Community Expectations

William & Mary has developed community expectations for students participating in our programs. These expectations provide a consistent objective framework to help guide conversations around behavior inside and outside of the classroom.

Through this framework, students can understand their responsibilities as community members, assess their own needs, and identify when additional support might be needed.

Similarly, Students Affairs administrators and our Academic partners will use these tools to guide students to respond to challenging moments in the classroom, residential living, and larger community. They will reference these expectations when discussing current behavior that may be disruptive to the community, interfere with others’ use and enjoyment of our facilities and programs, or when it is evident that a student is struggling. We will also use this as a guide when intervention is needed to help identify resources, referrals, assessments, potential supports, and to determine potential reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities.

William & Mary Student Expectations

Community Expectations guide our community in meeting and achieving the William & Mary values of belonging, curiosity, excellence, flourishing, integrity, respect, and service.

Community Expectations are not waivable and consist of minimum required qualifications for continued university enrollment, engagement, and residential living. If a student cannot meet the following expectations independently with or without reasonable accommodation (including a personal care assistant), then a student may not be able to enroll and/or complete academic coursework or live on campus.

Self Responsibility

We expect that all students are able to care for themselves independently, with or without reasonable accommodation. This includes a demonstrating a reasonable level of:

Personal hygiene
Ability to care for one’s own basic medical and mental health needs, including medication management, independent self-regulation and distress tolerance
Building & common space care and cleanliness
Using spaces for their intended purposes

Community Accountability

For students who participate in community activities, such as club sports, recognized student organizations, sorority & fraternity life, community sponsored events, etc., we expect all students will be able to meaningfully engage in these activities without creating unreasonable disruption or interfering with the freedom of others to participate in those community activities.

This includes:

Appropriately managing interpersonal and group dynamics and conflict
Utilizing established processes for managing student organization business, such as selection of members and dispute resolution.
Following established University policies and conduct code.
Demonstrating appropriate sportsmanship

We expect that all students are able to engage mindfully and appropriately in their interactions with campus employees and resources.

This includes:

Responding reasonably and professionally to university communications. For example:
- Respond in a timely manner
- Respond in an appropriate tone
- Respond to the appropriate office as directed or in accordance with established policies and practices.
Utilizing university resources appropriately:
- Maintain respectful behavior and communication with student and professional staff
- Make and keep or cancel appointments for services as needed
- Utilize university spaces for their intended purpose.
  - Remove all trash and belongings and restore spaces to their proper configuration
  - Do not leave belongings unattended or prevent others’ use of shared spaces.
  - Do not sleep for prolonged amounts of time in public spaces

Academic Expectations

The purpose of attending William & Mary is ultimately to learn broadly, learn deeply, and gain the experience and skills that shape independent thinkers; to be engaged in the world around you, and prepared to assume a leadership role in your chosen field.

W&M graduates must be able to obtain a predictable level of competence and demeanor across the range of knowledge and skills generally expected of those who have successfully completed a given course of study. This allows graduate programs, licensing and credentialing authorities, future employers, and other interested parties to rely on these general competencies.

Intellectual and Conceptual Skills

Students must be able to learn, research, solve problems, apply concepts, and think critically, such that they can engage with course materials and satisfy course requirements.

Time Management Skills

Students must be able to, with or without reasonable accommodation, meet deadlines; complete all classroom, exam, and clinical assignments and administrative tasks within the assigned timeframe; and keep scheduled appointments.

Attendance and Exam Policy

Students must be able to comply with W&M’s policies on attendance, exams, and other assessments. Instruction is predicated on the concept of regular class attendance. Students must also satisfy the attendance, exam, and other assessment policies in all required and elective courses, clinics, and other offerings in which the student is enrolled. Students are responsible for communicating directly with their faculty about expected absences and arrangements to make up missed work.

Communication Skills

Students must be able to, with or without reasonable accommodation, communicate orally and in writing in an effective, efficient, mature, contextually appropriate manner. Students must be able to understand oral and written communications, including directions, corrections, and feedback and be able to respond effectively both orally and in writing. Students must be able to read and understand large amounts of written material as well as lectures, demonstrations, and audio and video presentations. This includes effective communication within required, group and collaborative projects, field and lab work and/or performance-based requirements.

Organizational Skills

Students must have the ability to set goals, to formulate a plan to accomplish those goals, and to implement such a plan. Students must be able to follow directions, to make reasonable inferences, and to organize and synthesize large amounts of information. Students must be able to organize ideas in order to communicate those ideas in writing and orally. Students must be able to understand deadlines and, with or without reasonable accommodations, to meet them. Students must be able to manage competing demands and heavy workloads.

Behavioral Skills

Students must be able to exercise good judgment, honesty, and integrity. The Honor Code applies on campus and abroad and notes that students may not, lie, cheat, or steal. In addition, students must be able to work successfully under stressful conditions with or without others and be able to demonstrate appropriate interpersonal skills. Students must be able to work alone, with other students, and with faculty and staff. Students must be able to work in teams, and in all cases to observe appropriate boundaries. Students must be able to handle courseloads and clinic demands that may be mentally and emotionally taxing. Students must be able to adapt to changing circumstances. Each student must be able to monitor their own behavior, not interfere with the learning environment of their peers, and adhere to all university policies.

Academic Integrity

In conjunction with their dean, faculty may determine that specific measurable components of their course are fundamental to the course objectives such that they are not waivable or otherwise subject to modification. For example, in some courses, collaboration (team projects), public speaking (presentation), attendance, and/or class participation is essential to the course objective. In these courses, students must be able to satisfactorily satisfy these fundamental components of the course or program without alteration.

Residential Life 

The purpose and objective of living in residence is to engage meaningfully in a living learning community. At William & Mary, the goal of the residential community is to support the educational mission and objectives of the university and create an environment where students will flourish both personally and academically. All residential students have the opportunity to participate and benefit from this experience.

To meet this objective all residential students must:

Be able to adhere to the University Community Standards & Housing Policies (link)
Be able to adhere to the behavioral expectations of living in community defined below.

Behavioral expectations of living in community

Each residential student must be able to successfully:

Care for themselves independently, with or without reasonable accommodation.
This includes a demonstrating a reasonable level of:

Personal hygiene
Building & common space care and cleanliness
Ability to care for one’s own basic medical and mental health needs, including medication management, independent self-regulation and distress tolerance

Participate in, benefit from, and meaningfully engage in the residential environment.
This includes:

A reasonable level of community participation (floor meetings, workshops, meetings with staff as requested or otherwise required)
Allowing others to participate in and benefit from this environment without creating unreasonable disruption or interference.
Being actively engaged in pursuit of their educational degree. Leaving the residence to reasonably engage in all academic commitments.