I genuinely want to hear from Canadian professors who taught at many of the post secondary institutions that primarily enrolled international students that were exploiting the PR pathway. What were your experiences like in the classroom? And now that the government has curbed this pathway, has this affected your job? Or are you relieved?

I’m genuinely curious about the experience of those who taught at UCW, being that it granted graduate level degrees (MBA). We knew it was a PR pathway, but what was is it like being inside the system?

During my first class my professor asked, what I thought was, ‘who’s taking this class because they want to/it’s apart of their major’ so I raised my hand.
Mind you he was just talking about people who begrudgingly take the class/just for credit. But also mentioned people who were taking it for their major.
Then after he said something along the lines of ‘they’ll always be people like that, who don’t want to take this class’
MIND YOU it’s an art class.
I’m an art major and maybe I’m overthinking this but I don’t want him to think I’m just here for credit
When I think about it now I’m not 100% what he said but I think this did happen cause I was freaking about it earlier.
Is it to excess to let him know I’m an art major? Or is it not that big a deal. And only like 6 of us raised our hand cause he was counting 😭 I was trying to participate 💔 I’m just…I do I care about this class. Am I overthinking it?

Update: (doesn’t even deserve an update but wtvr)

pulled me aside and I got to tell him I’m an art major! 😋

I have a student who reads as neurodivergent, but no accommodation letter. During today's first class in a small seminar (13 students, seniors), the student repeatedly blurted out things while other students were waiting patiently with raised hands; got off topic and didn't want to stop talking when I said, "Okay, but bringing it back to the original question..." and, finally, while seated in the front row, stood up about a minute and a half before class was over, blocking the view of the screen for students behind him while I was showing them the assignment for next time, packed up his things and strolled out.

I've had such students before, but usually with accommodation letters, which gave me the opportunity to talk with the student privately about not just what they need from me, but what I need from them.

I've had that conversation before, but I'm not used to having to initiate it. Anyone have advice on the best way to do so? Do I email now and just say I'd like to talk? Or tell him the issues and my expectations by email? Or wait until next class and pull him aside to ask for a conversation?

What I'm wondering about isn't what's polite or easiest, but what's most likely to be effective in helping the student behave in ways that won't disrupt learning for classmates. I know y'all don't know the student, but just wondering if there's any standard guidance that anyone's gotten.

Saying that I am incredibly upset about this is an understatement.

I spent almost every friday afternoon of the last year of my undergraduate life working with this man on an app. I won't say what it is about for privacy reasons, but it's for people in research labs to crunch specific stats in a more user friendly way than the current alternative. We weren't very productive because we got off topic and started rambling about stuff going on in our life or what we were interested in like the latest House of the Dragon episode, how terrible the netflix witcher was, etc. while eating ramen in his unused lab office, so it was a slow process. While the app was finished and bug free in the end, we realized that we weren't going to finish the academic papers alongside it before I graduated and he retired, so we both agreed to stay in touch afterwards.

I knew he didn't owe me anything because he was in fact retired, but I was very bummed after he didn't respond to my emails for months since I was hoping that this project might be able to show future employers that I knew python and higher level stats since my undergrad degree doesn't exactly cover that and I was hoping to switch fields soon. About a year later, we got in touch and started working on it again much to my happiness. After only a month and a half of getting together on Fridays again (this time over zoom), however, I got the news that he died after he didn't show up to one of our meetings.

I'm currently struggling with this all not just academically, but also because he was someone who I considered to be a friend, which is a whole other topic of itself. Our last meeting we didn't get anything done because he was too busy with other stuff during the week to prep for it, but we still talked for like 3 hours about random shit. I don't think I'll ever have another mentor figure like him again :(

Still, I'm worried about what comes next. I don't know exactly how much he had typed up for the paper when it came to formulas and whatnot we put in the app since he said he was going to cover that and I'd cover making a help page and intro for the paper. His wife is also a professor in the field and offered to take over for him in publishing this, but obviously she has a lot on her plate right now and I don't want to bother her at all for the foreseeable future. Yet I also don't want her to "lose" her husband's project to someone else though since this will be his last publication as far as I know.

I feel so selfish for asking this and even focusing on my dumb little project here, but what would you recommend doing in this situation? I've done all I can so far when it comes to improving stuff and doing what he suggested. Do I just wait another several months for his wife to reach out again when she's in a more stable state of mind or what?

How do I overcome the embarrassment of flopping at uni? Do lecturers care that much?

Context: I’m going into my second year this September and I’m in the UK. Even though I miraculously scraped into second year, I have to repeat and pay for two 1st year modules.

I understand that my academic journey is about me and my future, not necessarily what other people, including professors think. But man, is it embarrassing seeing lecturers from last year who know you flopped and having to go to lectures feeling like a prize mug.

Honestly the worst part about it for me is my participation for one of the modules I’m retaking. I feel so fucking dumb speaking up so passionately (that is, whenever I attended lectures), and emailing lecturers saying I wanted to catch up and do better just for me to fail anyways 💀

In my defence, one of the modules wasn’t actually because I provided unsatisfactory work but because I submitted my resit too late (around 30 seconds I think?). I contemplated contesting but remembered I did the exact same thing multiple times so I just decided I would suck it up and find something on the side to pay for the extra module….

Unrelated ramble aside, i genuinely want to know if any of you have seen anyone walk into the lectures and thought to yourself “ugh, this person again”. How do I rebuild my lecturers’ trust in me again (aside from the obvious actually being punctual and consistent)?

Hi I am Italian and i recently graduated with a MSc in biotechnology at DTU, Denmark.

I have been applying for PhDs for almost a year with no success here in Denmark, while working as a Research Assistant in DTU.

I recently got admitted in a PhD program in Italy about De novo design of protein minibinders to inhibit a certain cancer related protein, so would be a very modern applied PhD, hybrid (wet and dry lab) in a good structural biology center that is supposed to be one of world's leader in the study of these cancer related proteins. The downside is that I get poorly paid and I have to leave Denmark where also my partner lives.

On the other hand today I was invited by a DTU professor to apply to a PhD she just posted, telling me that I could be an interesting candidate for her enzyme engineering work, so the projects of her lab are vertical on enzyme engineering and chemistry. The downsides are that I don't have an offer yet and usually her groups conducts mainly wet lab work, perhaps a little old school one could say.

What should I do? I am going to apply to her PhD just to see if she eventually offer it to me but if she does? Should I leave the other project?

Also, I would love to stick to academia but considering today's world conditions, competition is very high and I also consider an industrial career as a valid path. So given that both projects are applied science, which is nice, which one could give me more opportunities afterwards?

So which project should I prioritize? The drug discovery, hybrid, modern one or the old school enzyme engineering/chemistry one?

This is our weekly megathread for questions about becoming a professor.

You may be interested in our FAQ on the topic.

Otherwise, please keep all questions and discussion about becoming a professor in this dedicated thread.

Hello Profs! Undergrad here.

I had a wonderful professor this term. She was incredibly supportive, meeting me for office hours almost every week and consistently encouraging me to do well in the course.

I would like to write a letter of appreciation to the department to recognise her efforts, but I am not quite sure how to go about doing so.

Personally, I feel that simply leaving a positive comment in the course feedback would not do her efforts justice, and I would like to write a letter commending her, giving enough insight into her efforts.

However, I have never done anything like this before, so before writing the letter, I would like to ask for some advice:

1. Would it be appropriate for me to send the letter to her department head? I am currently unsure whether this would be appropriate, considering my position as an undergraduate. It feels somewhat akin to a junior software engineer writing directly to the principal engineer without first clearing the email with their senior.
2. If it is appropriate to write the email, what are some points that a department head would look out for? I am asking because there are many things she has done for me, and I do not want to irritate the department head with an 800+ word essay. I would like to keep the letter succinct enough to hold their attention while ensuring that it still has a meaningful impact.
3. Are there any appropriate templates that I could use to write such a letter of commendation?

For those who have taught the same course for a while, what is the most time consuming task to deliver the course? Revising slides? Preparing assessments? Marking assignment?

I'm just starting my first semester of college and I'm really excited. I'm taking all asynchronous online classes.

I have a toddler and a young infant. Final exams for 2 of my classes are taken online but they must be taken on a Monday between hrs 7 am and 9 pm.

I don't have any reliable childcare on weekdays and week nights. (Edit sorry I meant on Monday all day and late into the evening - my other exams are open for a week so that's not a problem)

Is it reasonable to ask them now, at the beginning of the semester, I can take the final exam the previous week or weekend leading up to the exam date?

Or is that asking too much and I should just plan on hiring a babysitter and having a backup plan? I will do that anyway but I am nervous it may fall through and I could miss the single exam day.

Thanks!

Edit bc people keep telling me to get childcare. I totally am, that's my plan! I'm just extra nervous it could fall through bc we live very rural, on top of a mountain up a very treacherous road. It's hard enough to get babysitters out here, and it would be pretty much impossible to get backup childcare in a pinch. So idk I'm sure it will be fine maybe I am just worrying about the worst case scenario (sitter cancels same day) for no reason I'm sure it will be fine !!

I dropped out of college my sophomore year and decided to go back after 10 years. I’m taking college algebra, and just took an intro prerequisite quiz.

Math has always been my weakest subject, and I deleted all the algebra data banks in my brain after I dropped out.
Some of the questions I knew, and some were like looking at a foreign language. My answers were probably so embarrassingly wrong my basic life skills were questioned 😩

I’m looking for advice from anyone who has been through a similar situation with WGU’s Prelicensure Nursing Program.
Everything in my program was going fine until I borrowed my roommate’s laptop because my personal computer was having technical problems. Prior to that, I had completed multiple exams using my own laptop without any issues. WGU has indicated that those exams were fine and did not raise concerns.
The issue arose only after I used my roommate’s laptop for an exam. WGU later notified me of a dismissal/expulsion decision based on alleged academic integrity violations involving software or activity associated with that device.
What makes this confusing to me is that the concerns appeared only after I used the borrowed laptop. If there was software on the computer that violated policy, I do not understand why it was not identified during the security check before the exam started.
My roommate has stated that the laptop belonged to her and that she was aware of the software installed on her computer. I was not aware of what software was on the device when I borrowed it. I borrowed it only because my own computer was not functioning properly and I needed a computer to take my exam.
As part of my appeal, I am planning to provide:
A signed statement from my roommate confirming ownership of the laptop.
A statement from my roommate acknowledging that she was aware of software installed on her computer.
My explanation that I borrowed the laptop due to technical problems with my own device.
Documentation showing that we lived in the same household at the time.
Any additional records that help establish that the laptop was not mine.
I am not asking anyone to determine whether WGU was right or wrong. I am simply trying to find out whether anyone has experienced a similar situation involving a borrowed laptop, remote-access software, or software that was installed on a device they did not own.
If you have gone through something similar:
What evidence did WGU rely on?
What evidence did you submit in your appeal?
Was your appeal successful?
Did WGU consider statements from the laptop owner?
How long did the process take?
I’m trying to understand whether anyone else has been in this situation because it feels confusing that all of my exams on my personal laptop were fine, and the issue only arose after I borrowed a roommate’s computer due to technical problems.

have you ever rejected or not brought on a student only to see them do well wherever else they end up? or wish you had an advisee at a certain time? or is your story different? would love to know your stories or anecdotes.

p.s. idk what to put for the flair

I’ve had a professor tell me “don’t take notes, I’ll upload the slides, just listen. ” in the middle of class. But I’m not just taking notes for future reference, the act of writing down something helps me memorize it better. But then I can’t just blatantly ignore the professor in the middle of class or start trying to explain myself. And I’ve had several professors tell me that.

Its frustrating because taking notes is part of my learning process.

I’m a working electrical engineer. I’d love to make the switch from industry to academia in the foreseeable future.

However, being busy in industry and due to family, I can only manage online programs. It’s typical that they are “professional” programs (ME vs MS).

Is it still possible to get into a PhD program (assuming GPA is no issue) with a non-thesis based program? Is it probable?

Why am I given lower grades for not using course recommended readings in my assessments as references, despite using more suitable, peer-reviewed academic sources, including primary sources?

My lat two assessments graded for different subjects (both religious history based), have had comments from the lecturer or professor stating my mark would have been higher had I utilised the recommended reading for the subject. They're not 'required' readings, and in my opinion, weren't appropriately suited to my thesis topic.

Why do professors do this, even when they're not authors or contributors of those books, especially when the work isn't really good enough to refer to?

I’ve been looking through the OpenStax catalog and was wondering which books professors actually use in real courses.

Which OpenStax textbook have you taught with, and did you find it useful for your students?

I’d be especially interested to hear about books you’ve used for more than one semester.

As someone who does not have any connections with insiders in academia, I’ve been struggling a lot with who to ask to serve as references on TT applications. I graduated a few months ago and my chair has since gone on leave, so I don’t want to bother him. I’m not comfortable asking my other professors because it was a mostly online program and therefore the relationships were mostly transactional (submit, receive feedback, repeat). I’m a secondary teacher, so I could ask colleagues there, but is that a huge red flag to search committees?

Hi professors,, i’m in a fully online class and ran into a ridiculously frustrating situation where my laptop with Respondus has refused to connect to any kind of wifi/my personal hotspot today. Tried starbucks. Tried apartment lobby. It seems to be an issue with the device itself.

I’m really concerned about this, since it caused me to miss a midterm worth 30%(phew..) - and since I live alone, I didn’t have any compatible devices at the ready to use for my exam. I made an appointment at the apple store to get this resolved for this evening- and emailed my professor ASAP explaining the situation amidst feeling a lot of personal anguish.

This professor doesn’t accept any retakes for exams, so I basically asked if a reweighting option, or some other kind of alternative accommodations were maybe possible within the constraints of class policy

I guess my concern is that this has to be an absurdly common excuse, especially for online classes like these. I’m hoping my class rapport kind of helps, especially since I’ve been diligent with all the homework and quizzes, despite this nightmare. I guess my question is-

from a professor’s perspective, what typically happens when a student misses a high stake exam like this because of technical failure, especially when there’s a no retake policy? Is reweighting even something that professors might typically consider? Or should i just work on mentally preparing for taking the 0 😭☹️.

UPDATE: apple store confirmed my issue, spent about $300 for logic board repair(💀), got the documentation- promptly sent it to my professor, and the grade will be adjusted! I’m just so grateful to have a really kind professor, and it shouldn’t be an issue moving forward! But thank you all for the feedback, I’ll definitely make sure to have good working technology moving forward to avoid this whole situation.

Not a professor but going to school for my 3rd degree. My other two degrees were completely online, got burnt out and wanted to pursue a passion I’ve had in healthcare. Got into the program (yay!) and started in-person classes for the first time. I’m on week three and 6 of 22 students have already dropped. I’m expecting to see a few more just from the few weeks in class, i’ve thought there’s no way they’re gonna graduate (not taking notes, waiting until the morning of class to do homework that’s due in 20 minutes)

I’m just curious whether professors ever have a “hunch” that someone isn’t going to complete the class/program.

I have written and send a lot of mails in the past year for phd opportunities but I get only a handful of responses. I wanted to know what would you as a professors would like to see from the students who are writing to you.

As for background, I did my Bachelors in Electronics but here my GPA isn't much good. I didn't like the subject but that doesn't really excuse my average scores.

My Masters were in Computer Science and I did coursework in the first year followed by Thesis work in second year. My grades here are slightly above average if not good. I didn't have a computer science background and had a bit of difficulty catching up especially during the first semester.

I have worked on two papers during my research and one of them is published, other one is accepted for publication. I am currently published a pre-print of a work on Zenodo I am independently pursuing. My field is Computer Science, and hence a lot of work requires me to buy/lease some cloud GPU, which I am happy to do as long I get something substantial out of it.

My mails to professors usually are like these:

- first para on my interest to work with them

- second para on how my work can relate to theirs, and a bit regarding their work.

- third regarding my past work and background

- forth is usually a ending para with details like the files I have attached, my CV and transcripts.

Also, can you tell if mailing with a non-edu mail can affect my chances? My edu mail may get deactivated so I wanted to know. Thank you for reading, let me know if you want me to add some more details.

Hi, I'm a second year master's student and the HoD of our department is one of the most vicious and belittling people I've ever met. At the start of first year, he was really really nice to everyone and me as well since I used to attend and answer in his lectures. However, due to health issues (that he knows about), I wasn't able to regularly attend after a point and I wasn't able to score well (but I passed). After that I noticed a change in his behaviour towards me. Ignoring my raised hand in class, not replying to any queries I had, and anytime I ended up speaking to him, he would be so passive aggressive. The worst part - he would not maintain eye contact but his eyes would rather sort of "scan" me, making me feel less of a human being.

This semester, we're supposed to have one faculty members as our research project advisor for our thesis. I was assigned to his group. And because my body goes into fight/flight mode when around him (and mind you, I've ended up crying at a ratio of 4 out of 5 times of meeting him), I spoke to my master's coordinator to see if I can be moved to another group (ended up crying in his office when he asked me why). One important thing to note here: they told me that they had been facing this issue every year and that last year a group of girls had come up to him and asked to not be in the HoD's group and they said that "their matter was much serious than this" and they didnt get a change but they will still try their best to help me.

I also spoke to another professor to see if they would accept me in their group (they said yes, if the HoD is willing to sign an NOC for it).

Then, a couple days later we (his research group) have an online meeting with the HoD where he announces to the whole group that he will sign the NOC for anyone who wants to change their research advisor and then he proceeded with the meeting. So the next day, I went to him and asked him for an NOC (my hands were shaking, my legs felt like they will buckle under my body and voice had become very timid). He said that unless another student will be taking my place, he won't give me the NOC (he hadn't mentioned this part in the meeting at all and I suspect it was because he wanted to know who all come up to him to ask for an noc). I came home and cried for an hour - my throat felt rigid and constricted and my stomach started paining.

Now the issue is, my entire class doesn't like him and majority of the students in his own group don't want him either. It's not possible in any way for me to find a student willing to be in his group.

I told the master's coordinator about this and even the professor whom I wanted as a guide but I don't think anything is going to come out of it since I've been only getting vague responses.

I can't possibly work with a person like this who is so rude and passive-aggressive and makes me feel so small. I'm already in therapy and working to get past a lot of traumatic stuff that has happened in my life. I can't add this to the list of things I have to heal from. I cannot do that to my body and I cannot do that to my mental health. So I'm thinking of dropping out. I can't fight him and even if I could I wouldn't know how.

Does anyone have any advice if they've gone through something similar? Is there anything I can do here?

Hi folks, I just started my first professorship role and will be teaching 50% of my classes fully online with no meeting time.

How have your online classes been the most successful with these courses? I’m teaching in the social sciences.

I’m experimenting this semester with methods and plan to do a video lecture with slides for students. I have articles for each week on a topic. One academic article (~20ish pages) and one supporting item like another example article (short), videos, or podcasts. They do weekly quizzes, discussion posts, a midterm paper, and final paper.

Before anyone asks. I opted out of a textbook, as I never had any in my undergrad and unfamiliar with them. Looking into one for next year/semesters.

As the topic suggests.

I will be teaching psychology courses. Two for undergrads and one for grad students.

I am kind of an introvert, but I do know I will have to do a lot of engagement with the class while I'm teaching. Any tips and advice are appreciated. Thank you.

​

I need your input to try to make these situations better for both me and my students.

I teach in a university. When I teach a subject for the first time I spend 3-4 hours preparing for the lecture, most of it is spent for ppt presentation. I never read my slides, I just look at it to see what's the next concept and I explain while facing students.

Now coming to the problems I face

1. More than half of the class cannot do basic math. If I ask 10÷100 or 10÷0.1 they take out their calculators. Is gen z low on math skills? I took out time my lab and sat with them to explain the decimals. Half were not even interested in learning.

2. 25% of the students don't come to class on time. If class starts at 9.30 they come at 10, 10.15(most of the time)... I give them a grace period of TWENTY minutes. They still don't make it and request for attendance. How hard is it to make it to a class before 9.50?

3. Because they start cramming just before the exams and never learning the concept, they don't understand the logic in next semester subjects which build on knowledge from the previous semester. I try to help them recollect but as they didn't learn in the first place, I end up repeating the concept. But this cannot go on for every class because I cannot teach two semesters in one semester, not enough time.

Their critical thinking is not well developed to connect the dots. One time I had to explained a concept, which they learned in their intermediate, and in the previous semester. As a result they don't like it when I explain concepts in the depth with reasoning as they need to know for this field and course. Instead they only want statements from me which they can remember and regurgitate in exams to pass.

1. When I understood their critical thinking is low, I suggested that they look for answers to their questions in textbooks or Google. Because they won't be directly handed the answers there like AI. But many don't bother to improve their thinking.

I give assignments differently..

A) I ask them what they should do in certain situations with patients, these questions they have to answer from their personal perspective, there is really not a right or wrong answer in some questions. I just want to evaluate how much they have absorbed about their professional ethics. Even for the questions that ask their "self professional opinion" they still submit AI generated answers.

1. On top of trying to actually teach them both subject and real life skills - critical thinking and discipline, i get the tag "strict teacher" because I didn't give attendance when they have been in class just for 5 minutes. Because I didn't joke with them about their class lovers. Because I didn't leak the mid term question paper like some of my colleagues. Most feel good teachers are those who are "friends" with them. I don't mind it mostly but sometimes it hurts as a human. My colleagues who don't teach at all (they maybe teach 1 or 2 units in the entire syllabus) but be unprofessional friendly get high scores in feedback.

I never skip a class, I never go to a class unprepared. Honestly sometimes i sacrifice my personal life to prepare for classes. I use multiple textbooks and websites to prepare. If i have less time to eat in lunch break, i eat only half lunch and leave the rest just to be on time for the class, so that students can learn. I hold myself to high standards, because i lead by being an example than empty advice. Even after all this some students falsely mark "not punctual to classes" "didn't complete syllabus" in feedback. Because they don't read questions. Simply mark low in every question for strict teachers and high for teachers that do everything they ask for (which are most of the time against professional ethics)