<p>I've been emailing my macroeconomics professor throughout the semester to no avail. I even spoke to him in person and he gave me a personal email address... still no reply!! I received a C- in his class, which I am SO sure I didn't deserve and must have been a mistake and emailed him about it. Nothing. What do I do?? He's also the chair of the department. How am I supposed to contact him? The semester is over so I don't think he's there during office hours. Why doesn't he reply? :'(</p>
<p>perhaps he’s on vacation. Give it a few days or discuss the matter with your advisor.</p>
<p>go to his house</p>
<p>i should go to his house, lol!</p>
<p>and he wasn’t on vacay throughout the semester… :|</p>
<p>in all seriousness try emailing him once or twice more throughout the summer, and if he doesnt reply, go to his office the first day of classes fall semester. if there needs to be a grade change, most colleges let you do it a few weeks into the following semester</p>
<p>There must be a department secretary. Talk to him or her and see what’s up.</p>
<p>reach out to your academic advisor as well as dept. secretary</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, what makes “so sure” you deserved a different grade? Have you actually calculated your average using your grades on exams, assignments, etc., and according the weights in the syllabus?</p>
<p>Call his office phone and leave a voice mail. I agree that the department administrator is likely to know whether he is in town and, if so, when he is usually in the office. If the voice mail fails, just show up at the office at the recommended times. It’s unacceptable that he is not reachable by any means.</p>
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<p>“throughout the semester”…What? Did this prof not have office hours?</p>
<p>Your professor is probably gone for the summer. I would suggest contacting your academic dean (different schools have different structures–the dean of freshmen, etc.) and asking for his or her advice.</p>
<p>Lots of kids post on CC that their emails go unanswered. Whether or not an email is good enough depends on the prof. Many expect a genuinely concerned student will show up at office hours or contact them through the dept office. That’s your part of the deal. At this point call the office and ask about his availability and how best to contact him. Don’t presume to be annoyed at the prof.</p>
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<p>Although I usually sympathize with faculty in many cases, this isn’t one of them. Email is just as much of a legitimate communication medium as face-to-face meetings or phone calls. </p>
<p>If a professor cannot be bothered to acknowledge and reply to student emails in a timely manner, that’s a red flag the Prof isn’t taking professional responsibilities to his/her students seriously and a sign he/she doesn’t give a fig about it. </p>
<p>You also fail to account for the possibility that Profs may only have office hours “By Appointment”, not show up to their office hours, etc. During one summer class I took at an Ivy, the Prof never listed his office hours…or any contact info on the syllabus whatsoever and told us to refer all questions to the TFs. </p>
<p>He wasn’t exactly thrilled when despite his efforts at trying to hide his whereabouts, I was able to track him down to his office to answer some questions when the TFs weren’t available. </p>
<p>Profs are deserving of much more respect than most students and even some parents may give them…but by the same token…Profs should be expected to fulfill one of their basic responsibilities to their students.</p>
<p>Yes but the OP is e-mailing after the semester ended. It is entirely possible this prof is on vacation or started a sabbatical. It is also summer and many campuses do not fully staff in the summer. As someone suggested the OP can check with the department admin if the summer session has begun or it’s possible one of the other profs in the department knows if this prof is in town or around. Check and see if your prof is teaching this summer, if so he’ll be back in his office most likely. Also double check and make sure you have a correct e-mail address.</p>
<p>My neighbor is a department head at a nearby university. He’s around for a couple days after grades get posted and available…but then he’s on vacation he’s on vacation…just like the rest of us in the regular world try to be.</p>
<p>“I’ve been emailing my macroeconomics professor throughout the semester to no avail.”</p>
<p>“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing in the same way and
expecting different results”. (Commonly attributed to Ben Franklin,
ancient Chinese proverb, Albert Einstein, and Rita Mae Browne.)</p>
<p>PS, Many Professors positively detest being hounded by email, phone, texting, etc. DW’s ‘favorite’ example … having a student complain to the Chair “I left a voicemail message on her office phone Saturday night and STILL hadn’t heard back by Monday morning.”</p>
<p>Mom3, when DH was dept head, he was expected to be available 11 months/year.
OP states she’s been trying to email him all semester- at some point, if motivated, she’d figure that wasn’t working. A bright kid has got to know there’s a dept office and support staff. I do agree profs should acknowledge emails. But, if she did speak with him and got his pmail, we don’t know about that conversation. Standard in my book is the prof answers back, why don’t you stop by my office so we can talk? At that point, why didn’t she set an appt or clarify office hours? It’s not as simple as saying the prof didn’t take his resps seriously; it seems the student here didn’t, either.</p>
<p>Agreed -the prof might not b w/in reach until the Fall but you want to document your efforts in a respectful manner. That’s why I would reach out to the academic advisor & dept head. Be careful not to be accusatory-- then your doomed.</p>
<p>Your grade may not change no matter what but you want to let the professor know you are trying. (As well as if you need future assistance with a grade/class, etc-- you will be known with your advisor & you may learn some ins & outs of college system).)</p>
<p>Many/most faculty are not in their office during the summer and many do not check their office phone voice mail. It’s a perk of the job. We are not required to be on campus for several months.</p>
<p>Do not be so sure of your grade. I have had numerous inquiries from students recently after they received their grade. In almost all cases, they thought they did better on the final or some other aspect of their grade than they did.</p>
<p>A professor who has never answered an email all semester is remiss for sure. But you should have picked up on this pattern and gone to his office.</p>
<p>I tell students not to send emails about important things. I get, like all of us, too many a day to keep track. And I refuse to be responible to print numerous emails every day so that I can remember every students excuse or explanation as to why they missed an assignment or test or class. It is the students responsibility. So I require a written (gasp) note or a personal visit.</p>
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<p>So true. My H’s personal favorite email which he received and instructed our D never to send is as follows: “I missed yesterday’s lecture. Did you say anything important.”.</p>
<p>I’m not a prof, but may I suggest that if a prof is too overwhelmed by his numerous emails to answer to his students that the prof not give out his email?</p>