2015 Virtual Case Study (VCS) Scenario
The intercom buzzed in Jim Barnes' office early Monday morning. The Director of Residence Life answered. "Morn' Shirley. What's up?"
"The President's Office is on the phone," she said. "They want to know if you're free to talk?"
"Kind of early for President Michaelson to be on the prowl," he answered. "Sure, send them through." A minute later the Director's phone rang again and it was Jane, President Lloyd Michaelson's personal assistant of ten years. "Jim, hold on for the President." There were a few seconds of silence and then the head of Waterville College came through the receiver."
"Jim, how are you this morning," he asked.
"Doing well, Mr. President," he replied.
"Good to hear," he said. "I wanted to ask you about the training your office ran the other day."
"Oh," he replied. "I'm surprised you knew about it."
"Just because there are 8,000 students on campus doesn't mean I don't have my pulse on the place," he responded.
"No disrespect meant."
"None taken," the President laughed. "So tell me about, what was it, an anti-bullying workshop?"
"Yes," Barnes said. "We've been seeing an increase of bullying, both online and in-person and our office felt it needed to be addressed. The Internet has helped aggravate the problem as a lot of the students are posting videos on YouTube and Facebook. We also have a moral and social responsibility to address this issue since under Title IX the institution must provide a safe and harassment free environment."
"So, what was the workshop about," he asked?
"Well, it was a combination training with the resident assistant staff about the basics of bullying and also a contest."
"A contest," the President said?
"Yes, we challenged the RAs to come up with a 2-3 minute video about bullying," the Director said. "The top three will win a cash prize and be played as a public service announcement over the campus cable TV network."
"Sounds like a great idea," the President replied.
"We're hoping it will attract a lot of attention and maybe have a residual affect of people beginning to talk more about the topic."
"Can you send me the winning videos when they're finished," he said.
"Certainly but, if you want, we are going to have a big reception where we're going to show all the videos," Barnes replied. "If you have time you can be at that."
"I'll make time," he said. "Just give the details to Jane. Thanks Jim. This sounds like it will help."
"You're welcome."
[Some elements of the case study were drawn from the website campusanswers.com]
You are part of one of the RA teams tasked with creating a 2-3 video on some aspect of bullying. Director Barnes wants to keep the subject matter open and let each team approach the topic as they see fit. The video can be serious or humorous in nature. Each team also needs to come up with a 3-5 page PowerPoint that presents their topic and serves as an introduction to their video.