To ‘friend’ or not to ‘friend’: Examining the role of professional versus social networks in nursing education

Executive Summary:

The line between personal and professional networking is becoming even more critical to define as a growing number of professors recognize the value of online networks as a tool for engaging students, but do not recognize the difference between social networks and professional networks--a trend that some in education find alarming. Despite the growing number of college and grade-school faculty finding trouble with personal boundaries in online social networks, a recent survey by Pearson Education indicates “more than 80 percent of college faculty are using social media, with more than half using these tools as part of their teaching” (Pearson 2010). This high rate of faculty utilization means that educational institutions are finding themselves engaged in new conversations to determine their roles, responsibilities, and liabilities in relation to social networks.

Many universities and colleges remain reluctant or unsure of how to put these tools to use. This uneasiness has been exacerbated with the recent media spotlight on professors and teachers who use popular social networks that have no demarcation of public and private uses or legal liabilities.

One of the more immediate concerns for many institutions is the lack of control over what type of information will be posted. Students and faculty may be in the habit of sharing private information with their current social networks, which can lead to uncomfortable situations when the walls of privacy are no longer delineating between personal and private communications. More than social discomfort, legal liabilities also exist regarding student privacy with potential FERPA concerns.

Finding the right type of network that facilitates communication between faculty, staff, and administrators while maintaining safe protocols can be difficult. Nursing organizations should look for networks that offer flexibility in how faculty, students and administrators collaborate; and in how the network can be used for staff, faculty, and student learning. Ideas for how to do this and examples of clear guidelines for faculty behaviors and are included in the whitepaper, as well as policies that keep a clear wall established between work and personal activities to avoid prevent awkward social situations or giving the impression of favoritism.

Online networks are providing more than classroom interactions for many schools. They are also being used for recruiting, alumni networks, professional development networks, etc. Because of the multitude of uses and the hopes of engaging alumni and faculty beyond graduation, it would be beneficial to consider a network platform that students and faculty will be able to continue to use, unlike many proprietary or “in-house” networks.

Some institutions of higher learning have not implemented official social network policies, some because they are waiting to see what happens and some by design. Whatever their approach, though, online networks that have a clear professional purpose and the ability to monitor and guide conversations offer an environment bettered suited for more formal uses.

Professionally-focused niche networks like Nurses Lounge are stepping in to fill this need by moving their members beyond the job search and into professional productivity. “Our goal with NursesLounge.com has always been to create a professionally-focused network where nurses, their schools, and medical facilities can avoid the problems associated with the more ‘social’ websites,” said Tim Armes, CEO of Nurses Lounge. “We offer complete control of profiles, communication channels and branding so nurses and their organizations can stop worrying about unwanted liabilities and get back to their very real business of communication, collaboration, and innovation.”

Gloria Gadsden, a sociology professor at East Stroudsburg University, thought she was venting her frustrations harmlessly with family and friends on her Facebook account when she wrote, “Does anyone know where to find a very discreet hit man? Yes, it’s been that kind of day …”; however, when students reported her tongue-in-cheek posts to the university, the institution elevated Gadsden’s post from harmless hyperbole to a potential threat to student safety.

Gadsden had not paid close enough attention to the line between her personal and professional posts—and resulted in her suspension from the university. “I actually did see that page as something that was not a part of ESU, not a part of my professional life,” she said. “I don’t invite students into that part of my life.” (Stripling, 2010)

The line between personal and professional networking is becoming even more critical to define as a growing number of professors recognize the value of online networks as a tool for engaging students without recognizing the difference between social networks and professional networks--a trend that some in education find alarming. “I believe that Facebook and similar sites have contributed to the collapse between personal and professional boundaries, which is very troubling,” wrote Christopher Conway, an associate professor of modern languages at the University of Texas at Austin, in an e-mail. “All faculty should strive to maintain a modicum of distance and professionalism, both in real and virtual space.”(Stripling, 2010)

Despite the growing number of college and grade-school faculty finding trouble with personal boundaries in online social networks, a recent survey by Pearson Education indicates “more than 80 percent of college faculty are using social media, with more than half using these tools as part of their teaching” (Pearson 2010). This high rate of faculty utilization means that educational institutions are finding themselves engaged in new conversations to determine their roles, responsibilities, and liabilities in relation to social networks. (See “Social Media in Higher Education” sidebar for more on the survey results.)

The Value of Engaging with Online Networking

From role-playing exercises to discussion forums on Twitter, social networks are popular tools for engaging students, faculty, and alumni (see “Social Engagement” sidebar), and will likely remain a key communication channel for disseminating information to students, faculty and staff.

In addition to the ease and efficiency that digital networks disseminate information, create collaborative environments, and facilitate diversity in participants and in thinking, they also help create valuable relationships that may have otherwise never existed. “Online social networking is more efficient than face-to-face social networking,” said Dr. Dan Stefanescu, Suffolk University professor and director of their graduate program in computer science. “It allows a different level of friendship. Our data can act as an intermediary, connecting two parties that may have otherwise never come in contact with each other without the internet” (Russo, 2010).

Supporters of online networks in schools also cite the importance of student-faculty relationships that help students feel at ease with their studies, progress, and interactions with the professors. At the same time, instructors can gain insight into the students, a necessary and important facet of a high-quality education and the subsequent writing of letters of recommendation (Young J. R., 2010).

The Perils of Popular ‘Social’ Media

Despite the ubiquitous presence and noted values of online social networks, many universities and colleges remain reluctant or unsure of how to put these tools to use. This uneasiness has been exacerbated with the recent media spotlight on professors and teachers who use popular social networks that have no demarcation of public and private uses or legal liabilities.

One of the more immediate concerns for many institutions is the lack of control over what type of information will be posted.

Facebook, MySpace, and other sites…are defined by their lack of boundaries. Those signing up to them decide what to put there – it could be violent, sexist or defamatory – and then decide who can see it. Members may establish a public network, or a closed network to which academics may be invited. But, unlike an institution's own virtual-learning environment, the discussions on these sites take place without any institutional sanction. And this is the case even if the contacts are made exclusively within an institution. Furthermore, universities are conscious that the more they try to get involved in social-networking sites, the more resistant student users may become.(The Independent, 2007)

While many professors exalt the benefits of gaining insights into student private lives and engaging in discussions within a medium that makes students comfortable, a certain amount of restraint must be used to avoid overreaching into the private lives of students, a distinction that can be hard to see with online social networks (The Independent, 2007).

Students and faculty may be in the habit of sharing private information with their current social networks, which can lead to uncomfortable situations when the walls of privacy are no longer delineating between personal and private lines, such as professor Gadsden’s posts about her students on a Facebook account that she thought was private.

Awkward situations may also arise when one party sends a friendship request or invitation to join a group or event that is turned down. Students can also feel pressured when they receive a “friend request” from a professor or teacher, or feel that the instructor is intruding in the student’s personal space (Young J. R., 2010).

More than social discomfort, legal liabilities also exist regarding student privacy:

There are also potential FERPA concerns. Requiring students to join your Facebook fan page means essentially forcing them to tell Facebook that they're enrolled in your course. That runs counter to FERPA which says that students should get to decide whom to tell about their course enrollments. (Young J. R., 2010)

Reduce Your Risk with the Right Type of Network and Purpose

When it comes to ensuring that a college or university is using 21st century tools to engage students, it is helpful to first consider the added value to student learning. Keep in mind that just because you can use a new tool with your website, doesn’t mean you should. “Look to see if the activity contributes to student learning and relates to a particular learning objective. Otherwise it can be distracting or viewed as busywork. (Young J. R., 2010)

Finding the right type of network that facilitates communication between faculty, staff, and administrators while maintaining safe protocols can be difficult. Look for networks that offer flexibility in the amount of exposure; how faculty, students and administrators collaborate; and in how it can be used for staff, faculty, and student learning.

Remind your staff that they represent your institution’s brand and that the line between their private lives and their professional lives needs to be well-defined. “Faculty may make efforts to preserve their private lives, but professors really have “24-7” jobs and can never fully distance themselves from their identities as educators held to high standards, said Brad Ward, chief executive officer of Blue Fuego, a firm that advises colleges on using social media. “Anybody who is representing an institution is an extension of that brand. Everyone should be aware at this point that what you put on the Internet isn’t always private.” (Stripling, 2010).

Clear guidelines should be established for faculty behaviors and expectations when utilizing social networks. For example, a professor may establish a policy at the beginning of the semester that friend requests will not be accepted on Facebook, but that professional affiliations will be made on another, more professional network, such as LinkedIn or NursesLounge.com. This type of policy prevents awkward rejections or intrusions, avoids giving the impression of favoritism, and keeps a clear wall established between work and personal activities.

Online networks are providing more than classroom interactions for many schools. They are also being used for recruiting, alumni networks, professional development networks, etc. Because of the multitude of uses and the hopes of engaging alumni beyond graduation, it would be beneficial to consider a network platform that students and faculty will be able to continue to use, unlike many proprietary or “in-house” networks.

Sample University Approaches

Many of the facilities that are actively using social networks have clearly established social media policies, like DePaul University and Ball State University (Stripling, 2010). Social network policies are helpful not only for communicating behavior guidelines, butt for also helping guide administrators in discerning acceptable and unacceptable conduct, as well as provide clearly documented evidence of a violation if legal or administrative actions are necessary. Take the Gadsden case, for example. “East Stroudsburg does not have a social media policy, and university officials were unable…to point toward a specific policy that Gadsden may have violated through her postings. Prior to her meeting with administrators to discuss the postings, Gadsden said, ‘I have never been told by my department chair or any administrator about any specific guidelines about social media’” (Stripling, 2010).

Some institutions of higher learning have not implemented official social network policies, some because they are waiting to see what happens and some by design. The Missouri School Boards Association recently recommended that the Columbia student policy committee forbid interactions on Facebook, a recommendation that the committee rejected. “We didn’t think we needed to go that route,” Superintendent Chris Belcher said. “Social networks are simply another form of communication, and we don’t need to create a new policy every time we have a new form of mass communication.”

Kelli Hopkins, associate executive director of board services for MSBA, said the association was looking to “prevent inappropriate communication.”

“One thing that comes into play is not only how teachers present themselves in classroom or the lunch line but how they present themselves in all ways of communication with students and parents, and one way of communication with students and parents is through social networking,” Hopkins said, putting the focus on the message of the communication and not on the tools used to deliver the message. “What’s important is the district has established that it’s not going to tolerate inappropriate relationships between students and staff.”

Conclusion

Online networks with a clear professional purpose and the ability to monitor and guide conversations offer an environment bettered suited for more formal uses.

Professionally-focused niche networks like Nurses Lounge are stepping in to move their members beyond the job search and into professional productivity. “Our goal with NursesLounge.com has always been to create a professionally-focused network where nurses, their schools, and medical facilities can avoid the problems associated with the more ‘social’ websites,” said Tim Armes, CEO of Nurses Lounge. “We offer complete control of profiles, communication channels and branding so nurses and their organizations can stop worrying about unwanted liabilities and get back to their very real business of communication, collaboration, and innovation.”


By Anthony Armstrong