US pharmacy professors have unanimously agreed they would not send a “friend” request to a student on social networking site Facebook.
A survey of 95 faculty members from four schools of pharmacy in Ohio found less than half had Facebook profiles, and of those that did, most said they ignored requests from students.
Senior author James McAuley, associate professor of pharmacy practice and neurology at Ohio State University said the research was the result of a former colleague calling to get advice about Facebook etiquette after receiving a “friend” request from a student.
“At the time she was a relatively new faculty member and she wanted to learn from her more senior peers,” Prof McAuley said.
“That was the premise of doing a broader survey.”
Of the faculty members who had Facebook profiles 20 per cent had accepted requests from students and of those who were friends with their students 12 per cent gave access to their entire site.
“My stance, along with everyone else, is that faculty should not reach out to current students on Facebook, but if I get a request from a student, I will accept their friendship,” Prof McAuley said.
“Most students are aware of the potential problems with putting something on their page that is inappropriate or unprofessional.
“If you’re friends with a faculty member, then it’s not a good idea to post pictures about getting drunk on a Friday night when on Monday morning you have to go to a job interview or a site as a student in a professional practice,” he said.