Cell phone policies can vary from class to class, making it difficult to keep up with what classes students can or cannot use phones in.
Some teachers allow students to use their phones in class to live Tweet speakers or to check facts for group discussions.
Other teachers, however, don't want the distraction of cell phones in their class at all.
Charlotte Sutton, associate professor in the department of management, has adapted a unique policy for cell phone usage in her classrooms.
"I've just implemented a policy that if I catch you texting, then . . . Aubie will take your cellphone," Sutton said.
Aubie isn't actually in her classes, but Sutton uses a slipper version of Aubie to keep the student's phone for the rest of class.
"I have one in each classroom that I just leave there, and I keep the phone until the end of class," Sutton said.
According to Sutton, her method takes care of the issue without being a direct approach.
"That's one way of doing it that is perhaps not as confrontational as . . . it could be," Sutton said.
James Carver, assistant professor in the department of marketing, has a different policy for his class.
Carver said he is going to start asking the student to leave if they are using their cell phone in class.
"I've talked to individual students," Carver said. "It's getting to the point where people know that I'm trying to give them every benefit of the doubt, and now it's getting taken advantage of."
Carver said he knows teachers who will take up a phone if it goes off in class and kick the student out for a day.
Carver also makes the student put their phone in a basket at the front of the classroom for the rest of the semester.
Carver said he has had students complain that they are being distracted by other students using technology in class.
"I've had students come up to me and voice after class that fellow students were texting, Tweeting, Facebooking, Snapping, so on and so forth, and it was extremely distracting to them," Carver said. "If you look at it as each student pays the same amount of money, then they each deserve the same opportunity to learn."
Deron Overpeck, assistant professor in radio, television, and film in the school of communication and journalism, said if he sees someone texting, he will ask them to stop.
If it happens repeatedly, he will take the phone until the end of class time.
"I have told students that if they leave to take a call, that they should just go ahead and take the rest of their stuff with them because . . . class is over for them at that point," Overpeck said.
However, there may be exceptions.
Overpeck said he does allow students to discuss with him at the beginning of class if they know they have a family emergency, or something of that nature, going on and that they may need to step out and take an important call.
The Auburn University Student Policy eHandbook, states instructors are encouraged to include guidelines for classroom behavior in their syllabi.
The eHandbook also states, "examples of improper behavior in the classroom (including the virtual classroom of e-mail, chat rooms, telephony, and web activities associated with courses) may include, but are not limited to, the following."
The eHandbook then lists many disruptive behaviors, including distractive talking and cell phone usage.
"If you were going to into, let's say, an interview with an employer or . . . you have a job and you're in a meeting, then obviously you're going to turn your phone off," Carver said. "Why wouldn't you do the same in class?"
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
