are professors not required to check in on students?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s hilarious.

Of course professors don’t check in on students.

It’s not hilarious. It’s sad and pathetic that universities are not held to some standard to check the welfare of students.

That's not at all the professor's job.

[Anonymous]

the job of the professor is to deliver the lecture, answer student questions, assess exams, grade students.

in my university I am not even allowed to take attendance.

professors are not baby sitters. professors are not counselors. professors are not mental health professionals. professors teach those students who want to learn. if a student does not want to learn, there is nothing a professor can do about it. these are adults we are talking about.

- R1 prof.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is what Life 360 is for. If you want to track your student and don't think they'll tell you if they are going to class or not, you can keep tabs on them.

It's not the professor's job or the college's. They offer an education and many extra services. They aren't a personal concierge.

OMG, land the helicopter and stop monitoring your young adult down to the eyelash. My gosh. Life 360 is stalker-ish behavior. Let your kid have a life outside of you.

If kid is paying this makes sense. If parent is paying for college they have a right to see how their investment is performing. Should they be following 24/7 no but random checking to see if kid is going to class is prudent.

Perhaps, I don't know, ASK your kid. If you don't trust them to tell you the truth I can't help you. You have failed at parenting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:the job of the professor is to deliver the lecture, answer student questions, assess exams, grade students.

in my university I am not even allowed to take attendance.

professors are not baby sitters. professors are not counselors. professors are not mental health professionals. professors teach those students who want to learn. if a student does not want to learn, there is nothing a professor can do about it. these are adults we are talking about.

- R1 prof.

In a class of less than about 20, I will definitely notice if a student's demeanor changes, if they seem troubled or upset or depressed, if they are less engaged. I start watching carefully, especially if the work and grades are also deteriorating. Sometimes I can have them meet with me about their academic work and then gently bring up the counseling center, or I will email their adviser. I've walked out of my office and left students alone in there to use my campus phone to call for a therapy appointment. I've escorted kids to the counseling center and waited with them at their request until someone could see them. I've even a few times called the dorm staff on weekends to check on students I knew were struggling. You can't count on me to be a regulated system (I'm only one person, operating within the rules to respond to needs that I see in front of me), but you can count on me to try to find help within my orbit for a fellow human being. I'm a prof at an R2.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:the job of the professor is to deliver the lecture, answer student questions, assess exams, grade students.

in my university I am not even allowed to take attendance.

professors are not baby sitters. professors are not counselors. professors are not mental health professionals. professors teach those students who want to learn. if a student does not want to learn, there is nothing a professor can do about it. these are adults we are talking about.

- R1 prof.

Fine. You're not a babysitter. They are adults. Presumably you are also in favor of eliminating the FAFSA and CSS because your university refuses to accept any money from any parent/guardian or considers their ability to pay in admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:the job of the professor is to deliver the lecture, answer student questions, assess exams, grade students.

in my university I am not even allowed to take attendance.

professors are not baby sitters. professors are not counselors. professors are not mental health professionals. professors teach those students who want to learn. if a student does not want to learn, there is nothing a professor can do about it. these are adults we are talking about.

- R1 prof.

Fine. You're not a babysitter. They are adults. Presumably you are also in favor of eliminating the FAFSA and CSS because your university refuses to accept any money from any parent/guardian or considers their ability to pay in admissions.

can you explain this comment? I legitimately do not understand.

[Anonymous]

As a professor, teaching is a small part of my job and I do not know who the students are.

[Anonymous]

The OP seems to think that because she pays the university money for her offspring, the University has a responsibility to make sure that he is doing okay -- presumably mentally, socially, academically, whatever - and report to you (or someone else).

Not how it works. They are legally adults at age 18. You can't usurp their rights. You can have arrangements with your kid that they have to meet, but the univ can't enforce those upon your child.

[Anonymous]

I’m a professor at a SLAC and it would take about a week of absences for me to check in with a student. Then I’d email them directly, and if I didn’t hear back, I’d escalate to sending a report on attendance. At my campus that’s rare- students are generally very good at letting me know if they have to miss class for any reason. I would never phone a student. It’s the RAs jobs to meet with residents, I think they have weekly meetings. They should notice something, or be alerted by a peer if a student is unwell. I do care and I do my best, but it’s not really part of my job description to keep tabs on them.

I’ve taught previously at an R1 and community college and we just assumed that students that stopped attending were not interested in continuing in the class.

[Anonymous]

I have t read all of the messages, but has someone mentioned that these students are 18 (most of them) and there are laws about this. You have no rights to information about their grades, health etc. YOU can request a welfare check, but no, no one is calling about your adult child at most large universities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s hilarious.

Of course professors don’t check in on students.

It’s not hilarious. It’s sad and pathetic that universities are not held to some standard to check the welfare of students.

Then professors need to be paid for student life responsibilities. As it is, the work is immense, and the pay is mediocre. Terrible for adjuncts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That’s hilarious.

Of course professors don’t check in on students.

It’s not hilarious. It’s sad and pathetic that universities are not held to some standard to check the welfare of students.

Then professors need to be paid for student life responsibilities. As it is, the work is immense, and the pay is mediocre. Terrible for adjuncts.

+1 expectations for what a professors "should" be doing seem way out of line.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:are professors not required to check in on students if they skip class?

My DS stopped attending a class and not one email or phone call from the professor.

Is your child an adult? Time for some personal responsibility

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:the job of the professor is to deliver the lecture, answer student questions, assess exams, grade students.

in my university I am not even allowed to take attendance.

professors are not baby sitters. professors are not counselors. professors are not mental health professionals. professors teach those students who want to learn. if a student does not want to learn, there is nothing a professor can do about it. these are adults we are talking about.

- R1 prof.

Fine. You're not a babysitter. They are adults. Presumably you are also in favor of eliminating the FAFSA and CSS because your university refuses to accept any money from any parent/guardian or considers their ability to pay in admissions.

can you explain this comment? I legitimately do not understand.

If they're legally adults, they're presumably 100% responsible for themselves. So... It's not at all obvious to me why there are "expected family contributions". One way or the other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:the job of the professor is to deliver the lecture, answer student questions, assess exams, grade students.

in my university I am not even allowed to take attendance.

professors are not baby sitters. professors are not counselors. professors are not mental health professionals. professors teach those students who want to learn. if a student does not want to learn, there is nothing a professor can do about it. these are adults we are talking about.

- R1 prof.

In a class of less than about 20, I will definitely notice if a student's demeanor changes, if they seem troubled or upset or depressed, if they are less engaged. I start watching carefully, especially if the work and grades are also deteriorating. Sometimes I can have them meet with me about their academic work and then gently bring up the counseling center, or I will email their adviser. I've walked out of my office and left students alone in there to use my campus phone to call for a therapy appointment. I've escorted kids to the counseling center and waited with them at their request until someone could see them. I've even a few times called the dorm staff on weekends to check on students I knew were struggling. You can't count on me to be a regulated system (I'm only one person, operating within the rules to respond to needs that I see in front of me), but you can count on me to try to find help within my orbit for a fellow human being. I'm a prof at an R2.

my class is rarely less than 20. but I understand what you are saying. I try to do the same as well - I try to accommodate every students' needs, and will gently prod those who I think are falling behind. But I want to clarify that is not part of my job. I do it because I want every student in my class to succeed. College is not grade school. Again, these are adults, and are responsible to ensure that they are doing their part to learn and succeed in college. Please have reasonable expectations, and realize that you are not the only one who I have to attend to. Like someone else said, teaching is many times not even the important part of my job as a professor [research is].

- R1 prof.