Recognize that every opinion is valuable

Express and receive feedback without making it personal

Stop collusion, direct the issue back to the owner

Practice authentic listening

Encourage discussion of ideas and issues, not people

Celebrate each other's successes

Treat others as they wish to be treated

The RESPECT Initiative began in Fall 2010 to address civility issues in the academic workplace and to create a code of conduct for faculty, students and staff that provided clear expectations about professional conduct.

Examples of Incivility

• Negative innuendo (e.g. raising eyebrows, face-making, body language, other forms of non-verbal communication)
• Covert or overt negative communication (e.g. snide remarks, withholding information, abrupt responses, emails in all caps)
• Undermining activities (e.g. not available to help, turning away when asked for help)
• Sabotage (e.g. deliberately setting up a negative situation)
• Bickering among peers
• Scapegoating (e.g. always assigning blame to one person when things go wrong)
• Backstabbing (e.g. complaining to others about one individual)
• Failure to respect the privacy of others (e.g. gossip/talking about others without their permission)
• Broken commitments and/or broken confidences (e.g. repeating something that was meant to be kept confidential

Examples of Being Unprofessional

• Failure to respond to instructor communication
• Removal from clinical site/asked to leave the clinical setting/asked to not return to clinical site
• Consistent disregard for assignment expectations (e.g. deadlines, format/adherence to guidelines, APA formatting, grammar, etc.)
• Disrespect for authority
• Inappropriate postings to social network sites that include information about clinical site, patients and/or preceptors
• Unexcused absences in class or clinical
• Disruptive behavior of any kind in class
• Chronic tardiness
• Failure to prepare for class
• Regularly leaving class early without making arrangements with the instructor
• Failure to attend required examinations when scheduled

How to be Professional and Civil? RESPECT!

As faculty, students and staff, we strive to incorporate these guidelines into our interactions with others, regardless of medium. To learn more about the RESPECT program, contact the Office of the Dean at 913-588-1601.