Code of Conduct for Course Staff

Course staff in this class are required to abide by the code of conduct shown below. We’ve written this code of conduct not because we expect bad behavior from our staff, but because we believe a clear code of conduct is an important piece in creating inclusive spaces, particularly in CS. We share this code of conduct with you (the students) so you know the expectations we have set for our staff and, while we expect and hope they will scrupulously follow this code of conduct, you should let us know if you witness or experience a code of conduct violation. This will allow us to continue to improve the student experience in this class, and to prevent any issues from reoccurring.

Please report any code of conduct violations to Borja Sotomayor, via e-mail (borja@cs.uchicago.edu). If you would prefer to speak with someone who is not affiliated with this class, please contact Ravi Chugh (rchugh@cs.uchicago.edu). All reports will be treated confidentially, and your identity will not be shared with any of the involved parties.

As an instructor, teaching assistant (TA), or grader, your work will have a direct impact on our students’ learning experience. While you will have certain duties that are specific to the class you are involved in, there are more overarching principles that we expect you to adhere to as a member of this course’s staff.

Inclusive environment. Every student is welcome in our class, regardless of gender, sexuality, disability, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race, religious background, and immigration status. No student should ever be made to feel like they are not welcome in the class, or in their chosen field of study.

No gatekeeping. Your job is not to filter out students who “don’t have what it takes” to be in our field. Our job is to enthusiastically keep the gates open for every student, and to help them cross those gates. We view the diversity that students bring to the class and our field as a resource, strength and benefit.

Inclusive communication. You must always communicate with students in a way that makes them feel welcome in the class. Using snark, sarcasm, or any form of hurtful or exclusionary language when communicating with a student is completely unacceptable.

Every question is welcome. We welcome any and all questions from students about the course or about computer science more generally. Every question must be approached without prejudice and is deserving of a helpful answer.

Feedback first, penalties second. When assessing students’ work, you should not act like a rubric-checking automaton. You must, first and foremost, provide students with constructive feedback that will help them improve their work. In some cases, you may need to apply penalties to a student’s work; never use hurtful or exclusionary language when applying these penalties and, whenever possible, provide constructive feedback on why the penalty was applied.

Conflicts of interest. You should not assess the work of students you have an existing relationship with (of any type: roommates, friends, romantic partners, etc.) Always err on the side of disclosing such conflicts of interest. The exact nature of the relationship does not need to be disclosed; it is enough to state that you feel you have a conflict of interest with a student. Conflicts of interest should be disclosed to the appropriate academic authority (typically the course instructor(s) for TAs/graders, and the Director of Undergraduate or Graduate Studies for instructors). This information will be treated confidentially, and arrangements will be made to ensure you do not have to assess students you have a conflict of interest with.

Favoritism. If one of your roles is to provide support to students in the class, access to that support must be equitable, through well-established mechanisms (office hours, online forums, etc.). If a student you know or interact with outside of class asks for help outside of official class channels, please direct them to those channels. No one should get “priority support” just because they know you outside of class.

Harassment, Discrimination, and Sexual Misconduct. You must adhere to the University of Chicago Policy on Harassment, Discrimination, and Sexual Misconduct. Everyone on the course staff (including instructors, TAs, and graders) is considered to have “academic authority” over the students in the class. This imposes strict constraints on your relationship with students in the class and, most notably, you are strictly forbidden from having, or attempting to initiate, a romantic and/or sexual relationship with students in the class. Any such relationship that already exists before the class must be reported as a conflict of interest as described above (i.e., the exact nature of the relationship does not need to be disclosed).