<p>So, my English professor is an adjunct, which, for those who don't know, means that she is only a part time teacher, and is only on campus a few days a week. So we have a group project coming up due this week. We have been trying to get help from her for this project. Unfortunately, during her office hours, both my partner and I have class, so we can't usually go in there and talk to her. When we asked if it was possible for her to stay a bit longer, or to come on campus on a different day, she responded with, "No, i'm only an adjunct, they don't pay me to be on campus more than these two days we have class." Although it should be mentioned that she said this kind of jokingly, it needs to be said.</p>
<p>So anyways, to try and help this problem, my partner and I sent her an email, asking her to look over a draft of our project. She writes us back, saying that she does nto review drafts over email, because its tedious and time consuming for her. Now, I think this is absolutely ridicoulous. She knows that we can't go into her office hours because we have class, yet, she continues to be difficult to get ahold of. What should I do? Should I complain about this to a superior, or would that be out of line?</p>
<p>I’d talk to the department head. In my experience, professors usually find some extra time for students who can’t make office hours.</p>
<p>Your adjunct professor may be teaching at other local colleges/universities on the other three days. Adjuncts garner a very small wage and are often forced to teach at multiple colleges just to make ends meet. Moreover, she probably has too many students to give individual attention. I know, it doesn’t sound fair towards the students (or the adjunct – I’m sure she would love to give you her assistance but can’t afford the time). Just try to make due on your own – make the best of what you can do.</p>
<p>I would consider skipping one class to meet with her after explaining the decision to one or more of the other professors.</p>
<p>“She writes us back, saying that she does nto review drafts over email, because its tedious and time consuming for her. Now, I think this is absolutely ridicoulous. She knows that we can’t go into her office hours because we have class, yet, she continues to be difficult to get ahold of. What should I do? Should I complain about this to a superior, or would that be out of line?”</p>
<p>I feel empathy for both you and the professor. Adjuncts do usually have to teach at several places in order to be able to make ends meet. I was offered an adjunct job last fall, but it would have paid only $2,700 for 10 weeks or so of teaching a minimum of 41 students about 9 hours a week, and giving them 2 essay exams, 3 quizzes and a paper, plus being present for office hours. I passed on that offer because even though I love teaching, that was a very heavy load for very little money.</p>
<p>Can you just talk to her for a couple of minutes before or after class to find out if your draft sounds like it’s what she wants? If what you’re hoping is for her to thoroughly review your draft and then make suggestions, that is more than , I think most professors would not do that because if they do that and then read the paper, that’s double the work. It is very time consuming as it is to grade students’ papers.</p>
<p>College isn’t high school. In high school, it’s routine for teachers to require that they see drafts. The drafts even may be graded. Most college professors, though, expect that students know how to write papers well enough to not need to have to turn in a draft.</p>
<p>Your campus also may have a writing center or learning center where you can get your draft reviewed.</p>