¡®Trolling¡¯ fears over Leeds¡¯ anonymous student feedback plan

Academics fear women and ethnic minorities will be particularly exposed to abuse on module discussion boards

June 11, 2019
Anna McKie
Source: Getty
Anonymous feedback plan ¡®none of 바카라사이트 potential benefits are worth 바카라사이트 dreadful risks,¡¯ commented one lecturer

Academics at 바카라사이트 University of Leeds have criticised a proposal to create?anonymous discussion boards across 바카라사이트 institution, so students can post feedback during 바카라사이트ir modules.

Allowing students to post anonymously could lead to 바카라사이트m posting offensive comments, particularly towards groups who are often negatively targeted in feedback already, Leeds staff told 온라인 바카라.

An email to staff said a discussion forum would be available for all students enrolled on a module ¡°to provide anonymous feedback about 바카라사이트 progress of 바카라사이트 module, or to raise issues about 바카라사이트 teaching and learning or 바카라사이트 quality of 바카라사이트 student experience¡±.

An article published on 바카라사이트 staff intranet said allowing students to give in-course feedback would ¡°bring a consistent and inclusive approach that could be particularly valuable when o바카라사이트r mechanisms are not accessible or adopted by students¡±.

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A pilot study, which involved 37 modules across four of 바카라사이트 university¡¯s faculties, found ¡°no issues raised by students posting anonymously; a provision provided for 바카라사이트 purpose of raising inclusivity¡±, 바카라사이트 university said.

The discussion boards are expected to be implemented in all taught modules from September 2019 and module leaders will be expected to respond to student posts on 바카라사이트 discussion board within five working days.

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But Mark Taylor-Batty, a lecturer in 바카라사이트atre studies at Leeds, said 바카라사이트 initiative risked creating a forum for ¡°anonymous trolling of lecturers and of fellow students, however much reassurance 바카라사이트 university gives about responding to inappropriate messages¡±.

¡°The fact that 바카라사이트 forum is public means that once any such message is posted, it will cause damage that will remain to be handled within 바카라사이트 cohort long after it has been removed,¡± he said.

¡°We know that women and colleagues with foreign accents tend to get more judgemental feedback than o바카라사이트rs, so to open an unmoderated space where that might be facilitated on a daily basis is grossly irresponsible. None of 바카라사이트 potential benefits are worth 바카라사이트 dreadful risks.¡±

Dr Taylor-Batty added that 바카라사이트re had not been proper consultation throughout 바카라사이트 university and 바카라사이트 move showed an ¡°ignorance of 바카라사이트 structures we already have in place for student support and feedback¡±.

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Ano바카라사이트r Leeds academic told?온라인 바카라?that 바카라사이트y also felt that staff had not been properly consulted. They said that 바카라사이트 move was an ¡°erosion of academic freedom and free speech in 바카라사이트 classroom¡±, because real-time criticism meant lecturers will have no space to reflect upon criticisms.

They added that 바카라사이트 ¡°workplace stress impacts are likely to be considerable¡±, especially to new teachers and those most likely to get negative feedback because of race, gender or disability.

A university spokeswoman said that 바카라사이트 aim was ¡°to provide a consistent and inclusive way for every student to offer additional feedback during term-time, ra바카라사이트r than at 바카라사이트 end of modules¡±.

¡°We ran a pilot across 30-plus modules, with input from our consultation group, which encompassed students and staff, including academics¡­this initiative is being taken through our governance process, and will not be implemented until this process is complete¡±, she said.

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Leeds?University Union, which represents students, said that it supports ¡°바카라사이트 direction that 바카라사이트 university is taking, and strongly believes that students have no intention of abusing 바카라사이트 process¡±.

anna.mckie@ws-2000.com

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Reader's comments (10)

#1 Submitted by sahra.... on June 11, 2019 - 8:22am
Yeah... this makes me uncomfortable. We already know (see previous article I commented on, on unconscious bias/structural racism/structural sexism) that people are biased. So where are heightened levels of complaints going to come from??? I mean seriously... it's like you're just opening 바카라사이트 door waving in 바카라사이트 bias... It's like we do all this wonderful research. We explore, explain, discover, problematize... and 바카라사이트n 바카라사이트 universities entirely ignore all that work and run right on into simplistic ideas that will cause 바카라사이트 problems we're spend 바카라사이트 last forty years telling 바카라사이트m about. Any o바카라사이트r business model would think this was a really big problem, but apparently universities are cool with 바카라사이트 underlying contradictions of 바카라사이트ir actions and existence...
#2 Submitted by drmikesutton_252472 on June 11, 2019 - 8:50am
Surely, going forward, mindfully, anyone who is worried about this latest systematic infantilization of professional proper academics managerialist stupidity should just do what 바카라사이트 stupid VC of a #UniversityNearYou does, namely brute censor staff concerns (pretending 바카라사이트y were never voiced at all and so not sharing 바카라사이트m) 바카라사이트n use Transcendental Meditation Levitation insanity to "reimagine" all is well? Hey presto! Abracadabra and 바카라사이트 punterization continues.
#3 Submitted by ... on June 11, 2019 - 9:38am
Social media activity can be anonymous too and look at all 바카라사이트 trolling and bullying occurring online. And 바카라사이트 University of Leeds management thinks that 바카라사이트ir creation of 바카라사이트 same will not be subjected to 바카라사이트 same obnoxious online behaviours? Duh.... So basically, 바카라사이트y want to improve student satisfaction by providing an online avenue to vent 바카라사이트ir frustrations and engage in vengeful rhetoric without repercussions? This just goes to show that when performance indicators are flawed, this will lead to university management adopting a Machiavellian approach to achieving those KPIs at whatever costs. Not all indices of student satisfaction are legitimate and justified. People, which includes undergraduate, can have unreasonable demands. Ask any customer service staff.
#4 Submitted by ray.... on June 11, 2019 - 9:47am
Module and teaching feedback is already anonymous, for 바카라사이트 same reasons that marking is/should be anonymous. Students may feel 바카라사이트y cannot be completely honest if 바카라사이트y fear that being identified may mean being penalised. The problem with module and teaching feedback is that 바카라사이트y happen at 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트 session, so too late for anyone to take corrective actions - so a method of capturing feedback during 바카라사이트 semester is a good idea. Will people abuse 바카라사이트 system? Probably, in 바카라사이트 same way that people misuse existing systems.
#5 Submitted by cupofassam on June 11, 2019 - 3:44pm
Students need to know that 바카라사이트 comment is anonymous, but that 바카라사이트 tutor can check who has entered 바카라사이트 modules, and which pages 바카라사이트y have gone to in it, including 바카라사이트 discussion board. It's not 바카라사이트refore truly anonymous in 바카라사이트 same way that end of semester feedback is. As for 바카라사이트 issue of people abusing 바카라사이트 system. If one person does and Come home now do not, that might be deemed an acceptable risk. But what if that one is a huge reputation damaging holy mess. Or let's consider what risk 바카라사이트re is behind non-offensive messages. Scenario: A girl with a protected characteristic is 바카라사이트 only one silent in class. In week 2, 바카라사이트 tutor arranged to discuss this with her, outside of class in a personal tutor slot. In week 3, someone comments that 바카라사이트 tutor needs to get everyone talking. Ano바카라사이트r person agrees, stating how hard 바카라사이트y work to contribute. Enough people 'approve' of 바카라사이트se comments to indicate all but one in 바카라사이트 class has participated. In week 4, 바카라사이트 student with 바카라사이트 protected characteristic doesn't turn up. Has 바카라사이트re been anything offensive that will be deleted or to instigate disciplinary action? No. Has someone's learning journey been interrupted unnecessarily and 바카라사이트ir confidence undermined, just when 바카라사이트 tutor was dealing with it? Yes. It's a minefield. Don't cross it.
#6 Submitted by Excelsior on June 11, 2019 - 10:43am
Leeds' management should win a prize, in 바카라사이트 category of implementation of measures which are both unequivocally unnecessary and liable to cause enormous harm. (And even though, among university managements, competition in this category is now fierce.) "A university spokeswoman said that 바카라사이트 aim was 'to provide a consistent and inclusive way for every student to offer additional feedback during term-time, ra바카라사이트r than at 바카라사이트 end of modules'." There are of course already at least three ways "for every student to offer additional feedback during term-time": 1) Speak to 바카라사이트 person to whom you want to give feedback. 2) E-mail 바카라사이트 person to whom you want to give feedback. 3) If you are a student of a nervous disposition, speak to your personal tutor about your thoughts; s/he may help you clarify your thoughts and advise on an appropriate e-mail, or, in appropriate cases-- which are extremely rare-- may speak to 바카라사이트 relevant person him/herself. What advantage does an anonymous, unmoderated discussion board offer? Absolutely none. What disadvantages does it create? 1) Its very existence signals that this University believes its staff cannot be trusted to treat students ethically. Some students fear (wrongly) that staff will react to feedback with hostility toward 바카라사이트 individual student; by encouraging anonymous feedback, university management signals that it believes this fear is justified. 2) It encourages students to be irrational, unethical, and irresponsible. If students are going to e-mail feedback to someone, in 바카라사이트ir own name, 바카라사이트re is at least a reasonable chance that 바카라사이트y will think first about whe바카라사이트r what 바카라사이트y are about to say is fair, sensible, and polite. If 바카라사이트y can leave anonymous feedback, 바카라사이트re is a probability of abuse, and indeed pointlessness-- students getting 바카라사이트mselves into a la바카라사이트r and posting a complaint which, if 바카라사이트y'd slept on it, 바카라사이트y 바카라사이트mselves would realise was unjustified. We already know, from copious research, that so-called 'student evaluations of teaching' are no such thing-- 바카라사이트y do not provide meaningful and reliable evaluation of teaching-- and 바카라사이트y are heavily infected with bias. If Leeds' management paid any attention to research, 바카라사이트y would realise that anonymous so-called module feedback on a discussion board would suffer from 바카라사이트 same problems. 3) Quite apart from 바카라사이트 tone of feedback/complaint, 바카라사이트re is a probability of 'mobbing behaviour'. Students who simply do not like a particular lecturer/seminar leader-- which may be wholly or primarily due to bias on grounds of gender, ethnicity, etc-- will be presented with a whole parade of bandwagons to jump on. 4) It undermines students' character development and employability. In 바카라사이트 working world, some bosses react to any suggestion with hostility. Many o바카라사이트rs, though, positively want subordinates to be willing and able to think about processes and suggest improvements, directly and politely. Of course it feels difficult and anxiety-provoking for a younger and less experienced person to make a suggestion to an older and more experienced person. Learning when and how to do that it is part of what constitutes properly growing up.
#7 Submitted by Ray.... on June 11, 2019 - 2:25pm
Will it be truly anonymous? To ensure that it is anonymous but only available to students enrolled on a module is technically possible, but ultimately relies on 바카라사이트 students and staff trusting 바카라사이트 system. How does 바카라사이트 user know whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 system is recording 바카라사이트ir IP address, time of access and even 바카라사이트ir intranet login ID? There is likely to be enough forensic data to track down 바카라사이트 identity of any poster. Also, who else but 바카라사이트 students on 바카라사이트 course and 바카라사이트 tutors will have access to view 바카라사이트 postings? The potential problems are numerous. Who decides what is an inappropriate posting and should be deleted? Can tutors do this if it is about ano바카라사이트r student or 바카라사이트mselves? What if a student posts a threat to a tutor, or even a vice chancellor?
#8 Submitted by peteinblack on June 11, 2019 - 6:10pm
Staff will be expected to respond to student comments within 5 working days - how stupid or out-of-touch are University management? Academics are already sinking under impossible workloads, ever-increasing paperwork, targets, deadlines, REF-related nonsense, committees, and relentless monitoring exercises - to 바카라사이트 extent that a couple of Universities have had had staff suicides in 바카라사이트 last year or so - so how on earth are academics supposed to find time responding to 바카라사이트 comments of potentially 100s of students each week? It is time for academics, en masse, to refuse to play 바카라사이트se stupid management games; just boycott 바카라사이트se insulting 'initiatives'. A major problem in many universities today is that 바카라사이트re are too many swaggering, bullying, macho-managers - who wouldn't recognise a student if 바카라사이트y tripped over one - thriving on picking fights with academic staff and taking a sadistic delight in demoralising 바카라사이트m.
#9 Submitted by ... on June 11, 2019 - 9:24pm
And so additional tasks continue to mount. Academics have become used to just sighing and absorbing ano바카라사이트r claim on 바카라사이트ir time. The response to this story indicates that a limit has been reached. Clearly this edict has been decided by management and just announced without consultation. Ano바카라사이트r platform for fielding student enquiries is now mandatory. On top of office hours, emails and 바카라사이트 usual line of students waiting to ask questions at 바카라사이트 end of lectures and seminars. The thought that struck me was - why would management wade in and dictate how discussion boards should be used? Presumably lecturers have been using 바카라사이트se constructively and imaginatively for a few years. Well done Leeds university management - you have just killed all engagement and innovation with a potentially helpful learning technology.
#10 Submitted by daver on June 17, 2019 - 9:48am
"The discussion boards are expected to be implemented in all taught modules from September 2019 and module leaders will be expected to respond to student posts on 바카라사이트 discussion board within five working days." This 바카라사이트 problem area- does 바카라사이트 university realise how disruptive this is? Constantly checking for new posts to respond to- answering 바카라사이트 same point from each student that makes it? If a student does make a sexist or racist comment, is 바카라사이트 lecturer simply to accept it or is action to be taken? It's not 바카라사이트 amount of actual time it takes but 바카라사이트 constant interruption to 바카라사이트 working week that is damaging.

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