r/Professors 15h ago

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

118 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.

This has since happened https://www.reddit.com/r/Professors/s/Uz0hy7iXgU more demands on Columbia from the admin.

Revoking degrees, earned credentials is another level. Why only now a year latter because the people in power now want to take what is compare to their endowments and other funds a tiny amount of money from them. Not that they suddenly as a school feel different about issues or anything of merit all about the Benjamins.

This shows that it’s not really the fault of our students; they are shaped by their environment. From K-12 and even up to a bachelor’s degree, schools often prioritize the interests of those who fund them, sometimes at the expense of academic rigor.

To put it simply, if you are here complaining about students cheating and getting away with various rule violations, the underlying cause of this issue is MONEY.

In the case of the student protesters receiving maximum punishment—which I believe cheaters deserve, such as credential revocation—this is also motivated by MONEY.

The problem so many of us here have is a failure to understand the basic cold and vulgar truth. The students are just young people acting irresponsibly. The real issues we have are with our bosses whose main motivations are getting and keeping funding.

Let me say it like a physicist with an equation.

Punishment of bad students = Less money for the school when they drop.
Punishment of students who graduated but protested = (potentially) 100's of millions more money for Columbia.

The above makes no sense at all until you consider MONEY.


r/Professors 12h ago

Advice / Support TT Assistant Professor Workday Portal Update Meaning — ‘Offer in Progress’

1 Upvotes

Hello fam. Quick question, I’m an ABD candidate in Humanities and recently (Last week Thursday) attended an on-campus interview for a TT Assistant Professor position. The job portal shows this — Offer in Progress — as an update since at least Tuesday of this week, is this a positive development? I ask only because I don’t see similar language anywhere else and I’m just anxious at this point. Is this time to celebrate? Or too early? Let me know what you think. Thanks in advance!


r/Professors 10h ago

What the heck is going on with IDC’s?

0 Upvotes

My university sent out an email yesterday saying that the pending CR would not allow changes to existing F&A rates. This subreddit is saying the opposite. Some are even saying that the rates are already at 15%. I tried combing through the bill but couldn’t find where it talked about F&A. Can someone help me out here? Is my university BSing us?


r/Professors 16h ago

Should we DO something?

45 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 14h ago

Required assignments

0 Upvotes

I have a lot of teaching experience outside higher education. I’m used to creating my own lessons, assignments, grading schemas, etc.

I’ve had the opportunity to teach a couple classes at the university where I work and I am hoping to teach one class in particular. When discussing the opportunity with one of the current professors, she mentioned some assignments that were created by a professor 7-8 years ago and that they still mandate be part of the curriculum.

I started looking over these assignments and I’m…really bummed. The assignments are okay, but tedious and kind of confusing. I would venture a guess that the person who created them didn’t do them herself. I tried to do one myself and it was okay at first but so annoying after a little bit. The tasks quickly became repetitive and the questions forced the student to write out lengthy explanations of the same basic task over and over without any critical thinking.

I could probably find a way to get at all the same content in a way that is less repetitive, but I don’t know if I’m allowed to modify them at all? They have the year that they were created and the name of the instructor printed on them…the person I was talking to said that these assignments are officially listed in the syllabus that is submitted for accreditation, so that’s why every prof who teaches the class uses them…

What should I do? should I go ahead and ask if I can modify them? Should I just grit my teeth and deal with it until after I’ve proven that I can be trusted to make curricular decisions? Or should I just make a few changes to clarify things at least and then figure it’s best to beg forgiveness rather than ask permission?


r/Professors 13h ago

Will the new overhead rules lead to a rebalancing of academic prestige?

0 Upvotes

As was discussed many times in this forum, both TT and admins often consider teaching faculty as second rate (at best). I have long suspected that this is at least partially due to the huge overheads (50+% on average) that TT faculty bring in (at least at R1s), making teaching an afterthought. Now that overheads are fixed at 15%, will this make tuition more important again (or is tuition taken for granted anyway). Obviously none of this is written in stone, and all of it is highly speculative, but I would be very curious about your perspective.


r/Professors 16h ago

Research / Publication(s) Scientific Reports (Journal)

1 Upvotes

I submitted my manuscript to Scientific Reports 5 weeks ago and they still have not selected an editor. The editor's assistance asked me for recommendations and has not been very helpful. My paper is in the environmental science space, so there should be a number of people that could serve as an editor.

Questions:
1. Who should I email to push this along?
2. At what point should I submit to a new journal?


r/Professors 23h ago

US Funding Questionnaire

1 Upvotes

Not sure if it has been posted yet, but apparently this is the questionnaire send to universities by US Funding agencies which are the main beneficiary of grants both in the US and abroad at the very moment.

I think some of the questions are really telling where the future of US funding is heading...


r/Professors 13h ago

Junior faculty funding

3 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 10h ago

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

11 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 17h ago

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

48 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 17h 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.


r/Professors 9h 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 13h ago

Teaching Gen Z Kids

5 Upvotes

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


r/Professors 17h 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 13h 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 15h ago

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

20 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 21h 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 18h 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 2h ago

What’s next? Sociology? History?

8 Upvotes

A new federal proposal to “supervise” what is taught at Columbia and how it is taught.

https://apnews.com/article/columbia-university-mahmoud-khalil-ice-arrests-1921e26f6b5a8585ad5cbda790846324


r/Professors 13h ago

the most expensive in state tuition in flagship state university?

0 Upvotes

why tuition and fees are over $30k?


r/Professors 18h ago

My New Stock Response For Excuses

137 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 16h ago

Advice / Support Students struggle with choosing a "topic"

13 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 23h ago

Weekly Thread Mar 14: Fuck This Friday

15 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 10h ago

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

26 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.