are professors not required to check in on students?

[Anonymous]

I’m a college professor. If a student doesn’t attend a single class during the first two weeks of the semester, we must administratively drop them from the class. That is the only policy for us in this regard. I do check in in additional cases, though. I email students before the 4th class to let them know I need to see them in the next session or they will be dropped.

If I have a student with limited attendance, I email them before the drop date and the withdrawal date to encourage them to start attending class or withdraw to protect their transcript.

If a student has historically had good attendance and misses two classes in a row, they get an email from me to check in.

Otherwise, this would be a fool’s errand. There are so many students who only show up on test days, rarely attend class, don’t respond to emails, or are consistently late. There is no way to keep track of them all like a hs teacher. Maybe an RA would be a better option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a college professor. If a student doesn’t attend a single class during the first two weeks of the semester, we must administratively drop them from the class. That is the only policy for us in this regard. I do check in in additional cases, though. I email students before the 4th class to let them know I need to see them in the next session or they will be dropped.

If I have a student with limited attendance, I email them before the drop date and the withdrawal date to encourage them to start attending class or withdraw to protect their transcript.

If a student has historically had good attendance and misses two classes in a row, they get an email from me to check in.

Otherwise, this would be a fool’s errand. There are so many students who only show up on test days, rarely attend class, don’t respond to emails, or are consistently late. There is no way to keep track of them all like a hs teacher. Maybe an RA would be a better option.

ETA the vast majority of the check in emails I send are ignored, and I would not initiate a welfare or emergency check of some kind because of it.

[Anonymous]

This is an interesting discussion. I went to Amherst, and while not 100% of my professors would have checked in, the majority would have, at least for my seminar classes (which was the majority of my classes). I even had a professor call me to say that one of my fellow students was going to be driving across state for an interview, and she was worried about her doing the long drive by herself, so maybe I should skip class and go with her so she wasn't driving alone. Which I did!

Most schools have a student services/counseling department, and I would think that at least small group professors would drop an email to the counseling department that says "John Doe hasn't shown up to class in a month -- can someone please check on him to see if he needs support?"

I know so many kids that had mental health breakdowns in college....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is an interesting discussion. I went to Amherst, and while not 100% of my professors would have checked in, the majority would have, at least for my seminar classes (which was the majority of my classes). I even had a professor call me to say that one of my fellow students was going to be driving across state for an interview, and she was worried about her doing the long drive by herself, so maybe I should skip class and go with her so she wasn't driving alone. Which I did!

Most schools have a student services/counseling department, and I would think that at least small group professors would drop an email to the counseling department that says "John Doe hasn't shown up to class in a month -- can someone please check on him to see if he needs support?"

I know so many kids that had mental health breakdowns in college....

T 10 Prof here. A lot has changed in the last 10-15 years. The "Me Too" movement, among other things, has had unintended consequences. Profs do not want to get anywhere close to a situation that could be misinterpreted by students or anyone else. No discussion beyond what is being covered in class. No personal connection of any sort. I don't even talk to students during office hours with my door closed (even if the student wants to discuss something privately like their career goals and so on etc). Due to litigation risk, univ administrations actively discourage any personal connection between faculty and students. At the most, we report things to the school administration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:never heard of anyone checking on a student who wasn't in class...

If someone quits showing up to work, they will still call and ask

But it is very common for kids to skip class. DS has a class of 100, but said that only 25 actually show up.

If a student stops going to class for multiple classes someone should check on them.

Nobody is talking about 1 or 2 classes.

They don't even take attendance, so unless it is a small class format, how would they even know?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is an interesting discussion. I went to Amherst, and while not 100% of my professors would have checked in, the majority would have, at least for my seminar classes (which was the majority of my classes). I even had a professor call me to say that one of my fellow students was going to be driving across state for an interview, and she was worried about her doing the long drive by herself, so maybe I should skip class and go with her so she wasn't driving alone. Which I did!

Most schools have a student services/counseling department, and I would think that at least small group professors would drop an email to the counseling department that says "John Doe hasn't shown up to class in a month -- can someone please check on him to see if he needs support?"

I know so many kids that had mental health breakdowns in college....

T 10 Prof here. A lot has changed in the last 10-15 years. The "Me Too" movement, among other things, has had unintended consequences. Profs do not want to get anywhere close to a situation that could be misinterpreted by students or anyone else. No discussion beyond what is being covered in class. No personal connection of any sort. I don't even talk to students during office hours with my door closed (even if the student wants to discuss something privately like their career goals and so on etc). Due to litigation risk, univ administrations actively discourage any personal connection between faculty and students. At the most, we report things to the school administration.

+1. The (litigious) helicopter parents actually ruined it for themselves, ironically.

[Anonymous]

Other than a recorded message, I'm not sure if my kids' FCPS HIGH SCHOOL would inquire about whereabouts if missing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m a college professor. If a student doesn’t attend a single class during the first two weeks of the semester, we must administratively drop them from the class. That is the only policy for us in this regard. I do check in in additional cases, though. I email students before the 4th class to let them know I need to see them in the next session or they will be dropped.

If I have a student with limited attendance, I email them before the drop date and the withdrawal date to encourage them to start attending class or withdraw to protect their transcript.

If a student has historically had good attendance and misses two classes in a row, they get an email from me to check in.

Otherwise, this would be a fool’s errand. There are so many students who only show up on test days, rarely attend class, don’t respond to emails, or are consistently late. There is no way to keep track of them all like a hs teacher. Maybe an RA would be a better option.

Our son's school has a reporting system that functions a lot like a welfare check. Anyone (parent, friend, RA, professor, kitchen worker) can submit a "concerned about a student" report to the wellness center and they follow up right away. Also the advisor system is supposed to be able to flag if too many classes are being missed across professors. I'm not sure how well that works in reality. A professor would have to have the name of advisor on the class list for each student, I guess. That way you are reporting to the advisor to follow up, who might be in a better place to determine if it is a potential mental health red flag, e.g., if the advisor sees it in just one course (blowing it off) and not all courses (dropping off the community radar).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD went to a SLAC and I think her professors would have reached out if she stopped going to class. I went to a large state university and can guarantee none of my professors would have given me a second thought.

What is a slac?

Small liberal arts college; usually around 2000 undergrad students total, class sizes mostly in the teens.

[Anonymous]

Your child is an adult now

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

They don't care. College is about taking CONTROL of your kids and brainwashing them. I mean that very sincerely. Profs and admins are loons.

Wait, so on one hand they don't care to the point of not noticing if a student disappears, and on the other hand you think they are taking CONTROL of kids?
Weird dichotomy you have in your brain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is an interesting discussion. I went to Amherst, and while not 100% of my professors would have checked in, the majority would have, at least for my seminar classes (which was the majority of my classes). I even had a professor call me to say that one of my fellow students was going to be driving across state for an interview, and she was worried about her doing the long drive by herself, so maybe I should skip class and go with her so she wasn't driving alone. Which I did!

Most schools have a student services/counseling department, and I would think that at least small group professors would drop an email to the counseling department that says "John Doe hasn't shown up to class in a month -- can someone please check on him to see if he needs support?"

I know so many kids that had mental health breakdowns in college....

T 10 Prof here. A lot has changed in the last 10-15 years. The "Me Too" movement, among other things, has had unintended consequences. Profs do not want to get anywhere close to a situation that could be misinterpreted by students or anyone else. No discussion beyond what is being covered in class. No personal connection of any sort. I don't even talk to students during office hours with my door closed (even if the student wants to discuss something privately like their career goals and so on etc). Due to litigation risk, univ administrations actively discourage any personal connection between faculty and students. At the most, we report things to the school administration.

The winning answer. A litigious society full of whackos that want people arrested for misgendering them have poisoned society to the extent that people are afraid to care for, or help one another. Instead people stand around making videos on their cell phones when someone gets mugged on the subway. The inmates have started to run the asylum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is an interesting discussion. I went to Amherst, and while not 100% of my professors would have checked in, the majority would have, at least for my seminar classes (which was the majority of my classes). I even had a professor call me to say that one of my fellow students was going to be driving across state for an interview, and she was worried about her doing the long drive by herself, so maybe I should skip class and go with her so she wasn't driving alone. Which I did!

Most schools have a student services/counseling department, and I would think that at least small group professors would drop an email to the counseling department that says "John Doe hasn't shown up to class in a month -- can someone please check on him to see if he needs support?"

I know so many kids that had mental health breakdowns in college....

T 10 Prof here. A lot has changed in the last 10-15 years. The "Me Too" movement, among other things, has had unintended consequences. Profs do not want to get anywhere close to a situation that could be misinterpreted by students or anyone else. No discussion beyond what is being covered in class. No personal connection of any sort. I don't even talk to students during office hours with my door closed (even if the student wants to discuss something privately like their career goals and so on etc). Due to litigation risk, univ administrations actively discourage any personal connection between faculty and students. At the most, we report things to the school administration.

Another prof here and second the above. Several years ago we would be a lot more tuned-in to our students' lives (especially those in smaller seminar classes) but now we have literally been told by administration to not engage with students on any personal matters. If a student brings up any personal issues they are having in their lives we are meant to direct straight to student services and not get involved.

[Anonymous]

Another prof here. There’s another gendered part of this, too, at least at the institutions where I’ve worked—female professors overwhelmingly get students coming to them with personal stories and tales of woe and seeking emotional support, then those profs have additional responsibilities/sense of obligation for reporting to administration and helping students navigate the system to meet their needs compared to their male counterparts. Think about that, and the fact that women are underrepresented in tenure-track and tenured faculty. It’s another part of the imbalance.

Btw if I report a student to the administration, with my concerns, I don’t learn the resolution for privacy reasons. I will try to get a student to withdraw (to “protect the transcript,” as another prof said) whose absences and missed classes put them at high risk of failing—in a small class with interim assignments, but most of my classes don’t fall in that category.

[Anonymous]

Another prof here. I always have my door wide open when any student is in my office. I also avoid conversations if a personal nature as much as possible. I wouldn’t turn away a student who is visibly upset but what I do try to do is get them out of my office and into a public space, like a bench outside, to have witnesses and remove any possible appearance of inappropriate behavior- to protect myself and the student. If this doesn’t work I will schedule an appointment with the student and their advisor or one of my colleagues to provide a safe space for the student but also have a 3rd party witness to hold my own behavior accountable. It’s definitely a different day and age and effective prof-student relationships are beyond professional.