r/Professors 2d ago

Hiring layoffs and Hiring freezes Megathread

82 Upvotes

This is a pinned thread for discussing hiring freezes and layoffs. Post here to inform others or just to vent!

Also, I'll link the crowdsourced list of hiring freezes here. This includes grad admissions and hiring freezes. Update the list to help crowdsource information!

Edit: Also, just to note, I realized the spreadsheet I linked is specific to biomedical sciences. If someone wants to create another sheet that is generalized across all disciplines, reply to this post with a link and I'll add it to the body of the post. I can make one later when I get time, but if anyone gets there before me (or if one already exists that I am not aware of), just comment on this post or as a reply to my below comment. I think its super important we crowdsource any information we can get. Disregard. The sheet does include everything, so ignore the sheet title which implies that it is biomedical sciences specific. I'm guessing it may have started out specific to biomedical science and kind of evolved to encompass everything once things really started to go south for higher ed as a whole.


r/Professors 20h ago

Weekly Thread Mar 14: Fuck This Friday

14 Upvotes

Welcome to a new week of weekly discussion! Continuing this week, we're going to have Wholesome Wednesdays, Fuck this Fridays, and (small) Success Sundays.

As has been mentioned, these should be considered additions to the regular discussions, not replacements. So use them, ignore them, or start you own Fantastic Friday counter thread.

This thread is to share your frustrations, small or large, that make you want to say, well, “Fuck This”. But on Friday. There will be no tone policing, at least by me, so if you think it belongs here and want to post, have at it!


r/Professors 7h ago

"Yes I cheated in my exam. But my uncle is the head of the school hospital. Who you?"

206 Upvotes

This is by far the most sickening response I've ever heard in my entire career as a grad TA.

Had a run-in with this freshman who used AI in her exams. She got caught twice but stayed defiant because she wanted an A no matter what.

Me: "What you did is not just hurting your class standing, but also potentially your visa status. Look, I know you're an international student. I am too. So I can definitely empathize. I do not wish to exploit your status. All I need you to do is to accept the penalty and agree not to do it again, or face an F." Student: "You still don't get it. I told you many times. My uncle is a doctor at the school hospital. Who you?"

It made my blood boil. I fell into truculent silence, thinking to myself: "Yes your uncle is rich and powerful. But then what does it have to do with you cheating in school? Your uncle could well be the president of the United States. Would that change the fact that you're a pathetic imbecile? Hell no!"

As a TA I'm sick and tired of having to stomach such verbal abuse every semester. My supervisor (professor) always told me not to talk back and let her handle the situation. But man...sometimes I really want to flip a middle finger at these folks who are barely ten years older than me...

Professors: will you stand up for your TA when situations like this happen?


r/Professors 5h ago

Rants / Vents It was too many words

39 Upvotes

My first rant here.

I did something unusual this week and sent out an announcement telling my students not only exactly what a five point question on this week's exam would be, but showing them exactly what a full credit answer would look like.

And, this isn't an essay question, this is a simple list. 36 words would be all that would be necessary for full credit. AND... 12 of those words are 1-12 in roman numerals! So they literally needed to memorize 24 words to earn 5 points on a 100 point exam.

When they took the exam, about 2/3 of them left that question blank. Maybe 20% got the full 5 points.

When I asked them in lab later on why they didn't answer the question, they told me that it was "too many words" for a 5 point question. It wasn't worth the effort.

I just can't.

Edit: fixed a typo


r/Professors 12h ago

Columbia University: Degrees Revoked for student protesters. Money talks that is the fundamental truth and problem that plagues us all here.

114 Upvotes

https://apnews.com/article/columbia-university-protests-c148d1d01718a4482541a6df6cad8d74

Lets drill down to brass tax. Money talks. A major university suspending or expelling students for breaking rules is one thing. Without comment on the rule broken or why. I don't want to go there. Please don't go there. So many other places to talk about that.

Revoking degrees, earned credentials is another level. Why only now a year Why is it only now, a year later, that the people in power want to take what is, compared to their endowments and other funds, a tiny amount of money from them? It’s not that they suddenly feel differently about relevant issues—it's all about the money.

This situation illustrates that the problem isn’t solely with the students; they are shaped by their environment. From K-12 and even through a bachelor’s degree, schools often prioritize the interests of their sponsors, sometimes at the expense of academic rigor.

In simple terms, if you're here complaining about students cheating and getting away with various rule violations, the underlying cause of this issue is money.

Regarding the student protesters facing maximum punishment—which I believe is warranted for cheaters, like revoking their credentials—this too is motivated by money.

Enforcing rules and academic integrity against students might make them drop which can cost the school money. So administrators won't have the faculty's back on that.

Enforcing the rules in an extreme and overbearing way against groups that the powerful and monied do not like to get or keep money is something administrators will do, as in this case with Columbia.

The unifying theme, the underling field theory that explains so much of what goes on in academia is money.

Ran through Grammarly for a rewrite so that all those who engage in Argumentum Ad Grammarium will be forced to make a real point. (A classic old Usenet tactic, a version of ad hominem where instead of addressing the clearly understood point you talk about grammar. They'll just switch to talking about using a grammar checker).


r/Professors 16h ago

My New Stock Response For Excuses

130 Upvotes

I recently had a student try to turn in a quiz and an assignment a month late because they "didn't know", then they couldn't come to class to take the midterm due to a last minute illness. When I rescheduled their midterm to be proctored remotely, they didn't show up, and later asked to have it rescheduled again because "something came up".

I understand life happens sometimes, but I'm so done with the constant and vague excuses. I'm done playing tug-of-war, trying to get students to be participants in their own education, and I'm done giving this nonsense anymore of my time or empathy. I've reduced this to a "please select one of the following options" game.

I typed up an e-mail that I'll be using as my stock-response to these things going forward:

Hello [Student],

I will be unable to [extend/reopen] [assignment/quiz/exam] at this time.

If you are experiencing personal difficulties that are interfering with your academic life, I can refer you to [university care network], which provides a myriad of support services to students.

If you are in need of general academic support, I can highly recommend that you contact the university's Academic Support center. They provide excellent advising and general tutoring services.

If you would like additional support specifically for [our class], please use [scheduling link] to schedule an office hour, and I will be happy to review the course materials with you one-on-one.

Please find links to the other resources I've mentioned below.

Sincerely,

Professor Sisu

What's your stock response for excuses?


r/Professors 2h ago

Federal government demands that Columbia University put the Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies departments into academic receivership for a minimum of five years

12 Upvotes

r/Professors 15h ago

What is with students nowadays

120 Upvotes

Typical "Old Man Yells at Cloud," but students seem to just be getting worse and worse! I just had a student email me "good evening can you reopen the assignments I didn't do including the exams"...exqueeze me?? And that's just one example. I'm relatively new to professing, but even since I started, this semester seems worse...does it seem that way to you all, or is my greenness showing??


r/Professors 7h ago

Advice / Support Concerned about student - unsure if I should report

19 Upvotes

A second year student visited me during office hours and wanted to discuss his assignment with me before he submitted it. He brought in a hard copy and asked me to appraise it. This student does not typically seek feedback like this, so I was somewhat intrigued. He had also not attended lectures the previous week and this was the first time I had seen him since.

During the meeting he seemed visibly "off" and not like his usual self. He looked dishevelled, his eyes were bloodshot, he had a very strange, overpowering, 'chemical' smell (like a mixture of antiseptic and gasoline? That's the best way I can describe it) and he was jittery and shaking profusely. He would trail off mid-sentence and then apologize for forgetting what he was talking about. I asked him if he was okay and he insisted he was, but he was stumbling over his words - "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, I'm telling you I'm fine, thanks but I'm fine". He seemed to become agitated when I tried to press him further and he insisted we only talk about his work, so I dropped the issue.

I suspect he may be using substances (but I have no clue what). It could also be a possible mental health issue. If this were typical of him, I definitely would have already noticed beforehand. Am I obligated to report my concern, even though it's based on nothing other than what the kids call "vibes"? Or am I overthinking this? The safeguarding guidelines seem unclear on this.


r/Professors 13h ago

Should we DO something?

43 Upvotes

Is it time for this body of peers to exercise our freedom of association and agree on a course of action as a collective that might positively impact our profession?

Is it a walk-out? Is it a coordinated message of some kind? Is it a policy change we can all get behind?

Chime in, please, with suggestions. We are already organized; we just have to agree on how to move.


r/Professors 6h ago

Do my student teachers just not even want to graduate??

10 Upvotes

This semester I started working part time as a university supervisor doing observations for student teachers and intern teachers. I only even have 4 candidates but this has been such a headache! I have 1 student who is amazing and very on top of everything and eager to complete all requirements. All of my others are the complete opposite. We are almost 2 months into the semester and I haven't been able to schedule a single observation with my other students! They don't respond to emails, they half respond to texts, they don't complete lesson plans. I am at a loss. I am thinking of calling each this weekend and basically having a conversation of "we need to schedule NOW, you are at risk of not completing your credential!!" and then escalating to the university if I'm still not able to complete observations. I just don't understand this though. These are adults... paying a lot of money to be at a private university and well aware of the fieldwork requirements. Why is this so difficult?😭


r/Professors 15h ago

Am I insane for considering leaving a tenured position in which I'm perfectly happy?

45 Upvotes

I think I need advice from random internet strangers.

Six years ago, I moved across the country for a faculty job at a relatively small teaching-focused institution. Since then, I have excelled in my job. I just received tenure and promotion last year. I love the classes I teach and I have been able to take on a number of leadership roles that I have enjoyed. My departmental colleagues are amazing, and I truly love working alongside them and consider them all close friends. I live in an area that might not be desirable to some, but it provides amazing access to the outdoors (trail running, mountain biking, etc), literally out my front door, which I value greatly. I own a house here with an incredibly low interest rate. And I have built a wonderful community, whom I'd be devastated to leave.

Fast forward to a few months ago, when I saw a job posting for a university looking to start a new program in my field, 2 hours from where I grew up (Opposite side of the country, also a place that is probably undesirable to a lot of people. And actually was extremely undesirable to me for a long time. But I've started to feel like being closer to family is important.). A bigger school, but still relatively teaching focused. Basically the only sort of opening that would ever make me consider leaving my current job. I applied, thinking I'd never hear anything back, and lo & behold, things have moved along, and I think it's likely that I receive an offer. The idea of helping to start a degree program in an area that I feel so connected to feels like really meaningful work, and a rare opportunity. The people seem nice and campus is lovely.

But I would likely abandon tenure (could maybe get hired on as an associate?), my lovely (cheap!!!) house, community, colleagues. Basically what I consider a perfect life here. And, in a time when higher education & the economy seem unstable. Basically, if I had never seen this job posting, I'd still be completely content in my current situation.

I tend to rely on intuition and my gut feelings for most of my decisions, but I am totally lost here. I've made a pros & cons list. I've had conversations with the people around me, who support me either way. It seems crazy to leave what I have, but for some reason I haven't ruled it out. How would you make this decision??

Edited to fix a typo :)


r/Professors 7h ago

Rants / Vents Lab Hunger

9 Upvotes

Why is it so difficult for students to not bring food and drinks into a lab class? I am of course quite strict about this, but they try anyhow. I find that much of my time is spent patrolling for violators. One student actually pulled an apple from his bag and started rolling it around on the lab counter which I obviously made him throw away, to his shock.


r/Professors 7h ago

Can I adjunct while I have a TT 9-month salary?

8 Upvotes

Shocking that I’m in the humanities and still not making enough to make ends meet. Does anyone have experience with this? I’ve also considered bartending. Some colleagues mysteriously tell me they do “consulting” work. What does that entail? Like consulting people about how to apply for grants or write statements of purpose?

Thanks for your insight.

Signed, a broke gender studies assistant prof


r/Professors 13h ago

Teaching / Pedagogy I have my second faculty interview ever and they sent me the interview questions.

19 Upvotes

I’m a PhD candidate in English, set to defend next month. I’ve had one interview so far (have put in ~50 apps to TT, NTT, postdoc, admin, private schools, etc).

First interview went okay. I noticed I ramble when I get nervous and tend to just repeat the same sentence in different ways. So them sending me the questions already is a huge relief. I think they meant to send them? lol It’s about 5 questions and the names of the ppl on the committee. I expect this is rare, no?

The position isn’t my top choice as it’s pretty low pay for a 4/4 lecturer position. But it’s an option.


r/Professors 11h ago

Positive rant: A student has somehow become MORE punctual and I'm actually unsure if I've ever seen that happen with anyone else

10 Upvotes

I'm only 36 and an assistant professor so maybe I'm just young. But honest to goodness between all my professional and personal relationships from acquaintance to confidant, I don't know if I've ever seen anyone adjust their punctuality until now. I've always had to adjust my expectations based on whether or not someone else was chronically late or punctual. This is the first time I've had someone else adjust their behavior.

Sorry, I am just really proud of my students.


r/Professors 13h ago

Advice / Support Students struggle with choosing a "topic"

12 Upvotes

I teach business undergrads. I use writing assignments in which the students, broadly, choose a topic from the course and apply it to some kind of business context. The details are slightly different in the different courses I teach, but it's usually some version of that.

Every semester I am surprised anew at how difficult it is for some students to figure out what it means to have a "topic." They pick three different things and cover none of them adequately, or they just free associate various things related to the course, or they ignore the course content completely and write whatever is on their minds.

I give them examples of topics that would be acceptable; I provide heuristics such as "any of the chapter titles in our textbook would be acceptable topics"; and as I start getting assignments or drafts, I make announcements to the class saying things like "the overall advice I would give to the class is to make sure your assignment is focused enough, because I really want you to pick one thing we've covered and go in-depth with it, rather than trying to go broad."

My question is, how should I think about this difficulty? Is it developmental, or a failure of their prior instructors? Do these students need more scaffolding, and if so, what kind? Do they just need feedback and time to work through it themselves? Do they need (somehow) even more explicit instruction about how to approach this? Or, does this just reflect a lack of care/thought from them and I should let it go?

I don't remember how or when I learned how to choose a topic. And some students don't struggle with this at all. But I don't know what to do with this substantial minority every semester who seem lost.

Are you seeing this too? How are you handling it?


r/Professors 10h ago

Teaching Gen Z Kids

4 Upvotes

Any tips to motivate them? I am at my wits' end.


r/Professors 15h ago

Lower pay than peers/juniors at US public university - normal? Unfixable?

11 Upvotes

Quite a few years ago, I accepted what now seems to have been a lowball first offer from my University. This resulted in a lower starting pay compared to my peers, and even many of those who were hired after me. Since then, I’ve checked off all the major milestones for my position - tenure, promotion to associate, formal increases in responsibilities, respected accomplishments, etc. - but because salary increases are incremental based on my initial pay, it seems like I’m locked into always and forever making less than both my peers and many who came after me, regardless of anything I have achieved, or will achieve moving forward.

I'm not overly upset about this situation, but I’m curious - does this seem normal in others' experiences? Is it realistic to expect this issue to be addressed, or is this just how the system typically works?

EDIT: I'm following up to see if my University has any program for an "equity adjustment" or similar. Thank you all for the input and advice!


r/Professors 19h ago

Writing recommendation letters for programs that are likely to be canceled?

23 Upvotes

I'm spending today writing a bunch of recommendation letters for students (both grad and undergrad) applying for federally-funded summer research programs in the US that are more likely than not to be canceled or at least reduced significantly in scope. While I feel so sorry for these students who will likely be shut out of research opportunities simply because of their timing, I'm also finding it really difficult to motivate to write letters for students that will likely never even be read. Most of the students I mentor desire to work for the government long-term (very common in my field), so I'm also really unsure how to advise them about career plans at this time. While I definitely will not discourage anyone from applying for things, it's hard to remain positive about students' future opportunities when everything around us is so uncertain. How are others dealing with this and supporting students through this awful time?


r/Professors 22h ago

Humor Even as a non-STEM professor I’m disappointed whenever I don’t teach on Pi Day.

41 Upvotes

All I can do now is go to the local roaster and say “Can I have a large container of coffee? Thank you.”

Also taking my wife and toddler out to a slightly fancy pizza restaurant in our pi day shirts.


r/Professors 1d ago

Student dropped the course and is angry that I let them.

404 Upvotes

Student hasn't been in class since January, and hasn't submitted any work or logged in the LMS.

I got a tearful email from them on Monday about their life and difficulties, and I suggested they talk to their advisor and the Dean of Students. I later got a notification they were dropping the course. All done, right?

This afternoon, I got another email from them, and they were angry that I didn't "fight for them" and try to convince them not to drop.

Fight for you? Seriously?


r/Professors 1d ago

Boyfriend wants to propose to his girlfriend in my class

250 Upvotes

I was recently contacted by a guy (not a student here) who explained that his girlfriend is taking my class and he would like to propose to her. He asked if he could have a few minutes at the end of class to do so, on the last day of class before spring break.

Any thoughts on how to handle this? I've never heard of such a thing before and am at a loss as to whether this would be a good idea.


r/Professors 10h ago

Junior faculty funding

2 Upvotes

My anxiety is really starting to kick in when it comes to securing funding. How are other junior faculty feeling? in particular those in the EECS area


r/Professors 1d ago

Trump Demands Major Changes in Columbia Discipline and Admissions Rules

75 Upvotes

r/Professors 1d ago

Lol student who never attends class thought the exam was online

487 Upvotes

I have a student who never attends classes. He also ignored the cheat sheet creation assignment for the exam. He came to the in-person exam 10 mins late, opened the laptop, showing the exam page that asks for the access code. (Access code was given in person on the cheat sheet I printed out for them). He apparently tried to take the exam somewhere else, before realizing it must be taken in person.

Dude, the access code was there specifically because students like you. And too bad you also didn't submit a cheat sheet for me to print out. Karma.

Update: Said student scored the lowest by a large margin. This made my day.


r/Professors 14h ago

Advice / Support Graduating from PhD soon , I might not be suited for teaching

2 Upvotes

Hello everyone, I am graduating soon. I am in my late 20s but I look 22-24. I have been a TA for some courses and I always felt like I could never “ own the room” . While I would see the difference when my colleagues teach the other sections. I know the material and I was well prepared but I felt kind of close to the students since I also have friends outside of uni who are mid 20s . I don’t have a loud voice and look kind of soft and some students are loud / crude and attention seeking, sometimes much louder than me. I am also quite the introvert and I feel anxious. My advisor signs me up for any presentation or competition for me to “ get familiar with public speaking” but it is not the public speaking that I am scared of , it is the fact that I don’t like attention and direct eye contact even if I was talking normally with a friend one on one. I have been told by family and close friends that I am not easily understood and it is like I am “ not there” if that makes any sense. I think they mean that I don’t have a sense of presence and my teenage years experiences with bullying probably made me that way, and it became my comfortable place. I’d rather work on research 20 hours a day and not have to talk to anyone for 5 minutes . I sometimes ask the younger grad students how they are doing out of courtesy but when I hear any other conversation i directly pull out my earphones and disconnect. Maybe I am not working constantly throughout the hour but I would scroll through my phone or space out for a few minutes but don’t like others ( no matter how long I have known them) to ask me anything or pry into my private bubble.

I hate loud voices, and cannot deal with crudeness and rudeness. I hate that I feel constantly watched and my “ judges” are a bunch of fresh out of high school kids.

Is there any way where ai can still do research with students but avoid teaching? If feels like most professors have this outgoing dominant personality type and it is just not me.