WWYD: My daughter's college professor is constantly cancelling class

[LisaR]

I'm not so sure of that. DD has yet to have a semester with a day off during the week, despite trying to get a schedule that way to make it easier to set her work hours.

I'm sure it is dependent on the school. As others have reported, some classes only meet once a week or only do MW instead of MWF. DD's boyfriend goes five days a week. DD goes two days a week, same college.

On a side note, quite a few years ago our local community college (four campuses throughout the county) decided to close the entire school down on Fridays as a way to save money; less electricity and one day a week they don't have to pay hourly employees. I didn't think it would work, but I bet it has been close to five years and it is working. They do save a ton of money. Two years ago the college added a few four year degrees. It was part of our governor's plan to make four year degrees only $10,000. I thought that would require the college to go back to a Friday schedule but all they did was open the library from 9-1 on Friday and everything else on campus is closed. All buildings remain closed on the weekend. I don't think that's a big deal for the community college classes, but it seems like it could cause problems for those that might need the library, study groups, advisers, or their professors when they are trying to obtain a four year degree. Maybe that says something about they validity of those four year degrees from a community college?

 

[mom2rtk]

I'm sure it is dependent on the school. As others have reported, some classes only meet once a week or only do MW instead of MWF. DD's boyfriend goes five days a week. DD goes two days a week, same college.

On a side note, quite a few years ago our local community college (four campuses throughout the county) decided to close the entire school down on Fridays as a way to save money; less electricity and one day a week they don't have to pay hourly employees. I didn't think it would work, but I bet it has been close to five years and it is working. They do save a ton of money. Two years ago the college added a few four year degrees. It was part of our governor's plan to make four year degrees only $10,000. I thought that would require the college to go back to a Friday schedule but all they did was open the library from 9-1 on Friday and everything else on campus is closed. All buildings remain closed on the weekend. I don't think that's a big deal for the community college classes, but it seems like it could cause problems for those that might need the library, study groups, advisers, or their professors when they are trying to obtain a four year degree. Maybe that says something about they validity of those four year degrees from a community college?

It very much does depend on the school. DS1 (graduated last May) had a day off most semesters. DS2 is a junior at a different school and hasn't had a day off in his schedule yet. Maybe it varies by major as well. DS2 has a lot of labs in his schedule as well.

 

[sk!mom]

OP, now that you've mentioned your DD's anxiety and that it plays into you being more involved, this is exactly how I would handle the given situation.

DD complains that her class is being repeatedly cancelled. Mom: "Have you thought about emailing your Prof to ask if there are things that you could do to stay caught up?"

Then mom takes a step back.

If she's anxious already, then there is no way that you getting worked up about it is helping.

 

[cabanafrau]

Every department is different. In the department where I work, all the classes taught are one day a week for three hours in the evening. They are 4000 and 5000 level classes. There are even some weekend intensive classes in which the entire class is taught over the course of three weekends during the semester. So, there is a lot of variability.

Precisely. I was responding to the comment that it's being done that way these days "to make it easier on the kids". It varies widely. DH is pursuing another master's and attends one night per week. You're more likely to find tighter scheduling for commuter schools and upper level degrees being pursued by working professionals also.

That earlier comment made me think of an oldtimer going on and on about back in his day he walked five miles to school . . . uphill, both ways. I know my daughter has pursued an aggressive curriculum and schedule that goes far beyond anything I ever did. Makes me remember to have some respect for how hard "the kids" may be working, whether or not I'm privy to the details.

 

[pumpkinmomma]

Times have changed. DD has a roommate who has only had class one day a week for the past two semesters in a row! Granted, she is gone all day and into the late evening because the classes are so long, but that's the price you pay for only going once a week. Monday - Wednesday classes are now more popular than ever. I'm shocked at the number of kids I know who have made it through most of college without ever taking a class on a Friday. Just another beef of mine when it comes to education. They seem to be making it easier on the students.

From a professor's perspective, I much prefer to teach a class that meets one or two days a week to the MWF schedule. The classes are longer, attendance is generally better and you have more time to dive deeper into certain topics or answer student questions. Friday attendance is generally pretty low on the campus where I teach, anyway. Most of my colleagues prefer to teach a MW or TTh class over a MWF, too. The schedule really allows for more productive time in class IMO.

 

[LisaR]

Precisely. I was responding to the comment that it's being done that way these days "to make it easier on the kids". It varies widely. DH is pursuing another master's and attends one night per week. You're more likely to find tighter scheduling for commuter schools and upper level degrees being pursued by working professionals also.

That earlier comment made me think of an oldtimer going on and on about back in his day he walked five miles to school . . . uphill, both ways. I know my daughter has pursued an aggressive curriculum and schedule that goes far beyond anything I ever did. Makes me remember to have some respect for how hard "the kids" may be working, whether or not I'm privy to the details.

After I finished walking barefoot, uphill both ways, I actually showed up for my Friday classes on campus. As the professor below me notes, attendance is generally pretty low for Friday classes. I don't have a problem with that. I feel like that weeds out those who shouldn't be there. I do believe there are other valid reasons for not having classes on Fridays as the Pumpkinmomma mentioned. I'm not opposed to it. My original response was to someone who said classes are T-TH or MWF and as many have noted, that isn't always the case.

Not sure where the respecting kids comment is coming from or the notion that it meant they weren't working hard? Every college in the world has slackers and hard workers. Students make it what they want and those that want to succeed aren't going to do better or worse because they do or don't have classes on Fridays.

 

[FeralCatRogue]

As a student I've had this happen many times. Some professors just do not care about their job and wish their students to independent study. Since your daughter is excelling under this situation then kudos to her time management skills! I've learnt though not to complain I've had professors dock my grade for it. This should allow her to see that she can gain education on her own as well without requiring the teacher if need be.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

Her problem. Let her deal with it. If she doesn't then oh well. It's just your money...

Teach each child to be independent and confident. The rest will come and you won't need to take action.

 

[NHdisneylover]

It's a 300 level course in her major. She is very academic focused. She isn't your typical young adult at college who likes to get involved in clubs, parties, social events, etc. You can find her at the library or studying. She places her own pressures with maintaining a high GPA.

Most universities offer on site, and free or low cost therapists.
If your DD is not seeing one already (and I have not yet read past this quoted post, sorry if this comes up later)--I think a good way for you to be involved is to encourage her to start seeing one of those therapists and work on learning how to have a more balanced life, and how o deal with the inevitable inability to be perfect all the time.

And you can help by not adding to the drama and stress she feels about possibly not getting a good enough grade in this class (apparently only an A is good enough) by jumping on how wrong it is and calling the school but instead by letting her know that while you understand it makes her anxious, it is really not such a bad thing if she ends up with a B or even a C--it is one class in an otherwise stellar set of grades after all.

I honestly believe not learning how to get her need fr perfect grades (will this translate to a need for perfect evaluations at work what else?) or how to find a life and fun and enjoyment in the world outside of that which gives her hard feedback on how she does (ie--it is currently all about studying/grade and making sure those are the best, she doesn't engage in any activity that she enjoys just for doing it without getting the "reward" of a high score) is harming your daughter MUCH more than any number of cancelled classes ever could.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

UPDATE: my daughter received an e-mail from the Associate Dean of the school yesterday. It was an email sent to all students acknowledging that they became aware of the fact that an unacceptable number of the sessions had been cancelled. They are assigning new instructors to take over teaching the balance of the semester. One professor will be teaching the Mon/Wed class, and a different professor will take over the Tues/Thurs one. He apologized on behalf of the college that this happened in the email, and I feel it was very sincere. He even left contact information for the new staff, so that students could reach out to them via phone, email or by their office location.

End of story. Thanks for letting me vent. I'm out. Happy Easter everyone.

 

[lynxstch]

Glad to hear things are going to be resolved! Happy Easter to you also!

 

[gwynne]

UPDATE: my daughter received an e-mail from the Associate Dean of the school yesterday. It was an email sent to all students acknowledging that they became aware of the fact that an unacceptable number of the sessions had been cancelled. They are assigning new instructors to take over teaching the balance of the semester. One professor will be teaching the Mon/Wed class, and a different professor will take over the Tues/Thurs one. He apologized on behalf of the college that this happened in the email, and I feel it was very sincere. He even left contact information for the new staff, so that students could reach out to them via phone, email or by their office location.

End of story. Thanks for letting me vent. I'm out. Happy Easter everyone.

Good your daughter has been given contact information so she can reach out for assistance with this class.

 

[Mkrop]

UPDATE: my daughter received an e-mail from the Associate Dean of the school yesterday. It was an email sent to all students acknowledging that they became aware of the fact that an unacceptable number of the sessions had been cancelled. They are assigning new instructors to take over teaching the balance of the semester. One professor will be teaching the Mon/Wed class, and a different professor will take over the Tues/Thurs one. He apologized on behalf of the college that this happened in the email, and I feel it was very sincere. He even left contact information for the new staff, so that students could reach out to them via phone, email or by their office location.

End of story. Thanks for letting me vent. I'm out. Happy Easter everyone.

Good to hear, but it was probably someone else who sent the email. I would use this as a teaching moment for my child that they too need to send emails and be proactive and help be part of the solution! Hope the rest of the class goes well for her!

 

[dgaston]

UPDATE: my daughter received an e-mail from the Associate Dean of the school yesterday. It was an email sent to all students acknowledging that they became aware of the fact that an unacceptable number of the sessions had been cancelled. They are assigning new instructors to take over teaching the balance of the semester. One professor will be teaching the Mon/Wed class, and a different professor will take over the Tues/Thurs one. He apologized on behalf of the college that this happened in the email, and I feel it was very sincere. He even left contact information for the new staff, so that students could reach out to them via phone, email or by their office location.

End of story. Thanks for letting me vent. I'm out. Happy Easter everyone.

I'm glad your daughter has reached this resolution. I would strongly encourage you to recommend that she reach out to counseling services at her school. I am the assistant director of counseling at a state university and we always work closely with outpatient therapists (with releases) to coordinate treatment of our students when they are in school. Currently anxiety is the number one presenting issue across college counseling centers, and I'm positive your daughter would receive good care. The other advantage of working with on campus counseling is that counselors are great at knowing who to reach out to when students are encountering academic difficulty and encouraging students to advocate for themselves.

 

[pryncess527]

UPDATE: my daughter received an e-mail from the Associate Dean of the school yesterday. It was an email sent to all students acknowledging that they became aware of the fact that an unacceptable number of the sessions had been cancelled. They are assigning new instructors to take over teaching the balance of the semester. One professor will be teaching the Mon/Wed class, and a different professor will take over the Tues/Thurs one. He apologized on behalf of the college that this happened in the email, and I feel it was very sincere. He even left contact information for the new staff, so that students could reach out to them via phone, email or by their office location.

End of story. Thanks for letting me vent. I'm out. Happy Easter everyone.

I'm glad you got resolution -- I was going to say, I would NOT assume the college knows -- and it sounds like they did not know until a problem arose. Our faculty are supposed to inform our department head when they cancel class, but we had an odd situation a few years ago where we found out mid-semester a prof had not held class in 4 weeks. We scrambled, got a post-doc to take over, and profusely apologized for the situation -- but it did take undergraduates (not parents) to bring the matter to the attention of our department. We are not in the habit of checking up on our faculty, so if they stop doing their job and don't inform us, we trust the students to let us know -- and by and large they do.

A college professor is going to exact revenge on a student because of a concern by the parent? And there seems to be universal agreement that is how business is conducted in the classroom?

This is how the highest members of great educational institutions act?

I don't think I took time to argue this point -- but you are absolutely right, there should not be agreement on this topic. The faculty I work with are professionals, they typically grade assignments withotu looking at names and are expected to judge the work on its merit, not on the personal feelings about the student. In 10 years I've had many students file a grievance with a faculty, but never had one come back and say they felt they were targeted for doing so.

While a professor is entitled to
Their privacy, doesn't the student (not parent) have some entitlement to a lecture?

The student doesn't have to know why the professor is not holding class, but doesn't the school have some obligation to the student?

Perhaps if the student inquires,
They may get somewhere.

Clearly inquiry was important in this case, but lecture isn't the only way to deliver material. We have instructors who post online-videos when they cancel class, assign readings, discussions online, etc. It's particularly helpful with snow cancellations, but in general I would not assume cancelling class means no instruction has been given, in many cases an alternate assignment may have been made.

 

[gottaluvPluto]

This reminds me of parents that call their child's manager at work to complain about the kid's hours or something else. We are raising a society that is too dependent and can't act on their own or lack critical thinking skills.

 

[sk!mom]

This reminds me of parents that call their child's manager at work to complain about the kid's hours or something else. We are raising a society that is too dependent and can't act on their own or lack critical thinking skills.

Parent of a 19 year old college student here. I really hate it when someone takes an isolated situation and makes the leap that you did. "Kids these days..." You sound like a disgruntled Archie Bunker.

I think we've raised them just fine although I'm sorry for the environmental, economic, and political mess we've left them.

 

[gottaluvPluto]

Parent of a 19 year old college student here. I really hate it when someone takes an isolated situation and makes the leap that you did. "Kids these days..." You sound like a disgruntled Archie Bunker.

I think we've raised them just fine although I'm sorry for the environmental, economic, and political mess we've left them.

I am the manager and get these types of calls all the time from moms. I even got a phone call from a mom after an interview on how I should hire her child. This is not in just my region. When my organization gets together from other parts of the state about hiring, training and other issues - this subject comes up a lot.

I have a bunch of friends that work for other companies (small business) and this has happened to them as well. Granted, I don't think the entire generation is like that, but enough of them are to notice. The point is, parents are doing way too much for their kids and it will not help them in the long run.

 

[patty57]

No, she is an excellent student. I'm really just upset about not having a replacement teacher and the fact that the cost of college is killing me. I also have another child headed to college in a few months.

I don't think college ever has substitute teachers unless it is for a long term thing. My older son graduated from college two years ago, and younger son is presently in his last semester of college. AFAIK, they have never had a sub when a professor canceled. I don't mean to pile on, but it's college, not high school.

 

[Allons-y!]

Parent of a 19 year old college student here. I really hate it when someone takes an isolated situation and makes the leap that you did. "Kids these days..." You sound like a disgruntled Archie Bunker.

I think we've raised them just fine although I'm sorry for the environmental, economic, and political mess we've left them.

Isolated situation?? There have been many, many articles written about parents stepping in when they clearly should not. There was no leap made by the person you quoted. It happens, and it happens with regularity.

I'm glad you've raised your child well. I believe we are doing the same for ours - and fostering their independence and confidence in handling situations on their own has been important to us. However, that does not make me so blind as to think that scenarios like the OP's don't happen more than once.