Month: December 2021

I now have two children in college at two different universities and, interestingly, both have had regretful experiences with particular classes they attended. I thought I’d take this opportunity to write up some lessons learned from these events.

Be leery of faculty recommendations

In both circumstances, my children enrolled in their respective poor classes from the encouragement and recommendation of college faculty. In one case, my child received an email suggesting that her writing skills made her a great candidate for this honors course. In the other, my child was pursued by the actual professor saying how much of an asset she would be to the class.

I’m sure there are many great opportunities at college that the student only learns about through recommendation and direct communication with faculty. In this case, though, I wonder if the faculty already knew these particular classes were duds and yet employed all sorts of subterfuge to get suckers to enroll. Unfortunately, we suckers fell for it.

Research the professor

One blessing of the Internet is the ability to research the reputation of professors before you attend their classes so you can hopefully avoid the bad ones–and there do seem to be a lot of bad ones out there.

Talk to your advisor

My guess is my children’s advisors were already well aware of the poor reputations of the professors in question. If only they had asked the appropriate questions, they might have avoided these disastrous courses. Here are a few you might ask:

• What sort of insight do you have on the reputation of this professor?
• What teaching style does he have?
• What grading style does he have?
• How long has he been with the school? Does he have tenure?
• Have there been any formal complaints made against him? Is there a database available where I can see those complaints?
• Do you know other students who have taken his course? How can I get in touch with them to ask their opinions?

Ask other classmates

Does your child know of anyone else enrolling in the course in question? If so, she should seek those individuals out and see what sort of research they have performed on the course and professor.

Find upperclassmen familiar with the course and professor

Often the best advice comes from those who went before you. Search out for students who already took the course and/or studied under the particular professor and learn their opinions.

What’s the Return on Investment?

Sadly, neither of children really needed to enroll in these particular horrible courses. One enrolled in an “honors” course when the “general” version would have sufficed and the other simply enrolled as a favor to the professor who pleaded with her. Neither course was even that critical to the majors they’re pursuing. Thus, the ROI for these was either small or non-existent and probably merited reconsideration.

Review the course syllabus before committing

If possible, try to get a copy of the course syllabus and grading structure ahead of time. Try to determine the level of subjectivity in the grading structure. If the professor seems to place a large emphasis on class participation and you know you lean toward being introverted, maybe that’s a red flag. One professor literally graded assignments with checks, check-pluses, and check-minuses. That might be great for Third Grade, but college? What grade point value does a “check” equate to? Unfortunately, this grading scale was not specified in the syllabus, but if it were, I would consider that a huge warning sign.

Be leery of courses with several group projects

My children take their academics seriously and have several stories of having to do most of the work on group projects when they have been paired with less serious students. Indeed, it was a group project and unsavory teammates that imperiled the grade of one of my children. Thus, factor in to your enrollment decision the amount of group projects that might be involved.

Actively manage the professor

If your child finds herself enrolled in one of these hostile courses I am trying to describe, encourage her to actively manage her professor. My guess is that these sorts of professors get (and probably deserve) no respect in the other parts of their lives so they hold their students hostage demanding subservience for a good grade. Sadly, most of us have bosses and managers who behave similarly.

Stroke the professor’s ego. If the professor says he has available office hours to meet, meet with him. If the professor demands more class participation, ask questions even if you already know the answers. If the professor provides an opportunity to correct and resubmit graded work for an improved grade, do it. Your parents must do the same things to get that deserved bonus or promotion and you’re getting an early glimpse of what’s to come. Welcome to the real world.

Provide feedback, when it’s safe

“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.”

Dante

Regardless of outcome, once you’re beyond the reach of the professor, do what you can to warn others behind you. There are probably a few places where you can post your admonitions.

My straight A children were given Bs by their sub-par professors despite A-level performance. Both fought for better, but only one prevailed. Universities have formal processes to contest grades, but like contesting government overreach, the proceedings can be long and arduous.