While the beginning student may feel relatively unqualified, and may see assignments as

practice interviews, they are decidedly not “practice” for an elderly politician, for example,

who is asked to relive a career’s worth of memories over several days by a student

interviewer. They are real events, and are usually taken very seriously by these cooperative

external interviewees. Issues of consent, as well, can be previewed early in the term in

addition to the more detailed discussions in later text chapters. All interviewing teachers and

students should work hard to avoid a situation in which outside interviewees could feel used

or manipulated in any way. Again, review any campus stipulations on behavioral and human-

subject research that might apply to out-of-class assignments, and comply with these

regulations.

Video work presents special dilemmas, since not every campus has the facilities or

equipment to handle student requests readily. Some facilities will train your students in how

to use their resources, while others will prefer to have their own personnel in charge. Some

will accommodate drop-ins, while others will insist on a rigorously followed schedule of

reservations. Bear in mind that many students will have access to their own video cameras.

The best advice is to check out the available facilities and policies before finalizing your

syllabus.

Think of a syllabus as a coordinating device and as a fairness check, rather than as an

ironclad contract that must be followed legalistically. It is a contract of sorts, of course, but

mainly it’s a direct way to communicate with each student. Avoid adjusting the syllabus

expectations for one student without adjusting it (or offering to do so) for all. One useful

guideline for making syllabus exceptions: Do you believe you would feel comfortable

explaining the exception to the whole class, and are you reasonably sure that these other
students, knowing what you’d know, would consider it a fair exception for the person(s)

involved?