Perceptions of Cyberbullying within Higher Education

Two methods of qualitative research informed three dissertation research questions: What are faculty and academic administrators' perceptions of cyberbullying within higher education? How prepared do faculty and academic administrators perceive themselves to be with regard to addressing situations involving cyberbullying? How prepared do faculty and academic administrators perceive their institutions to be with regard to addressing situations involving cyberbullying? First, 384 (N = 384) participants completed a 28-item, adapted online survey (Cyberbullying Survey). Second, six ( N = 6) participants participated in a semistructured interview process. Results from both methods were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Participants are reporting that cyberbullying is occurring within higher education, with almost half reporting monthly or more frequent rates of occurrence. A small percentage is neutral about or feels that cyberbullying behavior has positive benefits. Most participants feel less than completely prepared to handle incidences, yet over half have already had do so. The majority of participants would respond to an incident of cyberbullying, but not all can be counted on to respond. Some participants are confused about their responsibility to respond to or how to handle incidents. Participants prefer to only deal with the victim. The majority of participants perceive their institutions to be less than completely prepared to handle incidences of cyberbullying. Less than half of all institutions have enacted official policy to address cyberbullying.