Is Collegiality a Weapon or a Shield?

There are two primary means to prevent the abuse of collegiality and transform it into a shield to protect the most vulnerable. First, colleges and universities should follow the examples of their peers by developing clear definitions of what types of behavior constitute collegiality and what types of activity are protected as academic freedom or personal preference. Second, instruments such as the Collegiality Assessment Matrix (CAM) and Self-Assessment Matrix (S-AM) can be adopted to reduce the degree of subjectivity that may occur in appraisal of a person's collegiality. These instruments also can initiate broader discussion of the importance of collegiality in higher education. In this article the authors present: (1) The Potential for Harm in Evaluating Collegiality; (2) Defining Collegiality; (3) Assessing Collegiality; (4) Validating Assessment of Collegiality.