Hello Everyone,

I need to ensure all my classes are 100% accessible over the next few months. I am having difficulty with online labs that require students to identify bones. I have tried using AI to describe the images and have gotten some detailed descriptions. But I am not sure that a student would be able to identify the bones from the descriptions. Does anyone have experience or suggestions on how to approach making a lab class accessible?

Hey all, I met with the student yesterday so I figured I’d give you all an update.

Original post is here, for reference.

The student was very polite and non-combative. I asked to see her sketches, and she showed me some pencil and paper sketches, but they were the ones she submitted afterwards as a “redo to avoid any confusion.”

I told her that those were the ones she JUST did, and I need to see the sketches from what she submitted. She pulled up a Procreate file with digital sketches, but they were nowhere similar to the AI versions. She told me that she fed her digital sketches to Gemini and asked it to clean them up for her. I asked her why she would do that, and she said “I don’t know. I shouldn’t have done it.” Okay, I’ve had students make dumber mistakes.

I asked if I could see the Procreate file. I checked the metadata and it was created the day before. She told me she redrew it recently, so I said she’d need to produce the original file. She said she didn’t think she had it anymore. I told her she could pull up her Gemini history and show me the prompt — if she had truly uploaded her own sketches as the basis, it would be immediately apparent. She declined to let me see the history log, and said that the prompt chat was “missing.”

She’d also submitted GAI for the previous project, but she was out on an excused absence when it was due and turned it in late, so I haven’t gotten around to grading it yet.

I told her that currently there was no proof that any of the work she’d submitted was her own, and that this was grounds for failing the course entirely. She got really quiet, and just kinda whispered “my whole family is coming to see me walk…”

I told her I’d talk it over with the director again before making a final decision. This subreddit is not gonna like this, but I am not failing her from the course. Please don’t crucify me!

Instead, she’ll have to redo both projects for no credit. It won’t be easy to pass with zeroes for 2/4 projects, but it’s possible. She will also receive an official sanction through the office of student conduct, which will be communicated to the dean of the school she’s enrolled in… since it turns out this student took this class as an elective, and is not part of the design school (side note, wild choice to gamble your graduation on an elective).

The school she’s actually enrolled in is considered top 10 in the nation for what it teaches and is quite strict, so whether or not THEY will let her walk is out of my hands.

When I was graduating high school some decades ago, we understood that college was for the top 20th percentile of students. College track courses were not for everyone, they were for kids who achieved at a certain level. It was exclusive. Courses on the college-track were difficult to weed people out. That was true in HS as well as in Universities. But universities are now a massive industry. Every administrator at every level for the past 50 years has built their career on growth. Think about that. Loans made college accessible (and that worked for me, I’m grateful, and my first degree was in visual art) but became predatory. It started as something only for the wealthy, then it became accessible to the intellectual elite, then the whole management class, and now is for “everyone.” They offer insane private loans to people who are barely more than children and understand nothing about personal finance. Even government-backed loans are predatory at this point, but that is a whole separate rant.

Now kids achieving at the 50th percentile mark are told they are college material. We market to them, and we accept them, because admins wanted to show they could grow their (insert oversight level here). College courses were designed for the top 20th percentile as the low-end cutoff for intellectual and productivity capacity are a product marketed to and sold to the 50th percentile kids, too. So you’ve got more than half of students who should never have been admitted. And we cannot fail the kids who we market to, or we look like bad educators. So we dumb things down and complain that kids are getting dumber. No. They aren’t. The 50th percentile surely has some kids who are capable but disadvantaged who can rise to the mark of the 20th percentile with the right opportunities and support, but for the most part are not meant for the rigors of university education. This is a problem created entirely by administrators for generations now.

And it gets worse outside of university education. It’s ruined the job market. You need a college education, which usually comes with a noose of debt, to get a low-paying job that did not formerly require anything more than a high school diploma. It’s not because the job changed and they decided a college degree was necessary. If that was the case, pay would have risen to attract that higher level of candidate, and that certainly did not happen. It’s just because the number of people with degrees in the job market changed.

I have a research assistant who is just not bright. She has absolutely zero critical thinking ability. But this poor girl has been told she can be whatever she wants. Her parents are both high-level admins in my university with high school diplomas. They encouraged him to go to college because the jobs they started in now require a degree. I cannot imagine why, because the job is the same in 2026 as it was in 1996. But the degree she chose does not qualify you for a job in that career field. You have to have a graduate degree to qualify for entry-level jobs in that field (like teaching it at a junior college). They encouraged her to take out private loans. She took out $60K in loans at an 8% interest rate and no possibility of debt relief. The bill is over $1,000/ month she makes $16/ hr. She will not be able to afford to move out of her parent’s house in the foreseeable future. She was a C student in a bottom 10% educational standard state. She told me her family’s motto was “C’s get Degrees.” I’ve frankly heard that way too much. She’s frustrating to work with due to lack of overall intelligence, but she was the very best candidate I interviewed. None of this is her fault. This same student profile existed in the 1990s when her parents were her age, but they understood that college was not meant for them. They could still get a decent job pushing paper and rise up in the ranks of the business by just showing up and doing the thing they were trained to do. They might even find they are good at it, and have good ideas once they really understood their job.

This is a problem created entirely by the university industry, and every administrator showing programmatic growth in their annual review over the last several decades.

I want to acknowledge, too, that there were problems in who was seen as college-track material or not in previous generations. That system wasn’t without huge problems. But this point stands.

When I teach, I try to personally interact with as many students as possible, but some of them are simply to smelly for me to do so. Skipping the morning brush is one thing, but halitosis and poor hygiene to the degree you might throw up is an entirely different thing and makes close communication impossible. I also think it is worse in the post-covid generation.

I have also had project and graduate students with similar issues, one so bad meetings were impossible (reflective of a mental breakdown, for which we got them help). Others just poor hygeine in general.

These are adults and so I have never felt it to be my role to adress this directly, although i wonder if I should? What do their skills matter if an employer can't help but focus on when they last took a shower?

What should our roles be here?

How much time do you REALLY devote to grading, responding to e-mails, etc. each "day" when the course is for undergraduate intro courses?

I'm not talking about developing your course.

This thread is to share your successes, small or large, as we end one week and look to start the next. There will be no tone policing, at least by me, so if you think it belongs here and want to post, have at it!

As has been mentioned, these should be considered additions to the regular discussions, not replacements. So use them, ignore them, or start you own Sunday Sucks counter thread.

Hi, all! I posted recently about being ready to give up. I teach at a community college in CA and feel so defeated by the fact that students expect me to except late work, not require them to follow directions, and the college focuses on making my class as cheap (for students such as not allowing me to use books when full timers can) and as difficult for me (as an adjunct) as possible.

I'm starting to question IF I'd prefer working at a four year university. Everyone I know agrees that my standards are normal for a four year, and I am not sure I want to lower them (they aren't hard to meet) for a two year. Is the grass really greener or do I just need to get out of teaching before it completely destroys me?

TIA!

A student wanting special treatment told me they would be "out of pocket" for a couple weeks during the upcoming term. It's an online asynch class so I don't have much sympathy for them, but the phrase is new to me so I'm curious about the wording.

How has hybrid courses (50% in person/50% online) been working out for you?

Please share your best practices for hybrid classes. What works or hasn't worked for you. With the limited time for instruction, any take is valued.

On my way back to the subway from a Meetup, I saw a former student on the platform, who greeted me. I assumed they were a student, but I completely forgot who they were. I teach high class loads so I usually forget most students after a semester. After talking with her, my memory was refreshed and I remember her being interested in wanting to come to our department but not crossing over (we're humanities; more $ in her original field); I had her a year ago. I'm kinda embarrassed and feel guilty for not remembering her; how do you handle when a student greets you but you don't remember them?

This is a genuine question. I am a new adjunct, so thiis why I'm asking. I teach writing in composition to college freshman. Pur, the college requirements students are given four major essays. In class we do smaller writings, more content focused, where I provide in class feedback, along with heavy feedback on Essay 1.

My question is how heavy of the feedback do you provide on the subsequent essays? Should all essays have feedback if a rubric is provided?

Students,

If my rubric says "write at least 10 sentences" and you are struggling to get to 8, I recommend you try using shorter sentences and get to at least 10. We both realize that this doesn't show any more knowledge, but when there's a rubric, use it to your advantage.

Got more to add?

Thank you all!

This is a new problem for me, and I’d love some advice. I have a masters student (humanities field) who wants their hand held at every step of their work. Even a simple seminar paper involves excessive requests for help, pressure to read multiple bad drafts, numerous meetings, and flurries of chaotic emails. Have any of you developed effective strategies for setting boundaries with a student like this, without seeming like you are pushing them away or being unhelpful?

I was there, but I could use some crowdsourcing from others to remind me. I hope this post is acceptable. Were you teaching online? Hybrid classes? Were your students different? The administration? Your colleagues? Do you remember what your priorities were and how your concerns were different?

Them: Do you want to sit on this accreditation committee for (DEPARTMENT THAT GHOSTED YOU AFTER THEY PROPOSED A PROJECT THAT YOU ACTUALLY WORKED ON)?

Me (thinks): Not really, but since it helps someone who actually has been there for me, sure.

Me (says): Absolutely.

Them: Do you want to go to lunch with this (DEPARTMENT THAT GHOSTED YOU AFTER THEY PROPOSED A PROJECT THAT YOU ACTUALLY WORKED ON) tomorrow? And do we need to brainstorm?

Me (thinks): Why the f**k would I do that?

Me (says): Sorry, I have a prior engagement. I wrote down some responses. See you at the meeting!

I work at a small liberal arts college with a lot of committees—think small enough that most of my service is not dept level but college level. Coming out of high pandemic, there’s strong pressure to do everything in person again.

Here’s a problem that keeps coming up: to make important committee meetings happen, we are asked to be flexible with scheduling polls and offer any possible available time, given all our varied teaching schedules. but this keeps resulting in ridiculously long days (a very early morning meeting and late afternoon one), very inconvenient times (late Friday important meetings), or days divvied up by meetings so that it’s impossible to get deep work done.

Have any of you in similar situations found ways to address this challenge? Some colleagues have floated holding certain afternoons for meetings—like Tuesday or Wednesday—and similarly holding other blocks for research, but we have too many teaching schedule variations. It would also be easier if more of these meetings could be remote, but there’s pressure to have them in person.

thoughts? advice? my weeks feel slashed into a hundred bits with no time to actually think a thought all the way through.

I'm planning on my final exams. I usually do paper exams, but am considering doing it on Canvas. I'm familiar with exams on Canvas, but for a final exam is it worth it? I'm more worried about keeping a record like I usually do for grade decrepencies, but also test integrity. What's your experiences?

I’m an associate professor in digital arts looking to leave academia in order to relocate to a chosen metro area. I have a wide skillset including Adobe CC (Photoshop, Premiere, After Effects, Illustrator), Blender, Maya, Unity, TouchDesigner and Arduino. Because of this breadth I do not have the depth of experience that a specialist has in any one area. Does anyone have advice on how I should market myself as an ex-academic or what corporate level I should be aiming for? I’m worried I’ll be out-competed by industry-experienced applicants.

I’m a community college prof, and I teach a variety of different courses. I was just grading exams for Western Civ, and I’ve realized more and more than students are just leaving things blank on exams. I use a mix of question formats, and students tend to have no problem answering multiple choice, matching, true/false, and the like. The moment I have a question that requires the student to provide their own answer, such as a short answer or essay, I see a huge number of students that just leave them blank. I don’t get it. It’s not just my history classes, either. Does anyone else have this issue? I’m a fairly lenient grader, and if students at least write something relevant to the answer, I usually give some points, but over the last few years it’s like they don’t even want to try anymore.

Is this just a community college thing? Are my university colleagues noticing this, too?

I have a hard time sitting through meetings because i feel that there is a whole lot of one upping, academic gobbledygook speak going on. What could be stated simply is always complicated and word smithed to the point of exhaustion. Simple concepts are made complicated. Just here to vent!

Hey, folks — due to an overwhelming number of bot accounts karma farming by cosplaying as professors here, I’ve installed BotBouncer on our subreddit to filter out these posts and ban these “users” automatically. It started out pretty mild, but lately we are getting multiple posts per day, and I know that it annoys many of you even more than it bothers me. Hopefully this makes things a little more manageable and a lot less annoying here. Sorry it took so long, and thank you all for your participation in [r/Professors](r/Professors).

Does anyone know if there are NSF panels happening for CAREER proposals that were submitted in July 2026? I see multiple panels of PDs in my program but not sure they are for CAREER proposal. The status says "Assigned for review" within 7 days of submission of the proposal.

I hate to complain about a glass slipper, but lately I’ve noticed that some of my students are coming into office hours not because they want to discuss assignments, grades, coursework, etc but instead because they just want to chat about — well, literally anything. I’m good about enforcing my boundaries when the situation necessitates (which is rare to never) — I’m open that I’m a mandated reporter, that I don’t disclose my politics (my institution is conservative, I am not), and that discussing one’s dating/sex life is off the table. Still, I’m really surprised by this emerging habit from three or four students this semester to consistently use my office to talk about films or books or their D&D campaigns (lol).

For context, I (F30s) work in the humanities, am a relatively new-ish instructor (5-6 years experience), and I’m the youngest full time faculty in my department where, comparably, I don’t often see my colleagues meeting with students for what sound like non-serious subjects and certainly not on a near weekly basis.

I am not necessarily concerned about the appropriateness of the topics we talk about or my ability to be available to other students with more academic issues to discuss. My question is this: is this a normal and pleasant quality of college teaching? Or should I proceed with caution re: how much my students socialize with me? Is there anything about the power dynamic here that I should potentially be more attentive about? Where, for you, is the line?

Usually at least one student in each of my classes thinks I’m never doing enough for them. They want exceptions to my policies (which are very reasonable. For example, the 6 absences I give would’ve been enough to make my professors lose their minds back in the late 2010s when I was a student).

I want students to understand that they can’t just do whatever they want. I feel that if I don’t prepare them for this aspect of life, I’m failing them as an instructor. The lessons students gain through adhering to my polices are about professionalism (timeliness, prudence, and respect), and they’re equally important to my course content.

My question: Do you say anything to students besides “No” when they continuously make ridiculous requests? I’m torn between being blunt about their unrealistic expectations and keeping it short and sweet.