Cyberbullying in Online Higher Education: Best ...

DiMatteo-Gibson, D., Zobisch, P., & Swanson, A. (2015). Cyberbullying in online higher education. In Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference 2015 (pp. 2059-2064). Chesapeake, VA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved from https://academicexperts.org/conf/site/2015/papers/45143/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cyberbullying in Online Higher Education: Best Practices Donna DiMatteo-Gibson, PhD Paula Zobisch, PhD Andree Swanson, EdD Forbes School of Business, Ashford University USA [email protected] Abstract: Cyberbullying and poor netiquette are prevalent in higher education. In the k12 arena, legislation has been written, bills have been passed, and policies are in place in many states. Instead of focusing on k-12, the researchers chose an online business school to evaluate if faculty had an adequate understanding of cyberbullying, netiquette, and understanding of the similarities and differences between the two. In addition, they reviewed the information available to this faculty body regarding the policies and procedures that were in place on cyberbullying. Based on the study that was conducted and the review of policies, the researchers created a list of best practices for implementing procedures and conducting training on cyberbullying and netiquette. This information can be used a reference for other online higher education institutions.

Introduction The research in cyberbullying has been heavily focused on elementary and secondary education; however, cyberbullying permeates throughout online higher education. The challenges regarding bullying in higher education are the need to define cyberbullying, detect cyberbullying, and how to respond to cyberbullying when it is occurring. Policies and best practices must be in place to minimize these occurrences for students and professors. Procedures on what students and faculty can utilize will be recommended based on survey results. The remainder of this document includes three sections: a) a literature review, b) a data and methodology area, and, c) concluding comments. The literature review includes a summary of cyberbullying in higher education distance learning. An explanation of the exploratory survey methodology used in this study and an analysis of the data will be discussed. Finally, concluding statements and best practices will be presented and future opportunity for research and projects will be addressed.

Literature Review Misawa and Rowland (2015) highlighted the different forms of academic bullying within the realms of adult, higher, continuing, and professional education. In higher education there appears to be an “intersection of racism and homophobia” (p. 4). Faculty-to-faculty bullying is also evident in the forms of gender, race, and just being mean phenomena. Morgan (2012) presented information on cyberbullying in schools. The use of the Internet allows otherwise cowardice individuals to become brave and threatening to others. “The higher degree of anonymity afforded to students on the Internet allows bullies to have less fear of disciplinary action as a result of their nefarious activity” (Morgan, 2012, p. 175). Morgan emphasized the need for educational leaders to strategically plan for the inevitable attack. “Unfortunately, many teachers do not have enough training of knowledge on how to respond to bullying” (p. 176). Rivituso (2014) conducted an interpretive phenomenological analysis on cyberbullying victimization among college students. Using Bandura’s Theory of Tradic Reciprocal Determinism and the General Strain Theory as a framework for this study, six themes emerged from the results of the study. The six themes were: 1) repeated instances leading to feelings of vulnerability and fear; 2) distrust of technology and mistrust of people; 3) the value of friends in college and their impact on victim self-esteem; 4) self-control in response to lack of control over cyberbullying instances; 5) feelings of stress, depression, and embarrassment; 6) frustration leading to self-blame. (Rivituso, 2014, para. Abstract) Of note is that the population was not specifically online students, but volunteers from a New York community college.


In a review of contemporary literature, very few studies have been conducted that assess cyberbullying at the higher education online level (Eskey, Taylor, & Eskey, Jr., 2014a; Eskey & Eskey, Jr., 2014b; Smith, Minor, & Brashen, 2012). In a 2013 study, a sample of 202 online faculty members were surveyed regarding whether or not the faculty member could identify what constitutes cyberbullying, whether or not the faculty member had experienced cyberbullying, and whether or not the faculty member understood how to cope with cyberbullying (Eskey et al., 2014a; Eskey & Eskey, Jr., 2014b). The findings of the study suggested 50% of the faculty members surveyed had experienced some form of cyberbullying. These findings are supported by Smith et al. (2012) whose study results indicated 17% to 30% of faculty had experienced some type of cyberbullying. Methods to reduce cyberbullying incidents could include institutional training of faculty to cope with cyberbullying as well as addressing cyberbullying in a student handbook (Eskey et al., 2014a; Eskey & Eskey, Jr., 2014b). Faculty training should include how to identify cyberbullying and how to react in addition to reporting the incident to appropriate administrative personnel (Eskey & Eskey, Jr., 2014b). Consultation from the legal department should provide insight into what policies and protocols must be set in place. Washington (2015) specifically addressed cyberbullying and the law. “To date, 18 states have laws to address cyberbullying, compared with 49 states, all except Montana, having laws to address bullying (Hinduja & Patching, 2013)” (Washington, 2015, p. 24). Although state laws focus on the k-12 arena, nowhere (federal or state) addresses cyberbullying. In 2009, a cyberbullying prevention act was introduced into Congress, but was not successfully passed. Specifically, the business college in this current study has campuses in California, Colorado, and Iowa, thus, these states were reviewed for their legislation on cyberbullying. California Cyberbullying Legislation Cyberbullying anti-bullying laws do address cyberbullying and California legislation has developed policies for schools. Cyberbullying legislation was taken into effect January 2014, which allows superintendents and principles to discipline students who cyberbully (AB-256 Pupils: grounds for suspension and expulsion: bullying). At present, no federal law directly addresses cyberbullying (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.); however, schools are required to address bullying conduct. California’s anti-bullying laws do cover cyberbullying. The State of California, Office of the Attorney General, discussed cyberbullying. Anyone who sends any online communication to deliberately frighten, embarrass, harass or otherwise target another is a cyber bully. The cyber bully can use instant messenger, e-mail, websites, diary sites, online profiles, interactive games, tablets, and cell phones to assault his or her victim. Most of the time, the cyber bully knows the victim, and most of the time cyber bully has been bullied too. Racism, intolerance, and fear can also play a role. (State of California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General, n.d., para. 2). Colorado Cyberbullying Legislation Cyberbullying in higher education is addressed in the Colorado legislature. In the state of Colorado, harassment of someone online is considered a misdemeanor. In looking at cyberbullying in the state of Colorado, it is considered a crime in Colorado to harass or threaten anyone via any source of electronic communication. And, every school in the state is required to institute policies against cyberbullying under its state law. Specific cyberbullying laws exist in the state of Colorado. It is a crime in Colorado to use any of the following types of electronic communications, in order to communicate with another person in a manner that there is an intent to harass or threaten bodily harm or property damage to the other person (England, 2015). These forms of electronic communications include a telephone, data network, text message, instant message or computer network or system (Colorado Revised Statute § 18-9-111) states that anyone who uses any of these means of communication to make an obscene comment, request, suggestion, or proposal commits criminal harassment. In the state of Colorado, harassment of someone online, by text, email, social network posts, or otherwise is a misdemeanor crime in Colorado (Colorado Revised Statute § 18-9-111). A person convicted of harassment may be sentenced to not more than one year in county jail, a fine of not more than $1,000, or both (Colorado Revised Statute § 18-1.3-505). In addition to the criminal harassment law against cyberbullying, Colorado law requires public schools to take action to prevent and address cyberbullying. In the public school system in the state of Colorado, they must adopt policies to prevent bullying (Color ado Revised Statute § 22-32-109.1). The policies must set out the discipline that will be imposed on students who engage in bullying or who retaliate against a student who reports suspected bullying.


Iowa Cyberbullying Legislation Cyberbullying in higher education is addressed in the Iowa legislature. In Iowa, legislators have addressed cyberbullying in their general criminal statutes and also in their school harassment and bullying law. Cyberbullying can be charged as harassment when the bully takes one of several specified actions with the intent to intimidate, annoy, or alarm another person. One of these actions involves a defendant who communicates by telephone, writing, or via an electronic device (such as a computer) in a way that is likely to cause annoyance or harm to the victim. Every school’s policy in the state of Iowa must cover both electronic and non-electronic bullying (Steiner, 2015). Each school policy must include their definition of harassment and bullying, a procedure for reporting instances of bullying, investigation and documentation procedures for following up and acting on such reports, and consequences and actions to be taken by the school to stop and prevent incidents of bullying and cyberbullying [Iowa Code Ann. § 280.28(3)].

Data and Methodology Using an exploratory survey approach, online faculty at an online school of business were surveyed based on their experiences with cyberbullying and how this issue permeates within the online teaching community. Exploratory design is “...conducted about a research problem when there are few or no earlier studies to refer to. The focus is on gaining insights and familiarity for later investigation or undertaken when problems are in a preliminary stage of investigation” (Exploratory Design, 2014, para. 1). A pilot study was conducted to assess the appropriateness of the survey questions. Seven participants responded to the first set of questions. The researchers reviewed the responses and added additional questions to differentiate between cyberbullying and netiquette, then embarked on the full study. Two hundred and twenty-eight (228) full-time and part-time faculty at an online school of business participated in the survey. Ten questions relating to cyberbullying and netiquette were asked of the participants and five questions gathered demographic information (gender, years of experience, degree level, teaching level, and online teaching experience).

Results and Discussion Most of the participants were part-time faculty (83.77%). The largest section of participants (54.39%) had earned a Master’s degree. The majority of participants (58.33%) were male. Over 56.58% of participants had been teaching online for a period of 4 to 9 years. Although 51.75% of participants had experienced a rude or inappropriate email directed towards them, 46.93% of participants had not experienced any cyberbullying. This does not imply that these results were only found while working at this school, as many faculty teach at more than one college or university. Participants were asked what type of cyberbullying they had specifically experienced: 1. Protecting students from peer cyberbullying 2. Rude, inflammatory, or inappropriate postings with the discussion forum a. Homophobic rants b. Religious tirades 3. Inappropriate use of social media to sway student opinion contrary to course / learning objectives 4. Specific attacks on the instructor One participant noted that there is a “huge difference between a rude student and cyberbullying.” Areas of concern to faculty that are outside the parameters of cyberbullying are: 1. End of course surveys a. Complaints on the survey that were or were not addressed during the class b. Complaints to their advisor without communicating with the faculty first 2. Emails to the Dean without discussing issues with faculty Less than a third of the 228 participants (29.39%) had not experienced poor netiquette. Participants were asked what their experience with netiquette issues. Participants experienced typing in all caps (50.88%), using inappropriate language (44.74%), and lack of consideration for others (55.26%). Some examples of poor netiquette that were cited in addition to the three selections above were:


1. Emphatic replies 2. Making inappropriate religious or political statements 3. Not using any punctuation (texting tone) A participant noted that “students will say things in writing that they would never say face-to-face to an instructor.” A majority of the participants 134 (58.77%) stated that they had been cyberbullied. This is a bit different from the results reflected in Table 2 where 107 (46.93%) have not been cyberbullied. Most of the participants 142 agreed that when a student complains to other students through a mass emailing this is a form of cyberbullying. Over 92% (212 participants) recognized a threatening email or text from a student as cyberbullying. A mixed response existed for the final question where a student posts a question and some of the other students accuse the faculty of not responding or not knowing what they are doing. Participants (146 – 64.04%) recognized this as cyberbullying, and 82 (35.96%) did not recognize this as cyberbullying. Two questions were asked regarding netiquette. Overwhelmingly, faculty recognized (216 – 94.74%) and understood (224 – 98.25%) the difference between cyberbullying and netiquette. Faculty at the school of business were asked if they knew how to respond to cyberbullying and knew how to report it. Although 204 (89.47%) of the participants recognized and knew how to respond to cyberbullying, 24 (10.53%) did not. Many participants (193 – 84.65%) knew how to recognize and report cyberbullying, however, 35 (15.35%) of the participants did not know how to report cyberbullying. As this study only surveyed a portion of the faculty, the researchers believe that the 10% who do not know how to respond and the 15% who do not know how to report it reflect a compelling gap in training and policies.

Results and Discussion Our study has shown that cyberbullying is a serious issue that must be addressed when it comes to faculty teaching at online schools. The importance of investigating cyberbullying and netiquette issues within online institutions was emphasized. Also, the complexities in regards to defining cyberbullying and how to best respond to these issues was addressed. Our study addressed that recognizing what is and is not cyberbullying is an ongoing task; however, recognizing differences between cyberbullying and netiquette was not a concern. Even though a majority of our participants indicated that they knew how to respond to cyberbullying issues, there was still a sizable percentage that did not. Our study addressed differences between netiquette and cyberbullying. By obtaining this survey data, we highlighted the importance of schools ensuring that online faculty understand what are netiquette and cyberbullying issues as well as outlining how to respond to such instances.

Concluding Comments The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge and understanding of cyberbullying and netiquette within the school of business at an online university. Faculty, both part-time and full-time, were asked questions regarding their understanding of cyberbullying, netiquette, and how to respond to it and report it. Based on the data from this study, the researchers created a list of best practices for creating policies, procedures, and implementing training. The researchers developed a list of best practices for incorporating an awareness and reporting of cyberbullying and netiquette issues: 1. Review current faculty policies and procedures. a. Are they current? b. Do they address the procedures for faculty to report and respond to cyberbullying? c. Provide examples 2. Review current student policies and procedures. a. Are they current? b. Do they address the address appropriate netiquette? c. Provide examples 3. Create a cyberbullying email or hotline for faculty to report cyberbullying. a. Ensure a response to faculty within 24 hours b. Assign a trained person to respond to emails 4. Create faculty training via webinar, tutorial, and or job aid on how to recognize and report cyberbullying and inappropriate netiquette.


Strengths of this study were that the researchers focused on one online school of business. This can be generalizable by replicating the study through different online colleges. Another strength was that the Dean of the school supported the study and provided the researchers with a specific database of faculty addresses. Conversely, the researchers attempted another study by reaching online faculty through social media (Linkedin, Facebook, and Twitter) and did not have success. Limitations of the study were that participants self-reported on cyberbullying or netiquette. An observation style experiment may result in different perspectives on cyberbullying and netiquette. Participants may also have experience teaching at other online colleges or universities that may have different policies, procedures, and experiences.

References AB-256 Pupils: grounds for suspension and expulsion: bullying. California Legislature. (2013-2014). Retrieved from http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billHistoryClient.xhtml Colorado Revised Statute § 18-9-111. Harassment. Colorado Revised Statute 18-1.3-505. Penalty for misdemeanor not fixed by statute - punishment. Colorado Revised Statute § 22-32-109.1. Board of education - specific powers and duties - safe school plan conduct and discipline code - safe school reporting requirements - school response framework - school resource officers - definitions. England, D. C. (2015). Cyberbullying laws in Colorado. Retrieved from http://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/cyberbullying-laws-colorado.htm Eskey, M. T., Taylor, C. L., & Eskey, M. T., Jr. (2014a). Cyber-bullying in the online classroom: Instructor perceptions of aggressive student behavior. Retrieved from http://www.westga.edu/`distance/ojdla/winter174/eskey_taylor_eskey174.html Eskey, M. T., & Eskey, M. T., Jr. (2014b). Cyberbullying in the online classroom: Faculty as the targets. In Proceedings of TCC Worldwide Online Conference 2014 (pp. 30-41). TCCHawaii. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org/p/149826/ Exploratory design. (2014). Research methods. Lynn University. Retrieved http://lynnlibrary.libguides.com/researchmethodsd8 Harris, K. D. (2014). Cyberbullyng. Retrieved from http://oag.ca.gov/cybersafety/children/cyberbullying Iowa Code. 280.28 Harassment and bullying prohibited – policy -- immunity. Misawa, M., & Rowland, M. L. (2015). Academic bullying and incivility in adult, higher, continuing, and professional education. Adult Learning, 26(1), 3-5. doi:10.1177/1045159514558415 Morgan, H. (2012). What teachers and schools can do to control the growing problem of school bullying. Clearing House, 85(5), 174-178. doi:10.1080/00098655.2012.670075 Rivituso, J. (2014). Cyberbullying victimization among college students: An interpretive phenomenological analysis. Journal of Information Systems Education, 25(1), 71-75. Retrieved from ProQuest database. Smith, G., Minor, M., & Brashen, H. (2012). Cyber bullying: A new phenomena in online education. Online Learning Consortium International Conference on Online Learning. Conference proceedings. Retrieved from http://olc.onlinelearningconsortium.org/conference/2012/aln/cyber-bullying-new-phenomena-online-education


State of California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General. (n.d.). Cyberbullying. Retrieved from http://oag.ca.gov/cybersafety/children/cyberbullying Steiner, M. (2015). Cyberbullying laws in Iowa. Retrieved from http://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/cyberbullying-iowa.htm U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Stopbully.gov. Washington, E. T. (2015). An overview of cyberbullying in higher education. Adult Learning, 26(1), 21-27. doi: 10.1177/1045159514558412

Cyberbullying in Online Higher Education: Best ...

Cyberbullying in Online Higher Education: Best ...

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