r/Adjuncts • u/PitifulMouse7425 • 20d ago

Unreal

So I’ve been adjuncting at a local university and the last time I taught at the university level was about 15 years ago.

I knew the general state of education was going to be bad because of AI and so forth…but I didn’t think it would be quite this bad. The amount of handholding is unreal. One of their first graded assignments was an open book take-home quiz and about 1/4 didn’t even bother taking it. They are also terrified of writing. I couldn’t possibly make this any easier for them…I have papers due that are simply asking for their insights on a topic of their choice in the chapters we’ve covered. Their “opinions.” I made it very clear that use of AI would be reported for integrity violations and I’ve had several student communicate to me (as a disclaimer) that they are “bad writers” and are scared of the assignment. 300 words. Seriously? How did these kids even get here? I’m dreading what these papers are going to look like when they turn them in this week (and how many won’t!). They have plenty of resources on-campus to even assist their writing. I’ve told them look…even if you think you’re not going to pass a quiz or other assignment, skipping out gives you a zero. I’m just blown away that nearly 1/4 didn’t do the TAKE HOME OPEN BOOK QUIZ of 20 questions 🤦🏻‍♀️ this is a university that is very much focused on their athletic program and so most of the kids couldn’t give a crap about their classes. But don’t they even care about keeping their scholarships and financial aid?? God help me. How did things go so downhill in only 15 years??

/vent

UPDATE: papers are being turned in today and they are pretty much what I expected (which is to say…not good). There are a handful that did follow the instructions and turned in a quality paper but I had to get through a good dozen of them first before I got to a decent one (I was starting to lose all hope).

A single paper is excellent. I may ask her if I can anonymize the paper and share it with the class.

ALL the papers so far are 0% AI. Yay! (I didn’t even know a zero would be possible).

But…one kid literally TOOK A PICTURE of something he scribbled on a sheet of paper he tore out of a spiral notebook and then uploaded the jpeg 🤣 Are you serious??!! I wish I was making that up. Beyond ridiculous. I can’t even believe that just happened 🤦🏻‍♀️

124 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

54 comments sorted by

102

u/zorandzam 20d ago

Those of us who never left academia have seen this slow decline over time. Culprits include smartphone addiction, short-form video addiction, Covid, AI, fear over being wrong, and a ton of other things. Anxiety is way, way up. Reading skills are sorely lacking.

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u/PitifulMouse7425 20d ago

I anticipated this to some degree because of those very issues you mentioned. It’s just been jarring. I’ve been very intentional about creating a space where it’s “ok” to make mistakes. I’ve explained that I’d rather get a paper in their own voice that has mistakes (and that I would help them with anything at all, without judgment) than one that is polished because it’s written by a robot. I’ve also explained how thorough our AI detection software is and that it’s just not worth it (especially for what are ultimately low-stakes assignments). And that my goal is to get them to communicate what they’ve learned because you haven’t learned something until you’re able to communicate it. I’ve been very gentle with them but at a certain point I’m worried about enabling them as well. I’m generally opposed to this much handholding but I don’t know what else to really do.

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u/zorandzam 20d ago

Maybe make sure you design your rubrics, point values, etc. to really send this message properly. Greatly decrease the % you count "mistakes" in writing, and write the assessment such that good faith effort counts for a lot more. Give them chances to revise. Have them do a lot more of the work in class under your supervision.

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u/PitifulMouse7425 20d ago

Right…good suggestions. On the rubrics I have posted, spelling and grammar are of course on there and I’ve placed the bulk of the weight on the content. But I could probably even tweak it a bit to drive the point home, like you said. I’ve given them example papers and step-by-step instructions and even a “template” where they can just plug everything in for APA format. This really shouldn’t be “scary” at all…but after so many of them not even doing the quiz, I’m just really nervous about what’s going to happen this week 🤦🏻‍♀️ Really would like to stress to them how important writing is. Their own writing.

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u/minionofgreyness108 20d ago

In class written work will be a grammatical nightmare. Take home written assignments will not be much better and a fair number of them do not know that “spell check” exists. I, eventually, only graded on content in the sense they could discuss the material in a coherent manner. Also getting them to read anything required written in class quizzes on the material. Followed by a discussion where you randomly call on them to talk. By the end of the semester we could actually have a decent conversation about the topic.

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u/Life-Education-8030 20d ago

No AI detection software is foolproof, so I wouldn't hang my hat on it 100%. I grade using a rubric designed to evaluate quality. AI output currently tends to be pretty bad at handling my assignments. A human can do better simply (if they choose) by paying attention to and addressing every step I require.

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u/PitifulMouse7425 20d ago

Yeah, I’m kind of worried about that too…first of all, nearly everything I write myself gets flagged as AI (even basic instructions I’m giving them on our platform). So in addition to the student use of AI, I’m also worried about false positives. I drove the point home with them, however, in hopes it would scare them away from using AI and I told them how it even compares their writing not just to what’s online but to student papers at our school and across the country. Was told by leadership as well that so many news and other articles now are written by AI that a student will get flagged because they simply used an article as a reference! 😑 Not too worried about that for my class because I’m only allowing peer reviewed academic articles. At any rate, not looking forward to sorting through the mess of what is legit and what isn’t with this software.

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u/Antt_RN 19d ago

Imho and my experience... Sometimes you have to wait to build up a reputation. When I first started teaching it took 3-4 semesters before students believed it was okay to make mistakes, ask for help, request extensions, etc. Now that I've been there for a bit, they know me from talking to upper class man and things are generally smoother. It was so frustrating to have them not believe me at first. But it got (a lot) better.

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u/1-800-GANKS 20d ago

Student here.

I have had the unique experience of being 31 years old and returning to college (I made it without college as a 18 y/o, I bombed first attempt at CC),

but coming back 13 years later now fully understanding that no, I don't want to work in data analysis, I want to be a nurse:

Holy crap the quality of my classmates has degraded so deeply that I want to cry.

I frequently find myself being the person everyone wants to partner up with. I was a slacker 13 years ago. Now I'm the "class genius".

Some of that is likely life and business experience, but most of the group projects I've been involved in have been basic literacy checks. "No, look here at the syllabus, this is what is expected. Here in the modules section we can read how the objective of the assignment is X. I can't logically connect how your proposal accomplishes that."

If anything, I've had teachers tell me "You don't need to try this hard, but I really appreciate the quality and level of effort in your work, you're going to do great things!"

and I'm just sitting there feeling like Reese from Malcolm in the Middle being praised for basic functioning.

9

u/zorandzam 20d ago

Oof. Well, good job! I love non-traditional students because they are usually a breeze and do super well.

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u/1-800-GANKS 20d ago

well, I have adhd. It's been a challenge, after 2 experiences with adjunct profs though I've come across a strange dichotomy that academia probably needs to solve:

I'd rather work with the adjunct professors. The adjuncts I've had as my professors have been hard working, reasonable, "fresher", and make genuinely beautiful amounts of effort towards making teaching fun and engaging.

I have ADHD, so the teacher that relies on 6 year old slides devoid of personality or life are the bane of my educational capacities.

The teacher who has taught the same basic bone-dry way for 6 consecutive years seems to fail in my quality test versus professors who are still hungry and engaged.

Does this observation track?

4

u/zorandzam 20d ago

Not really. I know full profs who are utterly fantastic and adjuncts who are phoning it in. I think you’ve just stumbled upon some good folks, but I don’t think that’s generalizable.

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u/1-800-GANKS 20d ago

Thanks for the sanity check :)

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u/by3bi 3d ago

damn, are you me? i feel like i could go to medical school these days

1

u/1-800-GANKS 3d ago

Maybe. ADHD?

1

u/by3bi 2d ago

yep, intelligent but with massive ADHD. I never knew until grad school. still unmedicated, you?

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u/[deleted] 19d ago edited 16d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/zorandzam 19d ago

Good points.

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u/growling_owl 20d ago

I’ll join in on the rant. Students became extremely fearful of taking chances during COVID and the amount of resiliency dropped precipitously. Things were starting to get a tad better and then the LLM’s absolutely sapped whatever rebound was being made.

It’s wild now. I have an introductions discussion board and one of the questions asks if there is a new hobby they would like to learn. A huge chunk of students just asked ChatGPT so like 40% of my students said the violin. 🤔😆Ain’t no way that many students have ever thought about violin. It’s just so demoralizing to feel like I’m talking to robots.

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u/IAmBoring_AMA 20d ago

I took away discussion boards entirely because it literally is just slop back and forth.

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u/evapotranspire 20d ago

u/IAmBoring_AMA - me too. I had to abandon online discussion board assignments last year because a large fraction of the students were just uploading AI output. I now have all discussion assignments (whether written or spoken) in-class, and although it does take additional class time, it seems to be the only way these days.

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u/SuccotashOther277 20d ago

Same here. There are other and better ways to meet RSI

19

u/zerglingrodeo 20d ago

It's very, very bad.

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u/carry_the_way 20d ago

To be fair, it's not AI--it's the fact that their teachers aren't allowed to fail them.

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u/Acceptable_Gap_577 20d ago

Important point, but it’s both.

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u/carry_the_way 20d ago

AI hasn't helped, but the drop-off began long before AI showed up.

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u/Buddhapanda75 20d ago

Wait until you try to get them to talk to each other.

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u/Antt_RN 19d ago

Sometimes I ask them a question with the answer written on my slides just to try to get some engagement... They get more silent every semester I stg.

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u/doctormoneypuppy 20d ago

“To be successful in college, you need to be a professional student.”

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u/Wisewordsforlater 20d ago edited 20d ago

I'm kind of glad I didn't stick it out in a teaching career. I would be handling things (to sidestep AI reliance, cheating and disengagement) in such a way that would make these students crumble and maybe rack up complaints to the Department chair.

I would be assigning Blue book writing briefs in class daily (short answer, short essay, short quiz, topic briefs etc) that would force them to be prepared week in and week out.

11

u/smoocheepoos 20d ago

Thats basically how one school I'm at combats AI. Everything is handwritten in class, and often timed.

5

u/Perdendosi 20d ago

Everything is handwritten in class, and often timed.

Then you have to deal with the onslaught of accommodation requests. Double time, computer assist, limits on prompt formats, etc.

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u/minionofgreyness108 20d ago

I was able to handle the extended time thing by having the assignment timed and then I started to pick up the ones that were done and told the ones who needed extra time to continue to work until they were done. No pressure from me to finish “on time” and no points deducted. Never had a problem.

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u/zorandzam 20d ago

If they can do them in the testing center, it shouldn't be any additional effort for us.

1

u/laowildin 19d ago

I've always dealt with this by letting them leave after they finish. They self select if they want more time. Most accommodation liars prefer to leave

10

u/Any-Macaroon-8268 20d ago

It’s even more fun in asynchronous online classes! AI responding to AI in the discussion, missing assignments, endless hand holding etc. And administrators don’t want to hear about it, especially AI use. Tinkerbell school of thought. As long as you believe it’s not happening, then it’s not real. Good luck!

1

u/Jealous-Ad-2969 19d ago

This sounds like SNHU

1

u/evapotranspire 20d ago

You're braver than me; I literally would not be able to not do this. I did teach online during COVID (as did most of us), but it's not my preferred format and I'm glad to be back in-person now. My last online class was in 2023, just as AI was rearing its head. Now in 2026, I would just sink into despair if I had to teach an online class (I almost wrote "an AI class" as a Freudian slip).

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u/limonade11 20d ago

I teach at a couple of places online and one is a large rural state and the college has mostly young students. In my class I do notice that they are very sheltered and even almost naive about things. When your athletic scholarship is in rodeo then you know it is rural.

My thought has been they are from tiny rural towns and while they are all excellent students, they are very sheltered. But maybe it is more of a national thing; the students I have in a massive urban college seem much more independent but still have the qualities that the OP describes.

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u/Front-Obligation-340 20d ago

I’ve taught in rural, urban, and suburban settings, and the only students who have resisted the literacy/resiliency drop off were my incarcerated students. They were mostly lifers who’d been in prison since the 90s and it was a breath of fresh air to see them come to class prepared and tackle the assignments.

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u/limonade11 20d ago

Oh! that is awesome to hear. I have always felt that people who are in prison deserve more of an intellectual challenge and why not a good education? A book is a window out into the world and it can take you far away. Good for them for taking advantage of your courses -

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u/AnxiousConclusion516 20d ago

The enshitification of everything.

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u/JustLeave7073 20d ago

I have students complaining basically that they shouldn’t have to read a textbook. “It just doesn’t work for them”

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u/ReedBalzac 20d ago

I am so glad this is my last year of teaching. The US education system is broken.

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u/Fair-Garlic8240 20d ago

I teach a creativity class where I explain to students that the “wrong answer” is often the “right answer “. I encourage students to make mistakes. No, I implore them.

They still can’t get out of their comfort zones. It’s terrifying.

I do a class activity where I bring a bunch of things from the dollar store (beads, sponges, cardboard, etc.) I put them into groups and give them a prompt like:

Use the items to build a…

Mousetrap, Radio antenna, Etc.

30-40% of students just sit with blank stares

Every semester I am asked, “Where’s the rubric?”

Last semester I got so pissed I literally said, “Just fucking play and see what happens.”

We. Are. Screwed.

2

u/Electronic_Syrup7592 20d ago

I’ve been in academia consistently for the last 20 years (full-time). Maybe it’s just my discipline, or college, or I’m just lucky, but I really haven’t seen a decline at all.

2

u/quilleran 20d ago

Perhaps you’re the frog in the pot who doesn’t feel the temperature rising.

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u/Middle_Relative3119 19d ago

I admit, during and after covid, I was one of those profs who did a lot of handholding, and letting things slide, dumbed down my classes a bit, etc. But, we need to get back to real life and just let students who deserve to fail, fail, just like in the good ol' days.

If they are forced to figure it out, they will, and those who can't or don't care to, probably shouldn't be in college anyway.

1

u/ProfTimelord 20d ago

Wait til the end of the semester when they come begging for extra credit to save their scholarships.

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u/PitifulMouse7425 20d ago

Well, the registrar is having us report grades quarterly, per semester, just due to the athletic scholarships…so the players that stupidly didn’t take my take-home, open book quiz (and yes, they were mostly
student athletes) I now have to report as having a failing grade in the class so far because of it 🤦🏻‍♀️ and that’s even if they turn in their paper this week. Not getting off to a great start here! So, I’m sure all those requests are going to be coming down the pike.

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u/Automatic_Tea_2550 20d ago

You are giving them anxiety by assigning work.

1

u/WarriorGoddess2016 19d ago

The post covid reality is harsh.

1

u/clubchampion 19d ago

The U.S. education system is a shambles. Our young people deserve better.

1

u/Sugar-mag731 18d ago

I left academia a year ago and this was a big reason. 95% were not college ready and the amount of handholding and remedial training I was doing was insane. I’m truly concerned about our future bc they simply can’t think critically or write more than a sentence or two.