BOULDER, Colo.—University of Colorado administrators are discussing guidelines for using social media like Facebook and Twitter on campus, including information about copyrighted materials, confidential information and judgment.
CU officials said the school’s guidelines are still in the early stages of discussion but are likely to include suggestions on social media use.
According to the Boulder Daily Camera ( ), CU web manager Joanna Bertrand said the school’s intent is not to restrict communication between students and teachers. Teachers and students should know the rules before going online, she said.
Most university students are not minors, making online interaction between students and teachers more difficult to control, university spokesman Bronson Hilliard said
“We don’t regulate adult behavior, with the exception of academic dishonesty and criminality,” Hilliard said.
Athletics spokesman Dave Plati said student athletes face stricter policies about social media use as decided by individual coaches.
Football players are not allowed to post or tweet anything about the team, he said.
CU’s relationship policy already covers the university’s regulations about romantic relationships between students and teachers, Hilliard said.
But he said even that behavior is hard to regulate.
“If a graduate or even an undergraduate becomes involved in a relationship with a faculty member, our first concern is that it’s consensual, but we don’t regulate student relationships,” Hilliard said.
CU senior Marian Hale said there should be policies regarding student-teacher communication in public schools to protect minors from potential harassment.
“At a younger age I could definitely see students being vulnerable if a teacher could ‘friend’ their students and interact with them online in an inappropriate way,” Hale said.
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Information from: Daily Camera,
