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In-class cell phone policies relaxed by some instructors
Some instructors have relaxed their in-class cell phone policy after the Feb. 14 shootings in an attempt to alleviate student concerns.
Officially, the policy is still up to the individual instructor, but a number of faculty members and administrators have suggested a modified approach.
Christopher McCord, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, encourages a softer policy.
“I have suggested to department chairs that they ... relax their personal policies [on cell phones],” McCord said.
No university-wide cell phone policy is in place.
McCord added the recommendation was “only a suggestion, not an instruction.”
Some instructors said leaving cell phones on during class could have mixed results. Communication instructor Jason Akst said having the phones on might help students feel more secure. If some students feel safer with their phones on, he added, allowing them to remain on is “a small and easy thing to do.”
There will be problems with more students answering their phones during class, Akst said. If students know they will not be admonished for answering a call, they will be more willing to answer their phone.
“Students may keep cell phones on, but I ask that they switch them to vibrate, and I further ask that the call be REALLY important before students answer,” Akst said of his classes.
The reason for changing current cell phone policies is to create a more secure learning environment, said communication professor Thomas Oates. He implemented an adjusted cell phone policy in only one of his two classes. He said his class’s safety concerns convinced him to change his policy.
Overall, however, Oates said it is a “low-impact way to address students’ anxieties.”
Senior English major Gerardo Torres said the new policy is not going to drastically affect students’ concerns. “Most people have them on during class anyway, so it’s not really going to affect anyone.”
Torres’ FLSP 320 professor informed her class of her more lenient policy, but she only mentioned it as a side note.
“She didn’t make a big deal out of it,” Torres said.
Lisa Fry, a junior pre-elementary education major, thinks that though more lenient cell phone policies are a good idea, it does not do enough to alleviate her anxieties after the shootings.
“A cell phone will not stop it from happening again,” Fry said.
Akst doesn’t think a more lenient policy is a good idea, but said he would implement it nonetheless.
“I think everyone is going to have to be extra compassionate and tolerant in the coming months,” Akst said.
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