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I'm currently a 4th year visiting full time instructor at a small liberal arts college (SLAC). I recently thought about something that I hadn't considered up until this point, which are the professional ethics involved in a peer support club branch I've started at the SLAC. Notably, it and the other branches (one at the regional college where it started and another at a flagship university in my state) are also unregistered but the universities permit it. So far, it has been well received and even a staff member wanted to become involved in it. Even though I'm a faculty member at this SLAC, I'm still a PhD student at the university where I'm wrapping up my PhD.

There is a Discord server where everyone from all branches can join and engage. I find myself engaging in there quite often and will use the channels created (even the venting channel) to engage with everyone. I'm also sharing updates on my job searching for post graduation jobs (since autistic adults and securing employment is a challenge) and will vent in the vent channel. I make sure that when I vent it's nothing about students or anything like that.

It got me thinking recently though. Are there ethical concerns involving this? Faculty are supportive that I started the club and like that I'm doing it but I'm wondering how much I have to keep the online presentation in check.

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    Can you clarify why you have left it unregistered? Are you most worried about ethics or professional reputational concerns?
    – Dawn
    Commented Dec 31, 2023 at 14:15
  • @Dawn It's unregistered on all campuses because of how bureaucratic the registration process is. There has to be four executive members and a faculty sponsor. Kind of hard to do that with autistic students given how underrepresented they are in the college population and how few graduate from college. I am paying attention to ethical stuff. Professional reputation is potentially another one since I could see the argument for my active engagement in the Discord server and using it the same way the students are as unprofessional. Someone could even say it's not peer support since I'm faculty.
    – zzmondo1
    Commented Dec 31, 2023 at 14:27
  • @Buffy Removed those tags and I'm going to edit in reputation.
    – zzmondo1
    Commented Dec 31, 2023 at 14:28
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    Both institutions should have guidance on faculty-student interactions, and may well have grad-undergrad guidance as well. If there are ombuds you might consider approaching them as well.
    – Jon Custer
    Commented Dec 31, 2023 at 17:17
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    So, an anonymous user suggested I change all mentions of the word "autistic" to "sperg out" instead. To the person who did that, you made a scummy move.
    – zzmondo1
    Commented Jan 1 at 0:13

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This is sort of a blind answer as I don't know what you are saying there, especially when venting. I'm assuming you are a member of, or associated with, someone who fits the target group of the club so are writing as an insider, not an outsider.

As a fairly rough rule of thumb, supposing you were tenured. Would the things you say raise issues of the continuation of your tenure or would they call it into question. Don't take that as a sharp distinction, but generally, if a tenured faculty member could safely do those things then it is unlikely (IMO) that there are ethical issues.

Reputation is a personal judgement, however, and different people will judge differently, but if you are calling out inequities and such, then I wouldn't judge you negatively even if you go a bit "over the top". Calling out individuals, however, might have a different outcome.

If you are (or would be) comfortable having your name associated publicly with your comments then there are probably few issues.

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  • My name is associated with those comments. Specifically, my first name and last initial. Those who've met me in real life know my last name though. I fit the target criterion as well and am an autistic faculty member. I'm not tenured as well since my position is a visiting one.
    – zzmondo1
    Commented Dec 31, 2023 at 18:00
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Ethically, I think there are not too many issues with having an unofficial peer support group. However, you are not a peer. You are an instructor and advisor. You need to have some professional boundaries. I would not write anything on the discord server that you would not say in a campus meeting or write in an email to a student from your university account. I would also suggest that you work toward some basic CYA and have it documented in an email somewhere that your supervisor knows you are acting as a faculty sponsor for this informal peer support group.

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