It’s not uncommon for students to run into issues with their professors. While most professors are supportive of students and invested in their learning, students frequently encounter at least one professor who just does not work for them. This can range from dissonance between learning and teaching styles to vague and confusing grading. Sometimes, it can even go as far as professors expressing views or rhetoric that is not deemed okay in a non-discriminatory classroom setting. Whatever the problem is that arises, students do not seem concerned with going through the proper channels to advocate for themselves.
Issues of grading often arise where a student feels like they got a grade that did not fairly represent their work. While professor discretion goes a long way with issues like this, there are ways that a student is able to dispute a grade and argue their case for a grade re-evaluation. Sometimes, the issue can even be resolved by taking an action as simple as talking to the professor. Many students are not comfortable with self-advocacy when it means having an honest conversation with the professor. This inevitably leads to students just accepting a grade despite not believing it suits them.
From the issues that arise more as a personal conflict with the professor, students are given the right to submit course evaluations at the end of the year. These evaluations, if signed, go on the record and are used when considering a professor’s tenure. While the evaluation may or may not be taken heavily into consideration, it still has more of a chance of being considered than doing nothing at all. The course evaluation is the most important way students can take advocacy into their own hands and openly discuss a professor’s performance with their job. Despite this, professors often have to beg for students to fill out their evaluations. Students are generally apathetic about evaluations, but they shouldn’t be.
Evaluations can be used both to support professors that a student particularly enjoys and wants to celebrate and also to create accountability for professors who might not be doing their best to support a student’s learning efforts. Students can have a say by filling out their course evaluations, but they often ignore it. This might be out of fear of potential future retaliation, since students have to sign their name on an evaluation for it to be entered into the professor’s record. However, this shouldn’t stop students from being honest in the name of protecting their learning. I believe that there is also a huge issue with apathy, where many students do not place a huge emphasis on speaking up for their education. This creates a culture of professors who are widely understood to be “problematic” but who do not have any formal negative evaluations on their record. I have heard several students tell me to avoid specific professors, but I’ve never had those students also tell me that they’ve filled out their course evaluations or even tried to talk to the professor to address their concerns. It’s time for students to take control of their learning.
