College professors who cancel classes before Thanksgiving - RANT

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am with you on this one. DD is freshman and every single one of her classes was cancelled on M,T, & W. They think they are doing a favor for the out of state kids, but they are not. I rebooked a new flight at a $200 change fee plus the flight cost almost $100 more to fly her home last Friday so she did not have to sit in largely empty dorm for 5 days with nothing to do.

+1. Same at an in-state university. nonrefundable tickets for later dates, so had to scramble at last minute when professors cancelled to make arrangements not in sync with the university calendar. So now child can return earlier but by then all the train seats were taken. We ended up driving down and back because everything else was booked.

I don't understand this. When my professors did this when I was in College, I always found friends, activities, or homework to do until my originally scheduled departure time.

I mean, who are these kids who can't occupy their time without a two-hour scheduled class? I'm seriously confused

They are the ones who have had everything planned for them. Most of their day with school and scheduled activities. They haven't had to occupy themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“Scrambling” to find train tickets, driving hours and hours, paying $200+, etc. just so your kid can get home a day or a few hours earlier than planned is really strange to me.

I clearly said "later dates", as in Tuesday, Nov. 20th. Train tickets were purchased a month ago (you have to do that for major holidays just in case you don't know what you are talking about which is readily apparent) for the 20th with a return on the 25th. Well, one, two, three and then FOUR professors cancelled classes this week so suddenly junior is ready to come home on Friday the 16th (because one prof took until the 16th to decide to cancel the class on the 20th). None of this correlates with the university calendar which says last class dates are Tuesday, the 20th. So YES we had previously purchased tickets according to univ. calendar and yes we had to scramble because all of the trains were books for the 16th, 17th, 19th, etc. etc. so we had to eat the previously purchased tickets (nonrefundable) and yes we had to drive down and pick up DC and drive back so we could have a whole week with DC - who ACTUALLY wants to still spend time with his family so was thrilled that classes were cancelled. What about that do you not understand?

Hey PP. I'm with ya (this is OP). My kid likes his family and high school friends, too. It was frustrating to go through the effort to respect the schedule for no apparent reason.

+1. We're with you too. I'm thrilled that that DS wanted to come home five days early and be with us, but everything was settled for him to train back (even buses weren't available back around 6 weeks ago when we booked - Greyhound was booked up so we opted for train). As each professor announced no class for the week of the 18th we thought "great, but what about the ticket for the 20th" and then when the last professor announced, DS was ready to leave on Friday the 16th. And by then nothing was available via bus, train, plane, even friends (most of home drove the minute their own classes were cancelled).

I'm glad you got to spend the time you did, and I hope y'all had fun. My kid arrived home midday on Thursday. It has been wonderful having him around.

[Anonymous]

When I was an undergrad over 1200 miles from where I grew up, I had to make my own arrangements for transportation, so I fully get OP's rant. My Freshman and Sophomore years, I booked by flights around my Thanksgiving class schedule, meaning Wednesday afternoon.

My Freshman year, my professors held their classes, and most of them were virtually empty. One professor, in fact, seeing about 5 of 70 kids in the lecture hall, essentially gave us a final essay answer and told us not to share our notes with those who skipped. It was was almost a full grade difference in the course grade and most suffered for it.

My Sophomore year, my professors all cancelled their Wednesday classes on the Monday of Thanksgiving week. It was super annoying to spend almost an entire day alone (pre-internet) on campus before my flight. Had I known, I would have booked my flight on Tuesday after my last class.

So for my junior an senior years I just assumed classes would be cancelled on the Wednesday and booked accordingly and it worked out. But I totally get OP's rant. It is annoying as an out of state kid who is trying to be diligent about classes and travel considerations.

[Anonymous]

Since you are all consumers of a very expensive product, I suggest you complain to the schools involved. You can do so anonymously if you don't want any blowback for your student.

Believe me, if the Academic Dean tells faculty to hold scheduled classes, they will. You do not have to be passive in this equation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Since you are all consumers of a very expensive product, I suggest you complain to the schools involved. You can do so anonymously if you don't want any blowback for your student.

Believe me, if the Academic Dean tells faculty to hold scheduled classes, they will. You do not have to be passive in this equation.

Your education is not a consumer product or service. This kind of thinking that you are the customer and the customer is always right is what leads students and sometimes their parents to try to haggle endlessly for grades, get around class rules, etc

you want the professors be flexible with your students when your student has to cancel or miss class for some reason? Extend the same courtesy back.

[Anonymous]

I work at a university, and only wish they did not think of themselves as businesses.

Look at the investment in marketing, football, and administration (over full time professors and investments that impact educational quality).

The previous poster never said the customer is always right. But most schools do operate like businesses...so parents have a right to consider themselves consumers OF AN EDUCATION for their child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since you are all consumers of a very expensive product, I suggest you complain to the schools involved. You can do so anonymously if you don't want any blowback for your student.

Believe me, if the Academic Dean tells faculty to hold scheduled classes, they will. You do not have to be passive in this equation.

Your education is not a consumer product or service. This kind of thinking that you are the customer and the customer is always right is what leads students and sometimes their parents to try to haggle endlessly for grades, get around class rules, etc

you want the professors be flexible with your students when your student has to cancel or miss class for some reason? Extend the same courtesy back.

Back when I was an undergraduate and could earn enough money over the summer to pay partially for tuition, this was true. Now that tuition is at least $50,000/year and cripples many graduates with lifelong debt, is absolutely is and should be a consumer product. You want it not to be a consumer product? Drop tuition.

Frankly I think most colleges are morally bankrupt to be telling teenagers that their educational choices are not a consumer product. It's about as much of a consumer product as those kids will ever purchase and they should be advised as such, not fed this pack of lies about how it isn't a consumer purchase.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Since you are all consumers of a very expensive product, I suggest you complain to the schools involved. You can do so anonymously if you don't want any blowback for your student.

Believe me, if the Academic Dean tells faculty to hold scheduled classes, they will. You do not have to be passive in this equation.

My academic dean would absolutely ignore this. Laughable.

[Anonymous]

So I assume all of you complaining are going to protest the early release from your fed jobs on holidays right? It’s an occasional perk. Buck up and deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband is a professor at UMd. Teachervone vlass this semester that is on Tues and Thurs evenings at 7.

He planned on teaching but university shut down dorms at 7 pm. Rather than asking kids to bring luggage etc to class, and try to leave from there at 830, he cancelled.

They shut down the dorms for Thanksgiving and kicked everyone out? Is every student there within driving distance?

I was wondering the same thing. Do the colleges actually kick the kids out for a 4 day weekend?

My college kept dorms open for Thanksgiving and Easter, but there was no meal service. This sucked if you had no family to go home to or you lived too far away/lacked the funds to travel. Res Life always made sure international students were hosted by local students or professors, but as a poor kid, I had to smuggle food out every year before Good Friday.

These days, Uber Eats and other delivery services are shuttling food to college dorms every day. No one is up a creek without food over a break anymore.

Wow. I usually find it annoying when people say this, but "Check your privilege."

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since you are all consumers of a very expensive product, I suggest you complain to the schools involved. You can do so anonymously if you don't want any blowback for your student.

Believe me, if the Academic Dean tells faculty to hold scheduled classes, they will. You do not have to be passive in this equation.

My academic dean would absolutely ignore this. Laughable.

+1 I am a professor. If a parent emailed to complain about class being cancelled it would go straight into the trash box. Maybe sent around so others could chuckle.

[Anonymous]

Federal employees literally get off 59 minutes early on long weekends. Wahoo!!!

And my workplace has decided to cut back on this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Since you are all consumers of a very expensive product, I suggest you complain to the schools involved. You can do so anonymously if you don't want any blowback for your student.

Believe me, if the Academic Dean tells faculty to hold scheduled classes, they will. You do not have to be passive in this equation.

That’s not what the whiners actually want. They want the professors to announce 6-8 weeks in advance that class won’t be held so they can get Pumpkin the best price for her week-long Break. If a professor actually held class on Wed, they would implode with rage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“Scrambling” to find train tickets, driving hours and hours, paying $200+, etc. just so your kid can get home a day or a few hours earlier than planned is really strange to me.

I clearly said "later dates", as in Tuesday, Nov. 20th. Train tickets were purchased a month ago (you have to do that for major holidays just in case you don't know what you are talking about which is readily apparent) for the 20th with a return on the 25th. Well, one, two, three and then FOUR professors cancelled classes this week so suddenly junior is ready to come home on Friday the 16th (because one prof took until the 16th to decide to cancel the class on the 20th). None of this correlates with the university calendar which says last class dates are Tuesday, the 20th. So YES we had previously purchased tickets according to univ. calendar and yes we had to scramble because all of the trains were books for the 16th, 17th, 19th, etc. etc. so we had to eat the previously purchased tickets (nonrefundable) and yes we had to drive down and pick up DC and drive back so we could have a whole week with DC - who ACTUALLY wants to still spend time with his family so was thrilled that classes were cancelled. What about that do you not understand?

Hey PP. I'm with ya (this is OP). My kid likes his family and high school friends, too. It was frustrating to go through the effort to respect the schedule for no apparent reason.

+1. We're with you too. I'm thrilled that that DS wanted to come home five days early and be with us, but everything was settled for him to train back (even buses weren't available back around 6 weeks ago when we booked - Greyhound was booked up so we opted for train). As each professor announced no class for the week of the 18th we thought "great, but what about the ticket for the 20th" and then when the last professor announced, DS was ready to leave on Friday the 16th. And by then nothing was available via bus, train, plane, even friends (most of home drove the minute their own classes were cancelled).

I'm glad you got to spend the time you did, and I hope y'all had fun. My kid arrived home midday on Thursday. It has been wonderful having him around.

Thanks. We did have fun and wound up having him here for almost ten days instead of the four as we had originally expected. Good family time. And now off to the airport to send him back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I was an undergrad over 1200 miles from where I grew up, I had to make my own arrangements for transportation, so I fully get OP's rant. My Freshman and Sophomore years, I booked by flights around my Thanksgiving class schedule, meaning Wednesday afternoon.

My Freshman year, my professors held their classes, and most of them were virtually empty. One professor, in fact, seeing about 5 of 70 kids in the lecture hall, essentially gave us a final essay answer and told us not to share our notes with those who skipped. It was was almost a full grade difference in the course grade and most suffered for it.

My Sophomore year, my professors all cancelled their Wednesday classes on the Monday of Thanksgiving week. It was super annoying to spend almost an entire day alone (pre-internet) on campus before my flight. Had I known, I would have booked my flight on Tuesday after my last class.

So for my junior an senior years I just assumed classes would be cancelled on the Wednesday and booked accordingly and it worked out. But I totally get OP's rant. It is annoying as an out of state kid who is trying to be diligent about classes and travel considerations.

Thank you. It is annoying to those who are trying to be diligent.

It is not earth shattering. It is not about whether some random nineteen year old can fill his time for a day when unexpectedly free. It is annoying, and fairly easy to prevent. That's it.

That's what rants are about, guys.