Departmental Community Agreement

Adapted from Boston University Center for Teaching and Learning

What is a community agreement?

A community agreement may be known by other terms such as workplace norms, expectations, guidelines, or contract. It is typically co-created through discussion between faculty and staff. An agreement guides the way faculty and staff engage with each other, behave in a variety of situations and interact in an equitable, inclusive, and respectful framework.

Having a community agreement is useful because it creates a positive workplace environment where all faculty and staff feel like they belong and are encouraged to participate in decision making in order to support their individual and collective success. It also helps faculty/staff to be accountable when situations do occur, and create mechanisms for responding to the issue by referring back to the agreements.

**Note that a collaborative agreement needs to be distinguished from departmental policies and should not be framed as compliance or punitive.  

Some possibilities for developing the agreement:

• Create a list of suggestions faculty/staff/students use to highlight the behaviors and attitudes they feel are most important for the success in their department at a department meeting or group who meets frequently
• Bring community agreements as a topic of discussion and be sure that the document is co-created by key members of the group – use time and space to brainstorm and ensure representation from the department (eg including student employees)
• Ask faculty/staff to reflect, individually and then in small groups, on the characteristics of positive workplace experiences and contrast these with negative experiences. From these reflections, the group may develop a list of behaviors and attitude to frame their interactions.

When do I create a community agreement?

Typically, community agreements are discussed and formulated early in the formation of the group, or committee, but they can be done at any time.

**Remember to re-visit the agreement periodically throughout the year to ask whether anything needs to be clarified, changed, or added.

Examples of what might be included in a community agreement

This list of points that could be included in a community agreement is adapted from “Establishing Classroom Ground Rules,” from the Center for Teaching and Learning at Washington University in St. Louis.

• We will show respect for others as individuals by learning and using their preferred names (and pronouns, if individuals feel comfortable sharing their pronouns)
• We will respect the speaker, even when I do not agree with the point the speaker is making
• We will assume good intentions from others but acknowledge impact in order to mitigate harm
• We will be aware of the power dynamics in the room – not only with identity but also job title and status.
• We will try not to generalize about groups (even groups with which we identify) and we won’t ask another person to speak as a representative of a group.
• We will keep an open mind and look forward to learning about–and being challenged by–ideas, questions, and points of view that are different than our own.
• We will try to be aware of my own strengths and weaknesses: eg if I am someone who loves to verbally contribute, I will make space for others to share their views. If I am often silent, I will challenge myself to contribute a question or comment.
• We will aim to allow everyone the opportunity to revise and clarify ideas and positions in response to new information and insights.
• We will try not to make assumptions and will ask questions to learn more about other perspectives, especially those that are different from our own

Resources

Please see this list of resources, some of which have been cited in the guide, for additional ideas and information.

Arao, B. & Clemens, K. (2013). From safe spaces to brave spaces: A new way to frame dialogue around diversity and social justice. In L. M. Landreman (ed.) The art of effective facilitation: Reflections from social justice educators, (pp. 135-150). Sterling, VA: Stylus. The electronic version of this book is available through the Boston University library system with a BU log-in.

The Center for Teaching and Learning. (n.d.). Establishing Classroom Ground Rules. Washington University in St. Louis. https://ctl.wustl.edu/resources/establishing-classroom-ground-rules/

O’Connor, Cait. (2021, August 24). Using community agreements to start the year strong. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/using-community-agreements-start-year-strong

Race Equity & Justice Initiative. (n.d.). Race Equity Toolkit: Tool D Community Agreements. JustLead Washington. https://justleadwa.org/learn/rejitoolkit/

University of Minnesota Grounding Awareness from Office of Equity and Diversity

National Equity Project purpose of community agreements

Updated December 5, 2024