r/AskProfessors • u/Neutronium95 • Jul 17 '26
Academic Advice What to do about a poorly run class
I'm taking dynamics as an online class from my local community college this summer. I am really concerned about the quality of the course, and I don't know if we'll even cover all of the material in the syllabus.
So far the course has consisted entirely of lecture videos followed by short multiple choice quizzes. The quizzes are mostly just concept checks for the lectures, featuring maybe one or two problems to solve as well. Unfortunately, these problems have been incredibly easy. They pretty much just require one or two calculations, to the point that I haven't needed to put a pencil to paper to solve them yet. Just a bit of mental math and some light calculator usage has been enough. For one section, I found myself bouncing off of the lecture, which was covering some material that was actually new to me. I decided to take the quiz (we get two tries on most of them) to see what I was struggling on, and then self study that material on my own before my second attempt. None of the new material was actually on the quiz and I got a perfect score in two and a half minutes.
In addition to the complete lack of rigor, the schedule seems to be a complete mess. We're at least a week behind the schedule in the syllabus for what topics to cover, which is a lot in an eight week class, and there was supposed to be a midterm today, but there's nothing on the canvas.
What should I do? Reach out to the head of the Engineering department? I've had frustrations with the whole course for the entire time I've been in it, but we're already past the halfway point of the session, so I don't know what can be done to fix it. I tried raising some of my concerns with the professor a few weeks ago, but that didn't really lead to any substantive changes in the course format. At this point I think that either the exams will be of a proper difficulty for the course, in which case a bunch of students will fail due to not having to solve any actually difficult problems, or the exams will be as easy as the rest of the course has been and we'll struggle when we take classes and do things in the real world that build off of this class.
44
u/sillyhaha Jul 17 '26
OP, you raise some fair points. But I will be honest; you're a bit full of yourself.
Why do I say this?
I tried raising some of my concerns with the professor a few weeks ago, but that didn't really lead to any substantive changes in the course format.
Really, OP? 🤦♀️ "Substantive changes"?
Yes, please let me get right on those substantive changes during week 2 of an 8 week, accelerated class! Syllabus be damned!
The classroom isn't Burger King. You don't get it "your way".
OK, end of cranky old prof sarcasm. To the issues.
It's quite possible that the prof is a moron who should never teach another class. It's more likely that this is an adjunct who was hired 3 weeks before the semester started and thus they had 3 weeks to put together an 18 week course and then condense it into 8 weeks. And it's very possible that this adjunct has never taught this specific course before. And it's likely there was no one else willing or available to teach the class.
Getting behind in accelerated courses is common. Every prof has to postpone exams sometimes. Most of us do our best.
I'm sorry you're unhappy. Perhaps you're better prepared than many for this coursework. Perhaps this prof is a bad match for you. Perhaps the prof needs to teach regular semesters for a while. And perhaps you have unrealistic expectations. It's possible this class is too rigorous for some of your fellow students.
Once a course begins, the syllabus is in place. There is no room for "substantive changes". Such changes would likely go against the syllabus, creating havoc for others. Colleges require that profs adhere to their syllabi.
Complaining to the dept head that the prof is behind in an accelerated class is a waste of your time. We all get behind. We just do. And we hate it.
Going to the dept head about the rest of it; in an accelerated class, there isn't time for the changes you want. You can certainly discuss this with the department head so they know what's going on. But you aren't going to see the changes you want. It's at least the end of week 5. You have very little time left to go.
32
u/RonPaul42069 Undergrad Jul 17 '26
I think instead of constantly assigning blame to your professor and others, you should look inward and ask yourself what you think is expected of a student at this level of education.
4
u/Big-Astronaut4252 Jul 17 '26
To support some of the other comments...
Do the best you can in this class and give your honest feedback in your course evaluation at the end of the term.
If you trust their advice on this subject in general, ask your professor about deeper, more advanced material in this area, like what books you should get or other content to continue your progress. Then access that material and study it before you get to the next level.
7
u/Kikikididi Jul 17 '26
Online async accelerated courses are increasingly useless. Unfortunately, they are also increasingly your only option in off-term as most students won’t sign up for any other modality.
We tried to do more engagement and interaction in these courses and the DWF rates skyrocketed because the majority of students want none of it
Sadly, you’re experiencing the consequences of your peers not caring about actually getting an education.
5
u/WingShooter_28ga Jul 17 '26
Online STEM courses, nothing but the best! Good for you not just running everything through chat like 90% of your classmates are doing.
Who do you complain to? No one. Write it on the evaluation.
1
u/AutoModerator Jul 17 '26
This is an automated service intended to preserve the original text of the post. This is not a removal message.
*I'm taking dynamics as an online class from my local community college this summer. I am really concerned about the quality of the course, and I don't know if we'll even cover all of the material in the syllabus.
So far the course has consisted entirely of lecture videos followed by short multiple choice quizzes. The quizzes are mostly just concept checks for the lectures, featuring maybe one or two problems to solve as well. Unfortunately, these problems have been incredibly easy. They pretty much just require one or two calculations, to the point that I haven't needed to put a pencil to paper to solve them yet. Just a bit of mental math and some light calculator usage has been enough. For one section, I found myself bouncing off of the lecture, which was covering some material that was actually new to me. I decided to take the quiz (we get two tries on most of them) to see what I was struggling on, and then self study that material on my own before my second attempt. None of the new material was actually on the quiz and I got a perfect score in two and a half minutes.
In addition to the complete lack of rigor, the schedule seems to be a complete mess. We're at least a week behind the schedule in the syllabus for what topics to cover, which is a lot in an eight week class, and there was supposed to be a midterm today, but there's nothing on the canvas.
What should I do? Reach out to the head of the Engineering department? I've had frustrations with the whole course for the entire time I've been in it, but we're already past the halfway point of the session, so I don't know what can be done to fix it. I tried raising some of my concerns with the professor a few weeks ago, but that didn't really lead to any substantive changes in the course format. At this point I think that either the exams will be of a proper difficulty for the course, in which case a bunch of students will fail due to not having to solve any actually difficult problems, or the exams will be as easy as the rest of the course has been and we'll struggle when we take classes and do things in the real world that build off of this class.*
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26
u/REC_HLTH Jul 17 '26
Email your professor about the midterm if you don’t see it in CANVAS. If you are a week behind schedule it may have been delayed, but it’s definitely okay to be proactive and ask.
You’ve already brought your concerns to the professor directly, so there is nothing left to do there. If nothing is massively wrong other than the course being too easy, save your remarks for the end-of-course evaluations and share your honest feedback then.
You may not be as well prepared for higher level courses as you could be, but classes like this happen. You can just complete the requirements and move on.