195
votes
My university requires that I take attendance. How should I treat students who arrive late to class?
This is an answer to a previous version of the question, where it was not clear that recording attendance was mandatory at the asker’s university. Therefore my answer does not cover the specific ...
- 53.1k
102
votes
My university requires that I take attendance. How should I treat students who arrive late to class?
I'll try to provide an answer in light of the fact that many answers here will come from professors who do not realize how common it is for some college institutions to have mandatory attendance-...
- 33.8k
101
votes
Can a professor tell you that you can’t use your phone before or after their class?
I think your description of what’s going on is misleading. The professor is not “telling you you can’t use your phone before class”. He’s telling you you can’t use your phone before class in the ...
- 183k
89
votes
Is it unethical of me and can I get in trouble if a professor passes me based on an oral exam without attending class?
I feel like you're overthinking this. What you did seems an improvement to me over taking, say, bowling to fill a last credit, which isn't uncommon in undergrad. The professor gave you your grade and ...
- 16.3k
88
votes
Is listing annexed territory listed in author details a valid reason to decline to review?
Since you ask for a framework for thinking about it, I'll suggest that an action on your part that disadvantages the author, perhaps already a victim, won't bring justice. Probably better to ignore ...
- 333k
86
votes
What should I do when my students use their phones in class?
Frame challenge:You shouldn't, in fact, You cannot.This is academia, not kindergarten.
These are adult people and are completely free to do whatever they want in their life as long as they are not ...
- 1,184
85
votes
What should I do when my students use their phones in class?
Well, we are educating adults - and they should be able to decide what's good for them and what's bad.
Of course, this philosophy does not work out really well in real classrooms - but some students ...
- 13.1k
64
votes
How can I address a student systematically boosting their grades by filing frivolous complaints?
When it comes to "he-said, she-said" situations, as seems to be the case here, most institutions will tend to take the side of professors by default. For obvious reasons—the 18–22 year old college ...
60
votes
Examples of successful push-backs against DEI (diversity, etc.) initiatives in academia?
For what it's worth, quite a few people in my own math department did a lot of "pushing-back" in 2019-20, while I was chair of the "Diversity Committee". The pushing-back was "...
- 85.5k
52
votes
Accepted
Am I allowed to show properly redacted exams to a colleague to determine if cheating occurred?
FERPA permits education records to be shared with school officials who have a "legitimate educational interest" in them. Examples of a "legitimate educational interest" include (via University of ...
- 108k
52
votes
Accepted
Is it ethical for students to be required to consent to their final course projects being publicly shared?
The red flag here is that the instructor is requiring students to sign away a legal right they have. What gives them the right? A university may reasonably make such a requirement as a matter of ...
- 183k
50
votes
Examples of successful push-backs against DEI (diversity, etc.) initiatives in academia?
I personally have had some limited success in pushing back against "DEI initiatives" with arguments such as:
This does not go far enough because it only helps "x minority" but ...
47
votes
Is it unethical of me and can I get in trouble if a professor passes me based on an oral exam without attending class?
Many schools, including the one where I got my undergraduate degree, have a system whereby a student can get credit for a course by proving that he knows the material --- usually by taking exams but ...
- 21.6k
47
votes
Is it unethical of me and can I get in trouble if a professor passes me based on an oral exam without attending class?
I can assure you, that there will never be any consequences from this, that's for certain. You asked the professor - she allowed it. It's her problem, not yours. You won't ever lose this degree, ...
- 549
45
votes
What is a "Safe Space"?
I think the Merriam Webster definition you reference:
a place (as on a college campus) intended to be free of bias, conflict, criticism, or potentially threatening actions, ideas, or conversations
...
- 99.2k
43
votes
Why not offer credit by exam to students who have failed a course?
Short answer: A short exam cannot test mastery of all the skills taught during a course. When such exams are offered, they are normally offered only to students who have successfully completed an ...
- 63.8k
43
votes
Data used for analysis is not free. What should I do as a reviewer?
The journal asked me if data are accessible and if are adequate to
allow replication.
That is easy to answer:
"The data is only accessible if a fee is payed as mandated by the data's license. I ...
- 8,962
37
votes
How can I address a student systematically boosting their grades by filing frivolous complaints?
As for addressing what already happened, this obviously depends a lot on what rules you have, but it may still be worth looking whether you have some of those very broad rules demanding mutual respect,...
- 59.3k
31
votes
Accepted
Why do some universities require use of approved suppliers?
Some universities can get a better deal from a supplier by promising them to buy exclusively, or to buy sufficiently much from them
It is easier for the accounting department to deal with the same ...
- 53.1k
29
votes
What is the appropriate response to students who peek at the exam questions before the exam starts?
If it really makes a difference, you could put each exam in a sealed manila envelope. When you announce that the students can begin, then they can tear open the envelope and remove the exam.
Lots of ...
- 391
28
votes
Accepted
Grounds for complaint? Professor skipping class, inaccurate grading criteria
I think we can all agree that missing more than 25% of the lectures is unacceptable (and the excuse that the instructor has other academic commitments is unconvincing to say the least: if I cancelled ...
- 130k
28
votes
Can a professor tell you that you can’t use your phone before or after their class?
Short answer: Yes, he can (unless there is a rule to the contrary)
If I understand your description correctly, you are present in the lecture room outside of the designated lecture time, and the ...
- 62.5k
27
votes
Missing final exam due to exhaustion?
You should do whatever you or your institution would ordinarily do for a student who brought a doctor's note after missing an exam. You are not the student's doctor and the cause of the student's ...
- 11.4k
27
votes
My university requires that I take attendance. How should I treat students who arrive late to class?
In this case, attendance is a requirement mandated from above. You could ask for clarification from the powers that be who set the rule. For example, you could ask ... Is attendance to be recorded at ...
- 4,463
25
votes
How can I address a student systematically boosting their grades by filing frivolous complaints?
Independent re-evaluation and re-grading
In my institution a situation like that "The real strike comes at the end of the semester" complaint and dispute with some potential risk of unfair grading or ...
- 8,091
24
votes
Accepted
Examples of successful push-backs against DEI (diversity, etc.) initiatives in academia?
I am not aware of any major successful pushbacks against DEI initiatives, but I know where you might look for more information and some possible leads. In 2020, philosophy professor Brian Leiter ...
- 62.5k
24
votes
Last Course needed to graduate suddenly not being offered
Since you've already talked to the dean and head of department, keep following up with them. The dean, at least, probably has the power to make exceptions, but wants your advisor involved. Maybe a ...
- 333k
23
votes
Why do some universities require use of approved suppliers?
This is often done to prevent funneling money from the university to friends outside the university. If Prof A has a friend who sells IT gear, the prof cannot preferentially funnel orders to that ...
- 48.5k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible