Hello Professors :)

I recently began teaching as an adjunct at a small college of health sciences (Introduction to Psychology in a Associates-Level nursing program). I am not a medical doctor and am admittedly probably rusty at teaching (its been about 10 years), but I was taken aback last week when I got some comments that were seemingly anti-scientific, on subject manner highly-relevant to health care provision. When I say "anti-scientific," I essentially mean comments that do not align with an understanding of the scientific method (how a hypothesis is made, evidence is gathered, analyzed, and used to draw a conclusion), but in this case the topic at hand was ALSO SCIENCE (as in, biology). Please note: I am saying this purposely in general terms to avoid debates on the specifics, so please keep things copacetic. I was shocked and unprepared- and I essentially had to move on and say "we will revisit this later." Fastforward to now, I'm at a loss, and asking for your help!

The class is about 30 people, and it's really only functionally coming up on the third week. The format of this (as is) is lecture/discussion hybrid where I stop three or four times to have a big class discussion on relevant "timely or controversial" topics. My first thought is that I should have broken the 30 up into small groups instead of opening it up to the entire class so that they could decide amongst themselves what was worthy of sharing with everyone, but I still feel like I could really use some guidance. Side note: for some students, I believe there is a cultural element informing their perspective on certain biomedical interventions that I want and need to consider here, but that I don't necessarily have time to fully unpack. That's the main problem: I don't feel like I have the time nor resources nor bandwidth to start where SOME (but not all) need me to.

Given the centrality of science to their chosen careers as nurses, I had thought to discuss some version of this with the dean, not for specific guidance from her per-se (it is a very small program and we communicate openly/directly/regularly), but now I'm not sure what my goal would be exactly...it just is something that could really impact how one *literally delivers health care* so it seemed pertinent to stick with (assuming I can't flawlessly change everyone's mind)? Does anyone have any advice on how to attempt to handle this proactively and directly with students? Any general words of wisdom?

Any and all advice would be so, so, so appreciated. THANK YOU SO MUCH IN ADVANCE (only my second post on reddit ever! please be kind!)

Mid career scientist here. I feel like opportunities for my partner (non academic) and I are not great in the US. Europe has a lot of appeal for many reasons. How hard is it to get a permanent academic job there? Thanks in advance!

For a course I'm teaching, there's a 10% penalty for each day that the assignment is late. So if a student were to submit the assignment 3 days late for example and their original score is 85%, the final grade would be calculated this way: 85 - 10(3) = 55%.

Am I on the right track? Need suggestions. Thank you!

I’m really glad I found this sub. I’m a 20 year veteran teacher with studies in psychology, medicine, and education. I’ve been teaching high school for about 8 years, and I recently took an adjunct position teaching a research methods class at a university. I live two states away from the university, but I have close ties to the department chair in we’ve been in communication about the possibility of adjunct hiring for years. Everything has finally panned out, and we are two weeks into a 100% asynchronous course. I’ve picked up Canvas relatively easily after having used it extensively in my graduate program. My only questions are about student engagement and rigor. For engagement, what strategies have worked to increase engagement? I used to high schoolers, and while they are always engaged, being physically present does help. My doctoral professors used a lot of discussions and check ins to keep us engaged. How can I implement things that will help me “get to know” my students better? Secondly, how do you ensure instructional rigor? My course was, fortunately, prebuilt for me, and I had little time to tweet it before the launch date (we had some last minute issues with getting me access to the university’s platforms; I was literally finishing the syllabus four hours before it had to be submitted). I’ve made sure the presentations and videos for each unit are applicable and appropriate, but I really want my students to master this material during the course. What suggestions do you guys have for increasing and ensuing instructional quality and rigor? TIA!

I am in my early 30s and just moved to a small city in the states. There aren’t many people of my ethnicity here. Was wondering if anyone has experienced something similar?

My colleague asked if I would help one of her postdocs with a perspective paper. The postdoc is a good scientist but not the strongest writer, so when we first started writing together, I wrote my parts and helped them refine their sections a bit. We have other collaborators on this paper too, and the postdoc, as lead author, has been in charge of managing the contributions from these individuals. I wrapped up my section in November, and the postdoc recently reached out to me to ask for a final read through because they finally got contributions from the other authors. When I opened the file, the paper was completely revised- everything I’d written was gone and the writing style throughout was not consistent with what I’d previously observed as the postdoc’s communication style. I also noticed that only the first couple paragraphs had citations, and the postdoc asked if I could “help with adding citations”. It all felt a bit weird to me, so I decided to run it through a couple of free AI detectors. I couldn’t do the whole paper at once, but some sections showed 30% and 40% suspected AI. I don’t have a lot of experience with these tools, but for comparison I ran some of my own writing through and it showed up as 0%, so it seems reliable to me.

At this point I’m not sure what to do. I don’t want to point fingers and accuse the postdoc of using these tools if they didn’t, but considering that journals ask you to state that you didn’t use them, I’m a concerned about the possibility. I also feel very weird about being second author on a paper where my contributions have been entirely wiped out. The postdoc’s advisor has been a great mentor to me (I am early career faculty) so that’s who I would normally ask about this kind of thing, but I’m hesitant with this particular instance because it’s their postdoc and I don’t want to see like I’m tattling or causing drama, especially when I don’t know for sure if they did or didn’t use AI.

Has anyone else encountered a situation like this? Any advice for how to handle it would be appreciated.

Academic Pet Peeve: I feel a minor annoyance when I email a LOR to someone and don’t receive any sort of indication that it was received. I don’t mean this to include when we upload to a portal of any sort, but rather when I write a LOR and email it to a different professional. In the most recent case, after sending a LOR for a student’s internship application, they did let the student know they received it, but in my opinion, it seems polite/professional to reply to the email with a “Thank you.” or an “I’ll add this to their file.” or “I appreciate your time.” or whatever. Something!

Often on this sub I see professors comment that they don’t reply to anything unless it has a direct question that requires a response, but I am alone here? Is some sort of acknowledgment that the communication/document was received too much to expect? Maybe I expect too much. (I’m in U.S.)

When interviewing candidates, which of the following does your department ask them to do?

• Research Seminar - Presentation with slides about your research

• Teaching Demo - Take over a class and show how you would normally teach

• Chalk Talk - No slides allow, just you in front of a whiteboard talking about your long term research/funding plan

In my experience I've noticed the R1's tend to do Research seminar + Chalk Talk and skip the teaching demo, while people at PUI's/SLAC's might never have heard of a chalk talk before. And then R2's are a mix depending on the department.

What does your school require for job candidates?

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/899?s=1&r=1

reposting due to link update

This is bullshit. The Rapist in Chief enabling more rape. As mandatory reporters on campus, keep an eye on how this EO will play out at your institution. We also need to band together to find ways to protect victimized and vulnerable students.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-orders-schools-to-ease-sexual-misconduct-rules/

Continuing my experience of only now, after ten years teaching, getting weird requests.

Email from undergrad student (abridged version): I took your class 2 years ago. I'm emailing to have the grade changed from x/no credit to credit, my department told me to get permission from you.

(Credit/no credit is when a student elects to take a course pass/fail, which student did then failed. Student did not have an x [the code for an incomplete]; student just had a fail. A pretty low fail. In a course that would DEFINITELY matter to being able to be a competent professional in their field).

Me: the grade you received in the class accurately reflects your performance in the class and will not be changed.

Student: I am applying to graduate school. I need the grade changed to cr but I don't need the credit for it if that makes sense.

(It doesn't; I assign pass or fail only not some made up combination of getting credit and not passing the class.)

Me: credit reflects passing the class. You did not pass the class. The grade will not change.

Student: I am applying to graduate school. The department said to email you to have the grade changed.

Me: No. the matter is closed and I will not reply to further emails about this.

Student: if you just reply here that you approve I'll email my department and let them know it is approved.

(I didn't reply.)

I also emailed the dept admin to let them know, in case student tried to fake an email that I approved. They had actually already emailed the admin about by the time I got a reply from them; they let the student know the grade isn't changing.

I assume some kind of miscommunication with an advisor, or maybe at worst some advisor shirking their responsibilities and saying 'hey the prof can change the grade if they want, you should ask them.'

This is a couple times now, only in the last semester and this one, that I've had these students who seem to think they can just manifest pretty substantial things (this, being able to retake multiple tests, etc.) just by asking. Weird.

I've received emails from international students on F-1 visa, like "Sorry Professor I'm a Uber Eats/Lyft driver and have to drive a group of four to the international airport. It can't be changed or rescheduled. Can I make up for this exam next time?" I mean what the hell...I was an international student once upon a time. Everybody knows that it's against your visa requirements to do things unrelated to your major just in order to make a few dollars under the table. That would be a waste of your own time and tuition, not to mention the detrimental effect your behavior has on American blue-collar jobs. If USCIS, ICE, and ISSS find out, you will get your fxxking I-20 student status terminated. And with this new administration, nobody will guarantee if you can successfully reapply and come back to campus again. The level of stupidity is off the charts.

So how do I respond? I have no legal or administrative obligation to file a mandated report as a course instructor by the way. That's the job of ISSS. Like, I was an international student before and I know it could ruin people's lives...but damn...the stupidity and audacity are so beyond my understanding...I mean like, even if you are doing something like this, why would you tell me using the school email system? I don't get it.

Edit: I will NOT report those students for sure. But it still frustrates me really. I played by the rules when I was a student. Right now I'm a migrant worker on H1-B without job security or permanent residency because I'm from India/China/Mexico. My fellow countrymen are facing discrimination and limited quotas for everything from job positions to residency cards. Companies don't want to hire us because of the expensive and Byzantine legal and administrative processes. Even cap-exempt programs like EB-1A are getting stuck and more laborious to get into. To make things worse, the Trump administration is introducing harsh immigration policies that are directly impacting my life and my family (e.g. listing a wide of range of aids under "public charge", meaning foreigners need to be cautious when applying for government aids or risk deportation/deny of entry; threatening to revoke birthright citizenship). MAGA folks are coming after us brown, black, and yellow men. If my fellow international students and workers can all play it by the book, American voters will hopefully be less antagonized and we will probably be better off.

This sub has a lot of posts complaining about students. I get that it’s helpful to commiserate, get advice about problem students, etc. But I just want to offer the counter narrative that our students are generally really great. When I am totally overwhelmed from the workload or frustrated by unreasonable asks from the administration, the only thing that keeps me going is sharing class time with my students. Anyone else genuinely like their students? It would be nice to see some positive stories when everything else in the world sucks.

I work at a SLAC so I get that it’s easier to build relationships in that environment

This appears to unfreeze even some of the funds under the EO. However, it only applies to the 22 states whose AGs filed the lawsuit: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/31/us/trump-freeze-blocked.html?smid=url-share

Long story short - I have had it up to here! with malicious vicious student behaviors. Students trip over their own two left feet and attack us because we are failing to DO our JOB and teach them properly.

Rinse and repeat, semester after semester.

A few weeks ago...

Student: upset, said harsh words, very emotional, was very unkind to me

Me: ....dead inside at this point....felt very attacked but for the most part shrugged it off because I have 50 more semesters until I can retire......

Students attends every session after the outburst.

He asked to speak to me after midterm exam.

TOLD ME WHAT A WONDERFUL, KIND INSTRUCTOR I WAS. He said he appreciates how I explain and teach. He was very sorry about his emotional outburst and apologized. Said it wasn't me, it was him.

Whelp. There is a first time for everything lol

Maybe these little f*ckers have some redeeming qualities after all

Hi everyone, I have a simple but difficult question: How do you organize your teaching, reading, lecture preparation, research, etc.? Do you dedicate specific days to specific tasks, or do you prefer a more flexible approach?

I am on my second semester working as an adjunct ENG 101 instructor for the CUNY system in NYC, and I'm kind of baffled by a couple of my student's difficulty expressing themselves coherently on the written page. I'm not trying to sound harsh, but I'm just genuinely curious how these students can graduate high school without understanding how to use periods or commas. At CUNY we've gotten rid of remedial classes in favor of a corequisite course taken alongside ENG 101 for added support. I'm told not to get too hung up about grammar, but seriously, what is going on with these high schools? I have students who don't understand how clauses work, or why you should end sentences with a hanging "and." I should add that I've only taught in NYC so I don't have a frame of reference anywhere else.

I received a report of a deceased grandma. Let's keep a tally in this thread. Respond while incrementing the count.

GRANDPARENT TALLY: 1

What is your policy regarding missing class for illness?

I got invited to a lunch with a politician in the town and I am trying to decide if it would be okay to cancel the class. Is it a crazy idea? I have a rainy day on my syllabus schedule, so it would not affect the materials I cover. Btw, I never have cancelled a class and I am not tenured yet.

There is also no clear policy in the department. What would you do?

This one is a cross between a vent and a request for advice.

I'm trans, but more or less closeted, in a STEM field. My department knows I'm very queer and it wouldn't really surprise them if I came out as trans, but I was hoping to get tenure (another 3 years) and then transition.

I feel... exhausted. I'm teaching an undergrad course and the students are up to their usual grade-grubbing antics. Typically, it doesn't get to me, but I find myself getting incredibly demotivated. I feel inclined to just give in to their demands. They don't care about learning, the country doesn't care about my well-being, why the fuck am I trying to make any difference?

I moved from a South Asian country to the US for grad school. I genuinely thought that this country wouldn't elect dumb morons to power, like we do back in my home country. I guess I was wrong.

(If you feel inclined to troll or post a dumb reply, you'll just get blocked. I have no patience for fools today.)

If so, what department and what type of school? I'm in CS at a PUI and we were not able to hire for our new assistant professor opening this cycle. Only 45 applicants, and everyone who interviewed with us took an offer elsewhere.

Seriously…is this a joke???

Hey miss, Hope you are doing well. I wanted to let you know that I was away from the country for emergency reason. Now I'm back, I'll be joining the class on Tuesday. Please let me know what I missed. I checked my d2l shell today for this course, please let me know how to buy my lab.

Thankyou

They’re literally gone. Even pages on HIV testing for these groups.

From the party that brought you “free speech.”

What the fuck.

Our ass deans have been listening to the same terrible corporate consultants advising so many colleges in the US to treat managing a college "like a business." This has resulted in lines not being filled after retirement, upping course caps and almost doubling caps on popular principles-level courses in just five years, constantly threatening to increase our courseloads by 50% while increasing research and service expectations (but not our pay...), and so on. My department chair is a mensch and has been pushing back. In a recent meeting with the ass deans my chair said that the policies being proposed by the ass deans will be terrible for faculty retention. The ass deans apparently responded, "If they don't like it, they can leave!"

Now, I would kinda sort of get this attitude if we were experiencing a dropoff in enrollments. But ours is a huge success story, with enrollments increasing way over average and especially relative to our competitors. So, is this fake corporate tighten-the-belts hard-assery just the new administrative culture in academia? Note that while our lines aren't being filled there has spawned a new ass dean for pretty much everything. We used to have one ass dean. In five years there have spawned four more.

So I teach courses on intersectionality, inequalities, and other DEI related stuff in a legal department. It hasn’t been a great week because… well America.

Anyways, I always have an activity during our critical theories week to have the students draw what they think cycles of oppression look like. They then line up all their posters on the board and they get to vote for a first, second, and third place. There are prizes (usually stickers or pencils), so they get really competitive!

Today we did our activity. I’m so happy, I could burst! My students got really creative and had a blast!

One student did an inequality pizza (the bigger the slice the more an identity might be discriminated against) with a menu (an example of what the identity might experience) and pepperoni (different challenges they might face).

Another student did a “discrimination salad” where each ingredient represented something (prejudice, stereotypes, etc.) and the bowl said “what is in your salad?” So like an introspective piece to check your own biases.

I have many other really great examples, but the best part was 1) how much they tied it to what we’ve learned and 2) how happy and excited they got if they won!

This was such a win for me. In a time where my field is being dismantled, I was reminded that it still matters and I should keep doing this work. Yay!!

P.S.: I am at a tiny private university that isn’t regulated by the state board so we can still teach DEI related stuff… for now.

TL/DR: my students are awesome and I’m super happy!

Every job I applied for in the private sector required me to take a drug test, which I passed with flying colors.

I've been working at a community college for several years. As I recall, I was never asked to undergo drug screening when I was hired. Is this common?

Another thread here asked people to post on work stoppages at their institutions due to funding. I think it would be worthwhile to also use this space to report on any hiring freezes we experience due to federal funding fears. We have not had any yet, but if a Pell Grant pause went through, we would almost certainly not follow through on searches or hires. Indeed, we would likely be back at the bargaining table to negotiate pay decreases and/or position cuts. So—any administrations out there using federal funding as an excuse to freeze hiring yet?

Does anyone know if the NSF CAREER review panels are paused or not. Some of us are very stressed and this is our last year in tenure track. I

Today I received that standard email from Student Disability Services to inform me of a student's accommodations. I am used to these processes which typically require audio recording, extended time on tests, note taking services, etc. However, I have never dealt with the following accommodations:

-Reasonable extended deadlines for assignments

-Relaxed attendance and makeup policies

I do have an attendance policy and, of course, there are assignments in class that are due over the course of the semester. Students are awarded class participation points for assignments completed in class. My class meet twice a week and students are allotted three free absences over the course of the semester without impact to their grades. Absences outside of these freebies require documentation. Although students work in groups throughout the semester, there are individual assignments. I typically allot two weeks for the completion of individual assignments. These assignments are no more than 2-3 pages. I also do not have exams in this course.

I reached out to my SDS office but they haven't been much help on how to accommodate this student. Have any of you dealt with this situation before?