Annoying policy????? ...grrrrrrr

Student Lounge College Life
1

<p>So, my professor uses this online site to post assignments/hw, quizzes, and readings, etc. </p>

<p>Problem is...he doesn't have a schedule like most professors do. You know...first day of class you get a schedule of stuff you're supposed to do. My class...just bare bones outline. No dates and assignemtns and stuff. He just tells you about them in class when he feels like he wants to give you some stuff to do. </p>

<p>The major issue....it's so freakin random that I've had to cancel social stuff. EXAMPLE: </p>

<p>We'll be reading a chapter and he'll say in class that you have to take the quiz online (only way to do it) this coming Saturday night. And it will be like Thursday. ...DUDE, I had plans Saturday night. We can't take it early either. He opens up a window of about five hours (something like 4PM to 9PM) and we have to do it then. </p>

<p>It's screwed up, because he's done this several times in a row now. We'll come to class and he'll be like hey, here's an assignemtn you have to do by 12AM tonight. You have five hours between 7PM and 12AM. </p>

<p>DUDE, what if I have a paper due or a bunch of other stuff scheduled tonight?</p>

<p>WHAT THE HECK is this????????? Does anyone else have this issue where a prof. has an impromtu schedule and just makes it up as he goes? </p>

<p>What's worse? I have a SECOND professor who does this!!!!!!!!!!! She's not as bad, because we get our stuff like 2 weeks in advance. She'll make up assignments and reading and stuff at a 2 week time......but it's annoying not knowing what to expect and how to prepare. </p>

<p>Can we legitimately complain against this guy? What the heckkkk....I feel like a slave to tthis class.</p>

2

<p>Yep. My math professor does this all the time. The best thing? He’s only a TA and barely speaks English. Occasionally he gets really frustrated with us and snarls under his breath in Chinese (I wish I were joking…). </p>

<p>Several people, including myself, have already failed a few assignments because we didn’t know they were due. Fortunately, a few will be dropped for the final grade. </p>

<p>You can try to complain, but if that doesn’t work, you’ll have to just go along with it. And as for canceling social things? That matters WAY less than your schoolwork. Your primary job in college is to do your work, not party.</p>

3

<p>Welcome to college! But seriously though, school is your job right now, do it well. Sometimes your boss will ask you to finish something the same day and you’re already swamped or have plans but you still have to do it. Same thing here.</p>

4

<p>Scutrules, I think the OP has a legitimate point. The problem is not that he is being assigned things that compete with other assignments/studying that he has for other classes. The issue is that without a structured schedule, he has no way to prepare. I’m sure if he had a calender on the syllabus detailing this person would be able to complete other work/studying ahead of time and schedule social activities outside of those times.</p>

<p>I am aware that things like this exist in the work place, but that doesn’t mean that this isn’t a legitimate issue. It isn’t unreasonable to ask for prior notice, whether in school or in the workplace, so that a person can better organize themselves. </p>

<p>If I were in your situation I would talk to the first professor after class and ask politely if it would be possible for him to give prior notice to assignments or create a calender of assignments, citing the problems that you have run into because you haven’t had prior notice.</p>

5

<p>I have no problem with the OP being upset that an assignment conflicts with other ones due. The problem is that the OP was complaining that it cut into social time. If, OP, you feel that you cannot get other work done then by all means talk to your professor. But if you just want to go out that night and can’t anymore, you have no legitimate grounds to discuss with your teacher. </p>

<p>I do understand that this is frustrating but unfortunately it is a part of college. Just today my teacher told me a I had to take a test this afternoon because I was missing it on Friday. So I had a few hours to cram as much info in my head as possible. It wasn’t easy but it was a part of college. </p>

<p>Many schools require at least some syllabus, ask your teacher for theirs, maybe it will force them to plan ahead.</p>

6

<p>Let me explain/clarify why I believe this is wrong.</p>

<p>But quickly, I was talking about both social and academic interference above. I’ve been very lucky that so far it hasn’t forced me to cancel anything “major,” but there’s no guarantee of that I feel and I constantly feel like I’m held hostage to whenever this professor wants to drop something on us. </p>

<p>But to better illustrate my points: </p>

<p>I have 17 semester credits, which is a very full plate at my school (many have on average about 15 and as low as 12, so 17 is the high-end of credit hours, whereas only a very very few people do possibly 20). I have classes and labs every single day of the week, including a 3-hour lecture on Wednesday night from 6-9PM (it’s a one-day-a-week-class). </p>

<p>So every single day I have class and stuff to do for most of the day/night. In order for me to manage and plan my time out properly - both social and academic events - I need to know what’s due when and will then have to plan accordingly. I not only need to plan out enough time, but also enough physical energy/rest to do those things (so my sleep schedule is something I plan closely as well). </p>

<p>Now, what’s happened last week was we were given an assignment to complete by Friday night on Thursday. I had one day’s notice that a quiz was posted online. I had, in fact, planned something to relax that night after completing all my work and setting up an activity with friends. I did this BEFOREHAND, so I had been looking forward to this activity. I understand where you guys are coming from in saying that we have to be prepared for the real world in college where stuff might require us to work late or reschedule things like this to get things done maybe in a work environment. I do, however, think it should be reasonable - like in emergencies - and not something that holds a person hostage all the time. Can my boss ask me to stay late? Yes. I would. But if it’s a constant thing where it’s unreasonable (I know this is an ambiguous term, but I think we can maybe agree that there’s at least some fine line…), then that is very unfair to me. </p>

<p>Outside of a medical doctor who may need to be called in for emergencies or the POTUS…there shouldn’t be that many jobs that require people to be constantly put on stand-by. </p>

<p>But, additionally, I would not make light of social and family time. This is valuable actually. I, at least, recharge by batteries and find relaxation, rest, and fun vital to my mental and physical well-being. So, I do protect and value my social activities. I work very hard in my studies to be able to do well in school and feel it’s reasonable to expect to not have to be put in situations where we have to cancel major events simply becsause a professor wants to do something spontaneously.</p>

<p>(will continue below)</p>

7

<p>(continued from above)</p>

<p>But, here’s an even worse scenario. </p>

<p>Suppose my professor decides to drop the quiz on a Wed night (I have a 3-hour class that day)? His windows are usually roughly 5 to 6 hours. So, we might be forced to take the quiz sometime between 5PM and 11PM (the norm so far).</p>

<p>Could I still take the quiz on a Wednesday between those hours? Yes, technically. </p>

<p>BUT, if I have a test in Wed’s class that I must study for or want to stay late to speak to the professor or just other work I had planned on doing…or even a paper due the following day - anything that would reasonably require me to work through those hours - then it could be bad for me, b/c then I’d need more time to do those other things and the combined load of having to do what I’d expected to do AND the spontaneous work could cause problems. </p>

<p>But you might say shouldn’t a day’s notice allow me to clear everything ahead of time so I can do the spontaneous quiz that day/night? Yes, unless its a major activity. But even if it’s not a major activity like I just planned to study before and after my Wed night class, I still have to plan accordingly. So, I would have to re-route and re-plan stuff and that messes up my schedule, timing, and organization. </p>

<p>But, if it’s a major thing like my mom’s birthday (I live 20 minutes from my university, so I do go home often) or an intramural sports game where I’m a starting team member…something like that, then I’d literally have to cancel. Our quizzes have been two hour affairs for me (1 hour to study/review beforehand and 1 hour to take) and the homework assignments have been three to five hour affairs (these are very long assignments). Those are huge blocks of time to spontaneously require someone to be free to fulfill assignments and quizzes for. </p>

<p>So far, I’ve been lucky and have made sacrifices. But I don’t know if I can take this all semester.</p>

<p>This was the reason for my rant above. And I am still considering whether or not I can complain (probably anonymously) and try to get the professor to not do this. </p>

<p>I actually spoke to a friend of mine in the engineering department and he says that he’s had this happen before as well. The professor expects the students to check emails more or less nightly and they’ve had problem sets dropped on them before with a day or two’s notice. He said everyone hates it in the class there as well. </p>

<p>I’m not sure if anythingn can be done, but I’ve been lucky so far that nothing major has collided and interfered with these spontaneous assignments, but I csan see how it might. And just the annoying feeling of feeling placed hostage like this is frustrating me quite a lot!</p>

8

<p>Make sure you post this info on rate my professor, so future students can avoid his class, if possible. It sounds like he is a disorganized mess and could use the planning and organization skills you already possess. I feel your pain. If it’s any consolation, this too shall pass…</p>

9

<p>I totally disagree that this is just college. This is totally unacceptable on the prof’s part. </p>

<p>OP, unfortunately there’s not much you can do but talk to him. However, make sure you give him appropriately negative reviews on any evaluations.</p>

10

<p>I feel your pain. Fortunately, my daughter has not had any professors or instructors like this so far. She is extremely organized and likes to do her assignments right away. I know this would drive her bonkers!</p>

<p>I would speak to your professor about this. If you’re asked to give feedback about the class at the end of the semester, I would definitely point out this problem. You could also post a review reflecting this on a web site such as ratemyprofessors.</p>