Dorm Proctor Selection Process Modified to Accommodate Students Across Time Zones

By David Chen, Tucker Gibbs and Athena Wang

An empty campus has altered or affected dorm activities, many of which occur during the spring. Everything from dorm teas to inter-dorm athletic competitions have either been moved online or canceled altogether. One such event is the yearly proctor turnover process, which has transitioned online. 

Usually, dorm faculty and current proctors meet in some capacity to go over candidates and ultimately pick a proctor team for the next academic year. Many dorms have different procedures for this process, ranging from a dorm-wide vote to faculty interviews.

The normal procedures for proctor selection regularly involve faculty/proctor meetings, proctor input, student/dorm input, interviews and written applications. Each dorm has its own way of selecting proctors, ranging from an application only to interviews and survey responses from the dorm. According to Science Instructor and Lamont Dorm Head Jeanette Lovett, Lamont prospective proctors also shadow the current proctors for a day.

Many of the usual procedures for proctor selection have transitioned online. “The process this year is virtually the same, except that the meetings are online,” senior and Merrill proctor Anna Fahey said. “I've been having FaceTime calls with the girls who are applying to be proctor, mostly to answer any questions they have, and in a bit we'll talk as a dorm team to choose our new proctors. It's easier to do it in person, but we've adapted pretty easily.”

Other dorms have been forced to reform their processes, “With the new situation of COVID-19, current proctors will not be doing a direct interview with all of the candidates, but we will still be having a virtual meeting with the current Fac-Proc team and will contribute our input in selecting the new proctors,” senior and Peabody proctor Josh Riddick said. “Our input will be based on typed application responses by this year's candidates, as well as our interactions with the students in real life.”

In some dorms, time zones are a major concern in the interview process. “So far, we've managed to keep everything except for the interview because we felt like it would just be too complicated considering time zones,” senior and McConnell proctor Candy Tantichirasakul said. 

For several dorms, the procedure this year is still under review. “We are still settling the details on how this will run, but the general idea is that this year students will complete an application answering the types of questions that are usually asked during our group interviews, and they will be required to have one on one communication over the phone or zoom with at least one proctor or dorm faculty,” senior and Peabody proctor Kennedy Moore said. “I am not sure if the student feedback component will be part of this remote proctor application.” 

Dorms such as Main Street, which historically have had paper applications now have moved them online.

Previously, several dorms had the option to apply for proctorship as a rising upper, but that has since changed. “We've opted to limit this year's applications to uppers only,” senior and Peabody proctor Alexander Urquhart said. “Peabody has had some upper proctors in the past, but we have an all-senior team this year and are interested in continuing that trend.”

In some dorms, proctors are heavily involved in the selection process, while in others, proctors only offer input about the student. “We read all of the applications and will have a large say in the final decision. We are planning to have a faculty-proctor meeting (fac-proc) in the next week to discuss all of the proctor applicants, a potential proctor team, and finalize our choices,” senior Lenny Chen, Soule proctor, said. “So, even though the application process was moved online this spring term, I still think that us proctors have a large say in the decision process.”

In other dorms, proctors are less involved in active decision-making. “Before a full decision is made, the previous proctor team is made sure to be on board with the faculty decision,” senior Orion Bloomfield, Ewald proctor, said. “This is though usually after a large chunk of time of faculty-only debate, where the proctorial opinions are almost a supplement and reality-check for the faculty.”

In Langdell, proctors contribute to the decision but faculty have the final say. “The proctors and faculty discuss the results of the survey and the applications. To be honest, I am not sure how much say [proctors] have but I know faculty can override our opinions,” senior Isabel Robbins, Langdell proctor. 

The team of proctors and dorm faculty make their decisions based on their interviews, their written application responses, student input, and any part of their application that shows who they are as a person. 

“We also consider how students have comported themselves in the dorm up to this point, how they have or have not strived to include themselves and others in the dorm community and growth or potential for growth,” Computer Science Instructor and dorm head of Wentworth Sean Campbell said.

According to Alex Myers, English Instructor and dorm head of Webster, “Responsibility, consistency, flexibility [and] approachability” are key characteristics sought after in a proctor.

Moreover, not only should proctors be able to work alone but also work even better with their fellow proctors. 

“The goal is to select a group of proctors that are made up of strong individual leaders who can also work as a cohesive and effective team of leaders,” Mathematics Instructor and Wheelwright Dorm Head Brandon Hew said.

Although the circumstances make the proctor selection procedure different this year, dorms are still connecting and are taking every opportunity to bond with each other. “Even though I'm international, I'm willing to wake up a little bit earlier to make it to the meeting,” Tantichirasakul said. “I really care about my dorm and I feel like proctors have an important role in fostering the dorm community so I'm glad our faculty is able to involve us in the selection process even though we are separated in quarantine.”