Harvard Business School’s mission is to educate leaders who make a difference in the world. As outlined in the School’s Community Values, realizing that mission requires an environment of trust and mutual respect, free expression and inquiry, and a commitment to truth, excellence, and lifelong learning. In our classrooms, in particular, students must feel able to engage in open and respectful discussion of complex, sensitive, and consequential questions. Our case method learning model requires students to make arguments—sometimes because they deeply believe in them, sometimes because they’re exploring what they believe, and sometimes because they’re trying to understand a contrary view or have been asked by the professor to take a position with which they may disagree. Everybody is learning, everybody has to think and respond within fast-moving discussions, and everybody will make mistakes, all as part of the HBS learning process. In training to take on positions of responsibility and make consequential decisions with limited information and time, students must be able to build the skills of exploring various viewpoints, changing their minds, and taking risks.
The proliferation of social media has affected this learning environment. Because of the potential permanence and widespread dissemination of communications designed to reach a broader audience, if statements made in class are quoted or described with attribution in online channels or platforms, students may be reluctant to approach any question, particularly controversial ones, with the openness and vulnerability they need to grow and to learn from one another. Moreover, it may be hard, when quoting statements made in class, to accurately distinguish when speakers are expressing their own views or seeking to test their views against others, to capture all of the qualifications or nuance that speakers may have provided, or to fairly convey the full context necessary to understand why speakers took a particular position on a complex business question. In addition, the widespread dissemination of such statements with attribution may risk subjecting the speaker to harassment, bullying, or worse.
The Harvard Business School Community Values generally address these types of concerns by requiring students, faculty, and staff to “respect the rights, differences, and dignity of others,” maintain “honesty and integrity in dealing with all members of the community,” and demonstrate “accountability for personal behavior.” Because it is especially important for students to bring an attitude of openness and experimentation to their learning, and because our pedagogy often requires students to speak in class and take positions on topics not of their choosing, we are providing additional clarity on non-attribution, modeled on the Chatham House Rule, for student statements made in class:
When communicating with anyone who did not participate in the relevant classroom discussion, whether verbally or in writing (including via text, email, or social media platforms), no one may repeat or describe a statement made by a student in class in a manner that would enable a person who was not present in the class to identify the speaker of the statement.
To support our educational objectives and to enable excellence in teaching and learning, it is vital to foster the norms and conditions that will encourage free, open, vigorous, and respectful classroom discourse that allows everyone in our broad and diverse community to learn from one another.
Clarifying Points:
a. The phrase “statement made in class” includes a verbal statement made in any class session of a course, as well as a written statement made in class or classroom-related spaces (such as a Zoom chat or a Canvas discussion thread).
b. Nothing in the foregoing prevents: (a) a faculty member or students who are members of the relevant class from otherwise communicating, in person or electronically, with one another – including with students who were absent from a conversation but are permitted to access its content, for example through classmates’ notes or official recordings – in a manner that attributes statements to a student; or (b) interpersonal exchanges, whether verbally or in writing, about the class discussion generally.
c. Nothing in the foregoing prevents: (a) a student or faculty member from referring to a statement made in class with attribution in seeking assistance from HBS or University administrators or faculty or reporting to appropriate officials misconduct under law or University or HBS policy; or (b) a faculty member from otherwise performing ordinary responsibilities as an advisor or recommender.
d. In order to further facilitate open classroom discussion, faculty members may adopt additional guidelines regarding recounting or reporting on statements made in class. Any such guidelines should be stated clearly and prominently in writing at the outset of the course in a syllabus or statement of classroom expectations or policies.