<p>i have a professor for two classes (intro to philosophy and ethics) that has cancelled at least six classes this semester and i'm getting rather angry about it. it seems wrong that his students pay quite a bit of money to take his classes and he only shows up sporadically when we are all there everyday on time. now, you might say well maybe he is sick or has some family thing going on...but he generally only cancels on monday mornings. so...there's a pattern. is it crazy of me (and other students) to be upset about this or is it a normal occurence? anyone else have professors that do that?</p>
<p>Try to sucker some other kid in asking him why he always cancels.</p>
<p>Now, is he really cancelling class? or are you just perceiving it that way? Does the cancellation notice really exist, or is it just being created in your mind? How much of this can you really prove on a conscious level?</p>
<p>Maybe you just don't want to go on Mondays, and you always tell yourself the professor irresponsibly cancelled. It's aaaalllll his fault, huh?</p>
<p>No, this hasn't been my experience. I'm in my third semester of college and I've never had a prof cancel class. If you're concerned but don't feel comfortable talking to the prof directly I would talk to your advisor or another prof that you trust. Good luck!</p>
<p>I had a professor who would cancel class, and only on one day of the week. I still went every time, only to see that cancellation note. It kinda sucked, 'cause it was a morning class.</p>
<p>Sigh.</p>
<p>It's not normal for a professor to do that. You are right to be upset. I suggest that you complain to the dean.
Perhaps the prof has some health problems. If so, however, it would be good if the department lined up a substitute. You paid for the class and deserve the opportunity to get instruction.</p>
<p>haha my philosophy ethics professor has also canceled class like 2-3 times, mostly bc of religious holidays though</p>
<p>about 5 of my intro to IR classes were canceled this semester... but the professor was really sick and ended up in the hostpital for a few days, and he kept in email contact as much as he could while classes were canceled.</p>
<p>I have a part-time instructor for a thermal fluids course who has cancelled class at 3 or 4 times this semester, including today. The bad thing is that he won't send out the cancellation notices (email) until late or night or in the morning. Most students don't check their email during those times and end up coming to school early for no reason. This morning he sent out the email at 7:45am to cancel the 9am class. Most students are driving to school at that time (we are a big commuter school). Not only that, this prof is only in chapter 2 of the textbook. We started chapter 1 during the second week of school after a few review lectures. Very sad. He moved so slow through chapter 1 because he would write out HUGE iterative problems on the board at least two days per week instead of teaching meaningful things and letting Excel do the iteration problems.</p>
<p>sorry to bump this...but I can't believe this is even a thread. are you honestly complaining about a professor cancelling a monday morning class - especially frequently? Thats golden. Some people on this forum are weird. </p>
<p>And I know some of you are going to flame me for this cause "we're paying for it"... you can shut up now. You can only make that argument if you are taking your full 18 credits (or whatever is the maximum allowable). Otherwise, you're paying for credits that arn't used anyway.</p>
<p>I pray every morning that I wake up to a lovely class cancellation email.</p>
<p>well it is great to have a class cancelled, but when you're tested over the material anyway, it's not so fun later on.</p>
<p>jags: </p>
<p>I won't pretend I don't hope for snow days. Pretty much everyone does. Similarly, I wouldn't mind a rare cancellation of class. If it's getting frequent though, it's a problem. I'm there to learn, which is harder to do sans class. Also, cancelled classes often lead to end-of-semester crunch, which is no fun.</p>
<p>As a student - you have the right to expect the professor to show up for scheduled classes - OR to at the very least to provide a replacement for the class - it is not fair to the students to cancel a class that frequently.</p>
<p>As a student - you have the right to expect an explanation as well - ie - he is ill etc..... - so you may want to consider going to the department head to discuss this situation and a possible remedy - material that is missed and expected to be learned needs to be covered - and YES - you are paying for something that you have every right to expect to be managed appropriately.</p>
<p>An occassional missed class is one thing by a prof (by students as well but only for good reason) - but a prof with a pattern of missing classes regularly is inexcusable - and YES - you the student will ultimately pay for it in the end - one way or another.</p>
<p>So take some responsibility and either speak to your advisor - or the department head - and find a remedy for this prof and the situation.</p>
<p>OK - now the rest of you can flame you all you want to - but HEY - I am one of the parents paying for this prof and his lack of professionalism - wonder if he could be recouping from that weekend hangover - like some students do................ but hey I am not paying the students............... So I expect the prof to be doing his job.....</p>
<p>I agree entirely with JeepMOM. Faculty handbooks everywhere state clearly that professors are expected to meet ALL of their classes. It's completely unacceptable for a prof to cancel class even once without a satisfying explanation. And even with a satisfying explanation, if it happens more than once or twice, the professor should have someone cover for him/her. If s/he doesn't, you should talk to a dean.</p>
<p>I understand the bind of a professor skipping class and then just "forgetting" that the day existed. That is a problem. But mostly from what I've encountered, when a professor skips a class, he will just squeeze in the material anyway.</p>
<p>If a professor is skipping class, then pretending like that day just never existed and keeps on with his syllabus, then yes, it's a problem. </p>
<p>I didn't mean to be taken at face value for what I said before. :-), but I still hope that my 9 a.m. classes are cancelled more frequently than naught. (I usually have trouble going to most of them ANYWAY, so I feel a tad better when it's cancelled.)</p>
<p>It is not acceptable for professors to cancel classes on a regular basis. If this is a problem complain to the departmental chair. If that doesn't work go to the dean of the college where the department is located and complain there. If that doesn't work go to the provost, the person responsible for the college's academic programs. Don't be afraid to go to the president or the chancellor. If you go to a state school complain to your local legislator, but you should be able to remedy the problem at the chair or dean level.</p>
As an academic chair at a college, I cannot stress the importance of notifying the professor’s supervisor or chair, or the dean. Here is the reason why - it is the only way the behavior can be addressed by the institution. It is so frustrating that students who are paying real money do not complain about professor absences. They cannot retaliate. If they do, you do a grade complaint and express that you feel the teacher was retaliating. Often our hands are tied by unions or a college culture so student complaints are the ONLY way we can address questionable professor behavior. If more students made these complaints, the countless hardworking professors and potential professors could be in the classroom and the ones that are “phoning it in” would finally have to be accountable. Some professors hold on to their jobs far longer than they should, because they can. It is the nature of the academic environment to have change, new ideas, new teachers…but the system itself prevents it from happening.
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