How much communication is too much communication?
For effective borrower communication, I noticed it stated that students open up about living situations when they trust the faculty, and that is the way to increase relationships. But I find that sometimes students have friendships with instructors or faculty that leads to problems like favoritism. How do we develop relationships with the students and gather important data such as homelessness or financial difficulties, without crossing the line and making these personal conversations?
Justine,
Having an "Open Door" policy so that all students have equal access to time with instructors and faculty should help students feel that no ne is getting preferential treatment. There will always be instances where someone will just feel more comfortable opening up to a particular person and perhaps providing more personal details of their situations. I think in the end you have to set a standard of what is acceptable for what you are trying to accomplish and rely on your staff to maintain their professionalism in all student contacts. Staff should also have someone they can go to should they encounter a situation they may not feel comfortable discussing.
Cheryl Kesson
I always keep the lines of communication professional between student and instructor. If a student opens up a conversation regarding living sistuations, need for food etc. I will direct them to student/career services. We as faculty must be very careful about personal opinions regarding student personal situations they sometimes can get out of control to the point where the student may expect the instructor to help them with finances. I let my students know of my concern by directing them to an area to get assistance for personal needs in turn the career services will update their data at the time of the session.
Ceola,
I think you make an excellent point about boundaries. Your solution for referring them to a department within the school that can assist them shows that you understand their situation and are providing them with the resources they need while still maintaining a professional relationship.
Cheryl Kesson
I feel more is better...but I try to make it more interesting
Referring people to different departments is all well and good, but what if the school is really small and there aren't a lot of different departments? Things have to be handled without farming it off.
Anthony,
Smaller schools may not have a separate department for everything and one person may perform many different tasks. I think the key is to just make sure people know what is in within their area of expertise to answer and who they can refer someone to if it outside of this. You want to make sure you are providing students with accurate and the most up to date informtaion at all times.
Cheryl Kesson
In fact, smaller schools may have a distinct advantage in this regard. Our focus on communication between departments aims, above all, to ensure that students always know where to go for help. We want to avoid situations where a student asks for budget help or loan advice but is shut down because she approached the wrong office. A smaller institution will likely find it easier to engage all staff on serving students and providing a welcoming, helpful atmosphere.
Kellee Gunderson
Agreed, if you can make the communication interesting for the student they will be more willing to communicate and i dont feel that there is too much communication.
A previous participant suggested the use of video and online chat as a way to increase our availability to students. Knowing the demographics and needs of students at our individual institutions will help us make the best choices in how we reach out; extended office ours and non-traditional forms of communication can help keep students in contact with staff.
People love to talk about themselves, we get all kinds of information about students. It does make it difficult not to cross the line but I think the knowledge helps us in the long run.
Lora,
Very true, just look at social media which is full of people who just can't share enough. It is important in a professional environment to maintain that professional distance but still make the student comfortable enough to be able to talk with you and keep you up to date on changes in their lives. Down the road trying to find someone can be difficult and it is a big help to have some information to go on when trying to find them.
Cheryl Kesson
The original post concerned the positive and negative aspects of faculty involvement –I believe we can proactively use these relationships to assist struggling students. Many schools have early intervention initiatives where instructors identify students who are falling behind academically- rather than wait for a student to drop out, we coach them on study skills and stress management, and talk to them in order to understand their particular situation. Perhaps a similar approach can be accomplished through FA. For example, students may be expected to make small regular payments on institutional loans or tuition and can be counseled on budget and household planning when they fail to make the necessary contribution. You are right that getting to know students’ challenges and goals allows us to be more effective in the long run.
