I'd like to file a complaint with my Dept. Chair over one of my Profs...

[bicentennial_baby]

So in one of my classes, we have a syllabus that is the definition of vague. Basically, it does not lay out what we are required to do, when, or for how much percentage of the final grade. That's one issue.

But the reason I want to complain is that we have these online assignments, 4-8 a week, and the due dates constantly change. One day it will say it's due a week from now, and then the next he changes it to tomorrow. This literally just happened with the next round of assignments. They were supposed to be due next Monday, and now they're due tomorrow and Friday.

:wtf:

It constantly changes, and if you don't check the website 2x a day, you'll miss deadlines. Also, none of the assignments are on things we've been taught thus far, b/c he doesn't teach anything. Literally. All he does is go over the upcoming homework assignments and give you the answers ahead of time. I'm learning nothing.

I'm really frustrated and I don't want this to affect my GPA. Grrrrr.

[ThomCat]

1. How do jackasses like that get teaching jobs?

x(

He must be one hell of an author/researcher for the school to keep him if he's that bad as a teacher.

[bicentennial_baby]

2. Nope, he's an ABD....

All but dissertation. He's filling in for the wonderful Prof who was originally teaching the class, who went on paternity leave suddenly. I signed up b/c of the original Prof, and now I'm stuck with this asinine adjunct. Ugh.

I have a good reputation with my faculty, so I may just go speak to my Dept. Chair next week. I'm not the only one in the class that feels this way, by far.

[ThomCat]

5. That's really good. Perhaps they can give you all permission

to drop the class after the normal deadline, or permission to take it Pass/Fail instead of for a grade. Or, if you all hit the lottery and someone is available, maybe they'll pull him out of there and put someone in there who can really teach. There is no way the department would want someone doing the stuff you describe.

[bicentennial_baby]

6. But I don't want a Pass/Fail on my transcript, that's the thing

Yes, I'm allowed one Pass/Fail in my major, and could easily take it...But, I'm applying to PhD programs after I graduate, so I don't want that on there. I just want a competent teacher. And I'm pissed that he's not teaching, b/c I'm genuinely interested in the subject and wanted to learn about it. Sigh.

I'm going to talk to my Thesis adviser on Friday about it and see what she says.

:pals:

[Book Lover]

3. The syllabus is a contract

so if he is changing the terms of the contract, you're on solid ground going to the chair. If you can also document the changing due dates, you're totally solid. It's a hassle, I'm sure, to get to see the chair, but you should.

Now, though, I have to say this for the other side...

You say this guy is a replacement for someone who went on leave with little notice. Does your current instructor have other classes at this school? I just wonder if you have a freeway flyer who was hired just as soon as could be and who is getting little to no support from the department. In no way does it excuse his unprofessional behavior, but it is possible the guy has no tools to do his job.

[bicentennial_baby]

4. No, he teaches here every semester...He has an office, etc.

And it's no hassle to see my Chair, I can walk into her office any day. She's cool, and we're on good terms.

I have my thesis, Internship and 2 other classes. I need real schedules and deadlines, like all of my other classes and the ones I've had prior. I feel it's implicitly unfair to keep changing the due dates arbitrarily, esp. when he's barely teaching anything in class. And like I said above, I'm not the only one in the class that feels this way.

The syllabus doesn't even have a schedule! It's all kinda whatever he feels like from day to day, and completely infuriating. I have a 3.9 GPA, and I don't need this crap. Grr.

[Book Lover]

7. well then

Good to know your department people are so accessible. For there to be no schedule in the syllabus is ... unusual in my experience. Good luck with this guy. It sounds like you have recourse so go for it.

[jobycom]

8. Does he have a TA or grader, or other grad students?

I'm thinking two possibilities here. One, he's just an ass who thinks it's fun to mess with undergrads, or two, he's just not experienced enough to realize how ineffective he's being. If it's the second, you might help yourself by talking to him directly, letting him know you are having trouble following his goals, etc. He might just need feedback.

If it's the first, you may just be out of luck. In one of my incarnations, I was an engineering major at Miss. State. One course was taught by an ABD who was legendary for trying to fail undergrads. I luckily avoided his course, but others had to devote so much time to his course that their grades suffered in other courses. The profs and admins knew the story, but didn't do anything about it, since he wasn't technically doing anything outside of his job parameters.

If he has a TA or grader, you could approach them and ask for clarification. They might give you an idea of what's going on. Talking to your chair is a good idea to a point--if this is someone whose recommendation you want for grad school, you don't want to come across as a whiner. With a 3.9 GPA, that's unlikely, but just thought I'd mention it.

[bicentennial_baby]

9. It's the former...

Sigh.

I have no issue with talking to my Chair, and even my former Chair, as he has pull in the Dept even though he just retired. I'm the golden child of the senior Econ majors, and I'm not going to let this person fuck up my GPA. I can do the work, but my schedule doesn't really allow for constant attention to changing deadlines for assignments on material we haven't covered. It's complete BS. I have well over 120 credits, and I've taken over a dozen econ classes. I know how this is supposed to work. My GPA reflects that. I am not taking any crap from this person.

Basically, my Honors thesis and assorted things are giving me enough stress, and I just not going to take a lesser grade b/c this person can't get his syllabus and deadlines straight. And I'll tell him that to his face, if need be.

And no, my Grad school letters are coming from my Thesis adviser, my 2nd reader, and my former Dept Chair. No worries there. And I don't think I'd come across as a whiner, they know how serious I am about my studies, to the point of neurosis. And I'm not a complainer. A Prof has to be pretty fucked up for me to even raise an eyebrow, at this point. :)

[Gormy Cuss]

10. And don't forget: you're paying for this class.

Even if you have scholarship, that has a cash value and it's being wasted.

[bicentennial_baby]

11. Beyond wasted...

2.5 hours every Monday that I could be working on my thesis and I could still do this class on my own as an Independent Study (theoretically) and be learning more. No joke. Oy vey.