Dealing with Disruptive Students
Stanford students are, for the most part, courteous and polite.
We do, however, occasionally experience disruptive behavior that
spills into PWR classes, as much as into any other class at any
other university. That is why it is PWR policy that all PWR syllabi
reproduce the Stanford Fundamental Standard and mention student
responsibility to uphold this standard. If problem behavior occurs,
take careful note of it (time, place, description of behavior,
anyone else present). Then alert the PWR directors immediately
to talk about how best to respond to the problematic behavior.
If the behavior persists, let the student know that the behavior
is inappropriate; if necessary, ask the student to leave class
or your office. Then set up a meeting with the student and the
Associate Director. In addition, in consultation with the PWR
directors, you may decide to notify the student’s Resident
Dean or the appropriate staff member in Undergraduate Advising
Programs of the problem. Use this option when you’re concerned
about the student’s overall well-being in addition to the
disruptive behavior; advisors are trained to advise students
on further resources available to them. If problems persist after
the formal meeting with the Associate Director, you should again
discuss the situation with him, deciding whether to contact another
appropriate authority, such as the Academic Advisor, a Coach,
etc. Remember that we can (and will) remove students from class
for persistent misbehavior. To do so, we will need good concrete
documentation, so keep careful records.
