what's on it?

Edit: It's quite interesting that some here seem to take for granted the fact that native students implicitly know what is and isn't appropriate behavior. Some of us don't have that blessing.

in Professorsby shaded_grove

60%

2mo

emchops

2mo

Every school I've taught at has a Student Code of Conduct which includes disruptive behavior. During the pandemic, I included a bit more behavior specific expectations in the syllabus (for distance learning) but that's as far of a "contract" as I went.

shaded_grove

2mo

My students don't have the sufficient language skills to read or understand campus rules.

PositiveJig

2mo

But they'd understand a contract?

shaded_grove

2mo

It would be translated.

PositiveJig

2mo

If that's the issue, maybe just translate the relevant parts of the Code of Conduct for them.

Honestly... making someone sign a contract is kind of weird. I'm a responsible person who would not be inclined to violate behavioral standards, but even I would be like, "Why am I supposed to sign something?" A reasonable person would or could or might avoid signing contracts willynilly.

PositiveJig

2mo

Is the rest of your course taught in non-English? (Serious question.)

shaded_grove

2mo

These are low-intermediate ESL students, many of whom aren't literate in their first language. They don't read syllabi after I go over it. The rest come from cultures where it's acceptable to talk over the instructor and make demands. Many simply aren't fully aware of our expectations. Others just like to toe the line.

PositiveJig

2mo

many of whom aren't literate in their first language. They don't read syllabi after I go over it.

I'm struggling to figure out why your go-to solution to this problem is to create a written contract, then.

dougwray

Adjunct, various, university (Japan 🎌)

2mo

I have a note in syllabi to the effect that students disrupting class will be asked to leave, but that's about it. For take-home (read 'on line' and worth about 4 percentage points of the final grade each) quizzes I have a 'promise to not cheat' agreement that students have to go through before attempting the quiz.

I inherited a graduate course syllabus that warned that police might be called upon to intervene in physical altercations. I never did learn what happened to the professor who wrote it, so maybe the professor couldn't do remote teaching from prison?

Archknits

2mo

I once had to break up a physical fight between two students in a campus office.

I also stopped a student from shoplifting once.

It’s wild what happens on campus

ImaginaryMechanic759

2mo

I used to say something similar because I once had students calling for backup in the classroom. The university made me the mediator.

henare

Adjunct, LIS, R2; CIS, CC (US)

2mo

do your students not already agree to a behavior policy wen they enroll?

PositiveJig

2mo

My question about this kind of thing is always... what if the student refuses to sign? Are you comfortable waging a battle to kick them out of the class? On what legal ground would you be able to do this?

Remind the students of the CoC they're already bound by and move on.

iTeachCSCI

Ass'o Professor, Computer Science, R1

2mo

While I don't think this needs to be a separate action, many faculty have a "syllabus quiz" on which students need to earn 100% to be eligible to submit work.

This issue can be piggy-backed onto that; put real consequences for student behavior into the syllabus (maybe a fractional multiplier to be applied to their grade, for each infraction, plus reports) and make sure they ackowledge it in that syllabus quiz.

PositiveJig

2mo

Not a bad workaround, honestly!

Novel_Listen_854

2mo

My approach is to explain my policies in detail in the syllabus. I assign students to read it. The students who read it can predict what will happen if they break with policy. I enforce the policies consistently.

What practical difference would making students put a signature on a document make? What problem does that solve? Not a rhetorical questions -- I'm asking because I'd like to understand.

Own_Club_2691

2mo

There is no legal basis on which I could force my students to sign a contract. They are inscribed at my university, and the university makes the rules.

PositiveJig

2mo

I'm baffled why someone would downvote this!

NesssMonster

Assistant professor, STEM, University (Canada)

2mo

In my LMS I'm requiring students to read (open) the code of conduct and the syllabus before they can access course materials (notes, problem sets, etc) but not assignment drop boxes (that way if they choose not to do this, they can still submit all assignments and receive full marks.... Good luck)....

Perhaps your LMS has a similar option "I agree to abide by the student code of conduct" before any material becomes available