Preparing for and Responding to Student Incivilities: Starting the Dialogue in Public Affairs Education

Almost all faculty, even those in graduate public affairs programs, will at some time encounter incivility in the classroom. How we respond sends an important message about how we as individuals, programs, and a profession value civility. Master’s of Public Administration and Master’s of Public Policy programs have a particular responsibility to graduate individuals who not only have substantive expertise but also meet the highest standards of civility. In this essay, we present a series of recommendations for how individuals, programs, and institutions might respond to incivility. While not all of these recommendations will be appropriate for all programs, and some may be perceived as more troubling than the problem they are intended to address, we hope that they will to serve as the starting point in stimulating discussion of this issue within programs and across the profession.